At last we hear from Dart! The length of this letter makes up for the several days without one.

He begins by telling Dot about his latest class tests. Dart had argued with Peterson about the wording of a couple of questions on the electronics test. Because others in the class backed Dart, the instructor threw those questions out. Dart felt like a bit of a heel when his test came back with a big 100% on it! He has no idea how the Chief Electrician will score his hand tools test, but one of the questions was “Tell how to use a screwdriver.”

Dart explains that he is now studying subject matter that is restricted, so he cannot tell her what it is. The class is quite familiar with the articles governing discussion of restricted material with people outside the service. “Let it suffice to say that I’d never thought I’d be working with stuff like the fabled Sperry Bombsight.”

He spent his liberty alone seeing some B-movie that wasn’t worth the buck he spent on it.

Her letters make it sound like she’s much busier than he is. As much as he wants to hear from her, he hopes she won’t neglect her duties or her sleep to write. A mere seven or eight pages a day are all he needs! (He then chastises himself for daydreaming.)

He didn’t make much headway in his swimming class today. They let a lot of visiting wives and nurses into the pool area for this class and a lot of guys were flustered to have so many women watching them. That seems like a pretty lame excuse to me.

The photographs from Sunapee impressed him. “Of course you realize I’m not hinting or anything – but it looks like I’ll agree with you about Sunapee being a nice place to spend a honeymoon. It looks like a lovely place. I’d like to keep the pictures.”

In honor of the first anniversary of their meeting, he writes, “I never, ’til I met you, thought I’d fall in love so deeply and so thoroughly. I’d just about settled down for a nice long wait for the right girl to come along, and now that girl has come. I hope we don’t change it after the war, Dot, or ever, for that matter.”

He remarks that it’s nearly time for another full moon. He wants it to remind her that he is always with her in thought and spirit and there’s not a thing in the world that can take those desires away.

Once again, Dart’s passion for the beauty of technology surfaces as he describes a visit to the port by the famous aircraft carrier Saratoga this week. “What a majestic sight she is! There’s no more impressive a warship than one of those huge fighting carriers.”

For more of Dart’s eloquent prose, I urge you to read for yourself his description on page six of the arrival of a historic four-masted sailing vessel onto the Bay, it’s full white sails billowing against the red sunset. Masterful writing!

He tells Dot to check out the back of his final page for a sketch he’s drawn of a guy she knows. It’s a comical drawing of a skinny sailor with knobby knees ready to jump into a pool. The caption says “Since you sent me some snapshots of you at Sunapee, I thought it only fitting that I should send you a picture of me in my bating suit.” Amusing, Dart.

Here’s a tender letter from Dot, in spite of the fact that she worked until 9:00 p.m. and then started in on her ironing. She’s beginning to wonder if all this work is worth it.

She admits that the chances of him getting to her graduation from Andrews look slimmer and slimmer. She asks if he’s shipped out in mid-November, does he think he’ll have any chance of getting back by late January? She knows it’s a lot to hope for, but she’s hoping, nonetheless.

He may be trying to have a positive attitude about going to sea, but she has no such intention. She does not like it one little bit. She writes that she’d give 10 years of her life to see him just once before he goes. My heart aches to read about her longing and loneliness for him, knowing that she’ll soon have to add worry for his safety to the list.

In answer to his question, she says Gordon is on USS Valans. The family is guessing from some hints he’s dropped that he is stationed near Guadalcanal.

She closes with “I love you so much I sometimes wonder if it’s possible!”