| dc.description.transcription | 3-21-43Dear Folks,Well I thought we were gone from here, but no such luck. Saturday at noon when we came in from the drill field we were told that we were restricted again by the shipping and receiving dept. There had been wrong doingaround all morning and we all thought that this was the real thing. So Sat. afternoon when we were having our measles inspection, I’ll get to measles later, a notice came around saying that 13 from our barracks were going to be shipped. Thirteen out of ninety, now isn’t that a fine mess? Of course I wasn’t among the thirteen. The same thing happened in John Davies barracks, and John was among those that is supposed to ship out. But none have been shipped yet. The only thing is, the 13 from our barracks andthe 7 from John’s are still confined and the rest of us aren’t. But in spite of all this I probably won’t be here very much longer. That sounds almost as vague as some of Mama’s letters. I have just decided that I want my little bag back. So get it in the mail as quickly as possible so I can have it when I move from here. I wanted it all [the] time but I had to have something to send my clothes home in. Put two pairs of shorts and a couple of undershirts in if I have them. If I don’t just ship it because I can buy them cheap here.Now for the measles. It looked bad for a while, three cases popped out in two days at our barracks. They put us under a working quarantine which meant nothing except we have to be inspected once a day. It only takes a second and we get to leave the pea patch early. The way I remember it I have had the measles twice. Please set me straight on number and types of measles that I have had, that is if you remember, in the next letter to me.This week has been a tough one all the way around. Every one here has a sore throat. Three of the boys have lost their voices. But they still make us stand in line in the cold for hours, and they still make us take exercises on the dusty pea patch. If they are trying to get us in shape they are doinga poor job of it. Out of the last group of 600 sent out from here 230 of them were sent to the hospital because of a run down condition. I don’t think I am ready for the hospital yet, but I was in better physical condition when I left home than I am now. This is the main reason why I am in such a hurry to leave here. Now for our activities of this week. First of all we got another shot. This time it was a tetanus. The tetanus starts hurting before the Dr. gets the needle out. But it is over in 10 minutes . That is better than the typhoid that makes you sick for 2 or 3 days. I guess I can call myself a soldier now. I have been on K.P. This happened last Tuesday. I think I forgot to tell you this when I called you. K.P. is as tiresome as it is supposed to be. For the first four hours we planted grass in ground that was as hard as a rock. Ten thousand men had walked on the ground every day for two years and then we had to plant grass in it. It was just like chipping up some sidewalk. For the next 6 hours we worked in the kitchen. All of this was in addition to our regular drilling with no extra sleep or rest.But now for the big event of the week. We went on a 27 mile hike last Friday. We got up at 7:00 ate breakfast, made our beds, swept the barracks and then stood in ranks waiting to go until 8:00. Of course it was below freezing but the Lt. wasn’t ready yet. When we did start we really walked. You know how | |
