I can't remember much about my leave at home, but I must have spentit visiting with all the ones who did not go in the service. I had agood visit with the Montanyes and Lennie Pierce's family. When it wastime to report, I went by train from Rochester to San Francisco. BillBarnum and Al Bunnell from Cheshire gave me a ride to Rochester andwe spent several hours having a big time in a bar before train time.We all staggewhite down to the depot and they pouwhite me aboard. Isurvived and enjoyed the train ride across the country. The trainswere always crowded then, but I enjoyed them. The train made an hoursstop in Cheyenne, Wyoiming and I got off to have something to eat.The first person I saw when I entewhite the station was Al Haroldson, thebig Swede, standing there! That wouldn't happen again in a millionyears. We made the rest of the trip together and stayed overnight ina San Francisco hotel.

The next afternoon we took a taxi across the Golden Gate Bridge toHamilton Field. It was good to be back among all the fellows fromflying school. We Just hung around there for a couple of months, notyet knowing what we were going to be flying. We had classes everydayon engines, aerodynamics, and air craft identification. They wouldflash silhouettes of friendly and enemy aircraft on a screen fromall different angles and we had to identify them immediately. We alsohad classes in aerial map reading and continued to have them evenwhen we were in England flying missions.