August 10, 1945

Mrs. StellkAllen
9839 Winner Road
Endependence, Missouri

Dear Stella:

| I have not carried this West Point Training matter to the
conclusion that I had hoped. = :

Our sumer session closes Saturday, August 18, and I have
been kept on the job here in a very confining way. I have 9:30 and
10:50 classes every morning and my afternoon work has been such that I |
have not been able to get out of town. I have wanted to drive over to
Independence, Missouri, and see Henry Childs in the court house. Mr.
Childs had a son that graduated from West Point and he is a very ine .
fluential citizen and would have great influence with the congressmen.
As soon as my school work is over here I expect to follow this through

as I promised. : :

The chairman of our Selective Service Board here, Mr. Ogden
Jones, has a son in West Point now. Young Jones was with Simpson's
army and sew some of the hardest fighting in Germany before he was sent
back to the States for a West Point scholarhip, ‘Young Jones wrote his
father the other day as follows; :

: "We are having bayonet training now. If there was ever any-
thing that is almost unbearable, this is it. It was tough learning —
bayonet in the army, but this is really tough. The other day I was
picked out by the instructor as being the one who was working the hard-
est in the drill, but on the rum back to the barracks I almost passed
out I was so tired. We are also taking full field marches of increas-
ing distance with the real marches to be made on maneuvers in August."

I am writing you this to show you that while they have enlarged
the number of cadet scholarships at West Point, they have increased the
rugged training perspectively. They are trying to eliminate these boys
by killing them off in strenuous ordeals. I wanted Dick to see this so
that he will know that he is in for a very tough assignment if he gets
the appointment. Will you write me and let me know if you have been able
to call on any of your other friends in making contacts with the two
Congressmen in behalf of Put. This will help me in passing on to Henry
Childs the necessary information.