>Dear Ma and Pa,
>I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine
>Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick
>before all of the places are filled.
>
>I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m.
>but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do
>before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop,
>feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.
>
>
>Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is
>strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of
>weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular
>food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that
>live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you until noon when you get fed
>again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.
>
>We go on "route marches," which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to
>harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A
>"route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys
>get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.
>
>The country is nice but awful flat The sergeant is like a school teacher. He
>nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just
>ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.
>
>This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for
>shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head
>and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home.
>All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even
>load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.
>
>Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle
>with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy.
>It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they
>got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. I only beat
>him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds
>and he's 6'8" and near 300 pounds dry.
>
>Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get
>onto this setup and come stampeding in.
>
>Your loving daughter,
>Alice
Author
Topic: An Army Letter from a farm Kid (Read 602 times)