When we went into town on a pass, we had to be dressed in the uniform of the day. At the exit gate, an M.P. would board the bus and check to see that every thing was in order. Since it was winter, we had to be in winter uniform---wool blouse and shirt---wool underwear, overcoat---and if the snow was wet, we had to have our rain coat-- and out helmet liner, with that silly Ernie Pyle knit cap. We had to show our dog tags, our pass and a condom~. At that time, condoms were not mentioned in polite society nor were they advertised or displayed publicly. The first thing that we did when we got to town was to head straight for the U.S.O. to remove all the excess clothing, and check it until we were ready to return to the base. Curious enough, none of us were ever stopped in town for being out of uniform. Finally, it appeared that winter might come to an end to be replaced with spring. I never saw a "host of golden daffodils" but there were lots of lilacs, forsythia, and mock orange. We would have breaks during our code sessions and we would hear network news. We also were treated to some popular music of the day, such as the title song from "Oklahoma", the "Trolley Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmast' from the movie, "Meet Me in Saint Louis.

WW-1517 P.16