March 26, 1943
Captain Victor Herbert Ingersoll
United States Army Prisoner of War
Interned by Japan
in care of Japanese Red Cross
Tokyo, Japan via New York, New York
Dear Herbert:
Having learned your address from the Caltech Alumni Review, I am writing to tell you something about how things are going here. Everybody is very busy with special duties pertaining to the war, and I am no exception. In addition to keeping busy in Pasadena, I have to go East several times each year.
After I had taught several sections of freshmen in the years when you were at Caltech, I stopped doing any undergraduate teaching for about fourteen years. Then, three years ago I took on the job of handling freshman chemistry myself, and for the last three years I have been giving the freshman lectures. I have written a little textbook, too, which is used by the boys. It has not been published, but I hope after the war to revise and complete it and put it out for general use. I like teaching the freshmen, but I do not get so well acquainted with the whole crowd that come to my lectures as I did with the few boys in my freshman section twenty years ago.
Dr. Jimmy Bell, who used to be in charge of freshman chemistry, is still teaching two sections. He is rather old now, and since his wife died last summer he has not been feeling very well.
Professor Millikan is as hale and hearty and full of energy as every. He is still carrying on his duties of Chairman of the Executive Council of the Institute very well.
My wife and I have four children, the eldest, Linus, Jr., who has just turned eighteen, being now a freshman in premedics at the University of California at Berkeley.
I see the boys who were in my section along about your time every once in a while. Alpheus Ball, who is with Hercules, dropped in awhile back — I don't remember whether or not he was in your class.
I shall look forward to your revisiting Caltech one of these days.
With very best regards, I am
Sincerely yours,
Linus Pauling
LP:mu
March
26, 1943
