Dart’s long letter shared some impressive news with Dot. The results of his skills, knowledge and aptitude tests are in, and they are stellar! He scored in the upper 5% of all the men in the Navy and is eligible for nearly any naval job he wants. (Not aviation because of his height, or officer’s training for the present time because of the 8″ scar on his back.) The special devices school he’s been dreaming of has been deemed beneath his skills and abilities.
He describes the four programs for which he’s been recommended, and his thoughts on each of them. Radio school doesn’t interest him in the slightest, so he passed on that invitation. He also rejected Quartermaster because it comes with a 100% guarantee of sea duty, which he’s not terribly keen on. His first choice was Fire Control, which deals with the sensitive computing and control equipment that regulates the firing of the large and complicated guns on various ships. There is a 50/50 chance of sea duty. Shore duty would involve maintaining the equipment or teaching about it, either stateside or overseas. That’s his first choice. Now he must await his assignment by the placement committee when he leaves Great Lakes.
“Boy! Do I feel important! I hope it doesn’t show. The interviewer said they very seldom run across men like me. Miss, get me a size 15 hat, please!”
He has signed up for his round-trip tickets to Cleveland, with only eight days left at his current location. He suggests that as of June 23, Dot begin addressing her letters to his parents’ home.
He closes the letter by saying “I love you very much, even if all this sounds like I love only me.”
I’m so glad he felt he could “toot his own horn” to someone so openly. Test results like his are truly something to take pride in. Congratulations, Dart. (Be sure to check out his drawing on page 6.)
Under the date, with tongue-in-cheek drama, Dot writes “Today I am a woman.” Naturally, the opening paragraph is an apology for being too busy to write.
Her birthday surprise, ala cousin Jane was to meet El and Jane’s sister Betty in NYC for an evening at Radio City Music Hall. The “miraculous” stage show included the Rockettes, the ballet and the Dan Cassack choir. Dot says the latter was the best choral music she’s heard in “all my 18 years.”
The live show was followed by the film “White Cliffs of Dover,” with Irene Dunn and Alan Marshall. The movie was heartbreaking, but beautifully acted with a compelling plot. Dot claims she would have been able to keep the tears inside, had she not noticed a grown man nearby pull a tissue out and wipe his eyes. “That really got me, and I stayed ‘got’ for the rest of the picture!”
Following the show, this group of young women had dinner at Howard Johnson’s in New York. It’s been eight months since Dot ate at a HJ, that time in Cleveland with Dart.
Last night, her family celebrated Father’s Day and her birthday by seeing “Buffalo Bill” in Technicolor. When they returned home around 11:45, her folks gave her a large wrapped box and made her wait until midnight to open it. It was a heavenly Zenith portable radio with beautiful tone and small enough to carry from room to room. She’s delighted and can’t wait to show it to Dart.
She has earned a ticket to the War Bonds show coming to Greenwich, which she plans to attend. It starts at 8:30 PM and goes until 3:00 AM, but she’ll be there for part of it.
She’s thrilled that Dart is returning to boot camp and remarks that nothing can stop him now. “The best isn’t good enough for you, but that’s the best they can give you.” She tells him her love for him is so deep it makes the Pacific Ocean look like a puddle.
