After a little more than a year working for The Ft. Lauderdale Daily News in the same capacity as at the Sun Record in Daytona I became disenchanted and decided that I wanted a change. I had been working on a desk or at least in an office for about four years. I felt that I wanted to do something other than shuffle paper. I wanted a "hands on" job and was ready to quit the accounting course I had been taking from a correspondence school. I really decided that I didn't want to be an accountant. Since I couldn't see anything better coming up in the near future it appeared that maybe going to study aircraft mechanics would be good idea. For that kind of thing the Army Air Corps would be the thing. I had no idea what it was like in the Army but decided to check on it. I talked to someone and they suggested going to Mac Dill Field to see what the chances were. I took a day off from the paper and went to Tampa. They said that it would be no trouble and I started the paper work. When they looked at the papers I had indicated that I was married, which I was. Right away they informed me that they would not let a married man enlist and no wonder, they were paying only $21 a month for yardbirds. Well that appeared to be the end of that. I allowed as how I could change it to divorced and the guy said "If you are divorced we need to see a copy of the final decree". That seemed to really end that and I went back to Ft Lauderdale.

When I told my helper, a girl, in the office what had happened she said why don't you get a divorce, there is nothing to it. She had just recently been divorced. I questioned how and what it would cost and she said for me to go see one of the lawyers in the building with us and he said "No sweat and only $5O". We discussed it and Martha said if that's what you want, lets do it. It was a very simple procedure in those days and about week later I was ready to go back to Mac Dill with almost no one the wiser. Some one had told me that I could be assured of going to a particular school by a squadron commander if I wanted to enlist for his squadron. When I got over there I went to the recruiting office and told them that I wanted to enlist for a particular squadron. He sent me to the headquarters of the 29st Bomb Group to check on it. The Group Sergeant Major picked up the phone and dialed a number, the line was busy, dialed another and it was busy. The fourth time he got through and asked about the squadron strength and they had two or three spaces so it was set. I went to that squadron headquarters and talked to the first sergeant and told him I wanted to talk to the Squadron Commander. He introduced me and I asked if it would be possible to go to AM school (that's Air Mechanics) and he assured me that I could have that opportunity if that was what I wanted. I was sworn in and that was the beginning of five years in the Army. .

Before I went to MacDill I made the last three $2O car payments we had due on a 1936 V8 Ford Convertible. Pretty sexy car, even had a cut out on it which could be operated by putting my heel on the button. That was all the money we had so we were left flat but I was assured of my $21 each month except that hair cuts and laundry came out of that. Martha came over to Tampa, got a room and started trying to get a job..

There wasn't too much available but an employment office said they would refer her to a place that might hire her but that she would have to pay them $5 to get them to tell her where it was. We didn't have the money so we asked Hatch if she could borrow it from him. He let us have it and she went to work promoting Pepsi Cola, a fairly new product on the market. Her job was door to door and if you had a Pepsi in the refrigerator she would give you a coupon that was good for another six pack. For this she got $6 a week, about half of which went for her room rent. She was in a room right by the church so it was handy. I wasn't allowed to come in the house though cause having a service man come in would give the place a bad name even if they were married. I never thought that she couldn't be my wife cause we couldn't be married. oh Well..

Martha survived on Pepsi, I think, except what I could glean, how do you like that word, from the mess hall when I was on KP. on Sunday, every week, Grandma Reams asked us to come from church home with them and we had pot roast, potatoes and carrots. It was really a feast for both of us, even though I was eating regularly in the mess hall. I don't remember how we survived when I wasn't allowed to spend the night in town, being a new recruit. We were very active in The First Christian Church and made a bunch of good friends there, some of whom we still see regularly. The majority of the time spent in Tampa was after I was commissioned and returned to fly the B26..

After I was sworn in I was somewhat of a problem cause I wasn't a recruit and I wasn't really in the squadron cause I hadn't been through Boot Camp. There were certain things that I needed to be indoctrinated with and it wasn't getting done. I found that I could go down in the recruit area or stay with the squadron and no one was sure where I was when. I had to be in the recruit area at least part of the time but I watched and when there was a detail there putting up tents I helped with that. The only drilling I did was with the squadron. They had to do some of that cause there weren't enough aircraft to keep everyone busy. I don't remember how long the recruit training was supposed to be but they didn't seem to mind having me on the details at the squadron so that was what I did most of the time. After that was over things were pretty quiet. After several weeks the first sergeant came to me and asked if I would come into the orderly room and help with some typing. He had looked at my record and could see that I had had office experience. There wasn't much else going on so I took him up on the offer not thinking that I was decreasing my chances of going to AM school. It was better than having only "made work" and I did get to know what was going on around the place.

After a few weeks the first sergeant came to me and said that there was an opening for some one to go to clerks school and that it was a good deal and I ought to go. He pointed out all the good things about working in the orderly room but I told him that the Major had promised me that I could go to AM school. He just said "Well if that's the way you want it". I hated the way he said it but it was what I really wanted. I felt that my chances for going to any thing but clerks school had diminished considerably. Two or three weeks later he approached me again and said that there was another opening for clerks school and how did I feel about it now. At least he had not given up on me completely. I still insisted that I really wanted AM school and the Major had promised me??? As I remember he asked me three times to go to clerks school and after that I felt I had really cooked my goose. A couple of weeks went by again and he approached me and said that there was an opening to go to AM school and was I sure that was what I wanted. I assured him that was it and he put me on orders to go the Aeronautical University, a civilian contract right downtown in Chicago. Sooo we moved.

Martha didn't come with me right away. She stayed in Tampa long enough to have the '36 V8 convertible we had damaged in an accident when being driven by one of the guys in the squadron. It got fixed up but the rear end was damaged enough to cause one of the wheel bearings to go out. It happened on the way from Tampa to Daytona. Martha noticed a squeal but when she went fast she couldn't hear it. When she got to Daytona she took it to Guy Sparkman and he told her what had happened and he recommended that she get rid of it. The first thing I heard about all this was when I got a letter saying "We just bought a new Chevy, a two door job for $8O6". Surprise. I guess our credit was good. I really was doing real well by that time. I guess I was getting about $5O before I went to Chicago and it went up to $72 if I remember right. I know I had money in my pocket all the time again after that. Shortly after that she came to Chicago and got a room at the Crillion Hotel on South State St right close to the railway station where all the train men stayed when they were overnight. She was there for several months and all her bills were to Miss Hixon even though I was sleeping with her every night in spite of having abed check each night at the YMCA where we were quartered.