The folder begins with Bill's first letter to his mother in July 1940 from Citizens' Military Training Camp in Fort Dix, New Jersey when he was seventeen years old. (Ernestine Herbert, Bill's mother, was living in East Orange, New Jersey.) The letter mentions the clothes, hat, helmet, and guns they have been issued, plus a description of the drill and parade exercises. The remaining letters in this folder and all of the letters in the next folder are dated from September 1942 through December 1942. The letters discuss drills, guard duty, roses sent for his mother's birthday, and bits of his news concerning his brother, Ernest, who was also in the Army. Sometimes money orders were included for sundry items such as postage stamps, dental floss, etc. (Some time during 1942, Ernestine Herbert moved from East Orange, New Jersey to New York, New York.)