May 23, 1942
Dear Mom,
So far the Army is swell. I got here last night and will leave tonight or rather tomorrow for Kelly Field via train. All they do here is appoint us cadets. I get my ration pay today for two months but will not get my $21 per month until I get to Kelly Field. All the boys are just like me and are all good pals. I’ll write you a big long letter when I get to Kelly.
Love to all– Anne, Sally, Bet, and David.
“Mister” Rogers Payne
Roger’s official start date with the Army was March 30, 1942. Because there were not enough training facilities to match the sudden need for Aviation Cadets, Roger was placed on furlough with ration pay of $1 per day. After his induction at Fort Oglethorpe he would make $21 per month.
As junior officers, all cadets were addressed as “Mister” by all ranks. (Wikipedia, “Aviation Cadet Training Program”)
In his previous letter in February, Roger mentioned that his friend, Ben Earl Campbell, had gotten married in January. Sadly, after only two months of marriage, Ben was killed in a car accident.
The following November, Ben’s widow, Priscilla, gave birth to their son, Ben Earl Campbell, Jr.
A few years later, Priscilla remarried and her new husband raised Ben, Jr. as if he were his own.
Ben Campbell, the father, who died far too young, would be happy to know that Ben Campbell, the son, lived a long and full life. He died in 2015, leaving his wife, two sons, two daughters, and ten grandchildren.
I had the opportunity to speak to his widow, Joyce Campbell, in 2022 and share Roger’s letter with her. She said her husband had often visited his Campbell grandparents in Lone Mountain, and always spoke of the place with affection.
Roger’s sister Sallie, niece Betsy, and nephew David were at Lone Mountain for the duration of the war. Along with his mother, they were always the ones to whom he was writing.
Sister Anne, who had been living in Detroit three months prior, was now living at Lone Mountain, too. Her husband, Maury Kite, who had an engineering degree, had joined the Navy as an officer.
Fort Oglethorpe was six miles south of Chattanooga, just inside the Georgia state line. This was a first small step in Roger’s long, long journey.
Fort Oglethorpe was built in 1904 in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War and had been used for various purposes by the Army or the National Guard in every US conflict since then. During WWI it also served as a prisoner of war camp for German soldiers. During the spring of 1942, it was being used as a major induction center for the tsunami of new recruits surging into the army.
Japan has taken a few minor losses, but is still claiming most of the major wins in the Pacific. Japan really wants Australia, but so far, now with US help, the Allies are holding the line.
Great Britain has been on the offense in North Africa, but the tides are turning as Rommel begins a new offensive:
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