"I took the exam and everything was o.k. It will take a couple of weeks for papers to get through, and then I'll be inducted. After induction I get sent home for another week to await orders. Then Santa Ana, probably. Some fun."

Linus Pauling, Jr.. Letter to Ava Helen Pauling. June 2, 1943.

"What do you think about Russia? I think we're going to have a lot of trouble avoiding a war with her; if there is war, it almost means the end of the world. Perhaps this is the end; another Dreary Day is just around the corner. I shouldn't be surprised if we never see peace in our lives. My faith in the ability of nations to be tolerant is weak, very weak indeed. Every nation is extremely suspicious of every other, and these suspicions are too often well-found. Why cannot all nations have a sort of brotherly spirit? By the way racial prejudice in Texas is horribly strong - a negro does not look at a white man without being accused of trying to own the world. It is such feeling that creates unrest, even between nations."

Linus Pauling, Jr.. Letter to Ava Helen Pauling. January 21, 1944.

"The doc contemplated using me as a test case for penicillin, but decided my case wasn't bad enough. So I missed glory."

Linus Pauling, Jr.. Letter to Ava Helen Pauling. April 20, 1944.