30 Handwritten Love Letters Air Force Andrew Lofquist Lackland AFB Texas 1957

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30 Handwritten Love Letters Air Force Andrew Lofquist Lackland AFB Texas 1957:
$15.50

WELCOMETO SALLY’S DIARIES:

Upfor sale today are 30 handwritten letters, post WWII, written by aman by the name of Andrew J. Lofquist. He is in the Air Force andstationed at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas and is writing to hisgirlfriend Betty. The letters are all from 1957 and between themthere are a total of 83 pages. There are no envelopes with these andI’d say about ½ of them have dates the other just say the day ofthe week. There are three separate pages that aren’t full letters.In the beginning of the letters he talks a good deal of what life islike for a young new air force student. They also seem to be justfriends in the beginning but eventually he professes his love for herand tries to get her to do the same. She is very hesitant at firstbecause she doesn’t seem to think he’ll be faithful to her. Shealso seems to be mixed up in something a bit shady concerning anotherman as one letter alludes to. He’s quite the artist as a few of theletters have drawings at the top. I’ve taken several letters andquoted portions of them here to give you a better idea of thecontents…..

August24th,1957,

DearBetty, I have been here only six days and already I miss my freedom.Freedom is a word you must forget while you are an airman at LacklandA.F.B. My predicament is as follows; I am one Airman in a flight ofabout fifty people (polite word used by instructors when referring toairmen). I belong to one squadron made up by about five flights, alllost in one air base large enough to stagger ones imagination. (Fiveor six swimming pools, a few movie theaters and thousands of acresand men). To sum it up I am an animal and a _____according to myinstructors. Don’t worry though, it’s only put on. I arrived herMonday on a first class flight about 2:00 (1400). It was raining atSan Antonio at the time of my arrival. I boarded an A. F. bus at theairport and was driven to the base by a leathery skinned old Texan.There my papers were processed and I, along with three other fellows,were driven to the barracks by a crabby A/2cs. He demanded exactanswers to his questions and swore and screamed his disapproval whenhe did not receive them. The other guys were a little shook! So wasI. We are used to it now though…….Please write soon! Love Andy”

“SaturdaySept. 7th, 1957 4:00 o’clock,

DearBetty…...Tuesday afternoon we left for the bivouac area and drewour equipment. We drew pup tents, mess gear, etc. Etc. Tuesday nightwe set camp and had our first taste of bivouac mess. We also had ourfirst taste of sleeping on the ground. That ground can be very hardbut we all slept anyway because we were very tired. I had a littlemore trouble than the rest because my tent mate snored all night.Also that night I was lucky enough to pull tent guard and did not getto bed until 12:00. I had to get up at 4:30 so I started Wednesdaykind of tried. Wednesday we marched with packs to the firing rangeand took our target practice with carbine rifles (I hope they do notopen this letter at the base post office. We are not supposed to callcarbine rifles). Anyhow I guess I did all right since no one hasbawled me out. Wednesday night we went on a 7 mile night march with amock burning house as our destination. It had burning gas jets liningthe doorways and hallways and we had to run through the flames. Icould hardly feel the heat. I guess it was just a sort of confidencetest. Thursday we ran the obstacle course. We trotted for about ½hour over various obstacles, climbed cliffs with ropes and crawledunder barbed wire in dirt while mock bombs exploded around us…….LoveAndy. P.S. Still not married so guess you are still wrong.”

“September23rd,57. 9:05 P.M.

DearBetty, I received your letter just this afternoon and it made me avery happy guy. You are all I think about lately. I wondered what youthought of me. I guess my last letter was a little bitter, because Iwas mixed up about what you thought of me. I am very sorry that Iwrote it. Please forgive me and throw it away. You see, I mailed ityesterday before I got your letter and I thought that you had stoppedwriting…..It is passed lights out and I am writing this byflashlight…..I guess it takes a little absence to make me reallyknow how much you mean to me. I hope that my leave comes through sothat we ill be together for awhile before I get out for good. I guessby now you know I am in love with you and I pray that you are in lovewith me now and will always be. You mean more to me than anything inthe world. With all of my love, Andy.”

“Sat.Sept. 28th, 2:45

DearBetty, Now, after I have received your last two letters and anxiouslytore them open and read them, I feel more than ever now that youreally love me. I must admit that I was in doubt before. I guess youhad to shock me into writing what I feel. Ever since I met you I havehoped and prayed that someday you would reveal what you reallythought of me. I guess a letter is the best way after all of sayingthings. Words fade into thin air but letters persist at least forawhile. I can read them over and over again. You never have to worryabout me thinking any different about you. I will always love you…..Iknow now that I will care for only one girl so please don’t worryabout the W.A.F.’s. I am not the type to play games when I know youwill always be faithful to me. Games are useless now so let us neverplay any more games. Especially now when there is so much at stake.That is, I would run the risk of loosing you and that would give menothing to live for. I guess you are right, writing words leaves alarge gap that can only be filled with your presence. But pleasewrite, because I love the paper on which you write, if it is onlybecause you touch it. Kiss the greeting with your lips and I willkiss it back and that will keep me going until I come back. With allof my love, Andy.”

“10-19-57

DearBetty,…..I have not considered you idly and I do not think that youhave considered me idly. We have know each other for about 5 monthsbefore I went in the service and now have written each other for thepast two months. The longer that I have known you the more I havecome to realize how serious we are for each other. I believe in yourlast letter you nearly tried to coerce me into reveling my trueintentions concerning you. I will not leave you out on a limb, so Iwill try to satisfy your doubts. It is true that I am very much inlove with you. So much in fact that I have tried to adapt my plansaround you. I am so mixed up that I do not know which way to turn. Ihave a certain amount of guilt about talking and writing to you sointimately after we have known each other for so little time, but Icannot help myself…..I am almost positive you love me but I am notsure. That is I will have to hear it volunteered to me in your ownwords. Will you please answer this question? Why are you sosuspicious of my faithfulness? It must mean that you care aboutme…..No matter how hard it is to wait, time passes all the same.All my love, Andy (a few xxx’s also)

“ThursdayMorning (no date)

DearBetty, I am now at Gunter A.B. Alabama. I arrived here Tuesdaymorning and am just beginning to get settled. If I do not writeclearly or rational please forgive me. I am in a state of shock. Thisbase is so much better than Lackland that it has me confused. I haveforgotten what it is like for people of higher rank to treat me likea human being. The people on base are wonderful. The food is some ofthe best I have ever eaten. This place is run like a college campusand is as beautiful as many campuses I have seen. I am staying in atemporary barracks but will soon move to a barracks with a privatebath, day room, game room and T.V. room if I am lucky. If I am not solucky I will get a barracks that resemble a fine hotel. Compared tothe crude living conditions at Lackland this place is aparadise…..Will you please writes soon as you can, Love Andy.”

“MondayNight, (no date)

DearBetty, I feel that it is very important that I write you afterreceiving you letter today. I had no idea you were mixed up in suchan outfit. You asked for my opinion and I will come to the point andgive it. I personally would not have anything to do with it, but ofcourse you must decide for yourself. Also you must consider what yourparents would think. Surely they would not approve of you runningaway with a man to do a confidence game. Much as I like money (muchas we both like money) it does not seem the ethical thing to do. Ofcourse I say these things while I am away from you are your charms.Maybe if you confronted me in person you could break down myresistance……..We will have fun together, Love Andy.”

Well,that should give you a good idea of the contents and mind you that isonly the tip of the iceberg. Each page measures about 7” x 10 1/2”so there is a good deal of contents on each page, all 83 of them.