| dc.description.transcription | 3-5-43Dear Folks,As I have said in every communication issued so far, I am busy. So in order to catch up on my letter writing I have devised a scheme. The scheme is to work like this. I am sending this original, general letter to 512 W. Mulkey. There someone, Mama, Pap, Ruth, Weasel, or Eddie, will make three carbon copies on the type writer for Brother and Gertrude, Iris, and Amy. This copy is to be made word for word, with the only change being in the correction of my spelling. Whoever the unlucky person is at home that gets to make the copy’s, I should like to assure him that such a request will not be made of him again. Thanking you for your trouble I will begin.To start off, I will give you a resuméof a model day in the army, that is, while receiving the basic training. Here there is no bugle, a great disappointment, but some jerk comes in at 4:45 with a whistle and turns the lights on. We have until 5:15 to get up, get dressed, leggings included, get through in the latrine, bathroom to you, and fall outside for roll call. We then have until 6:18, breakfast call to make up our beds, wrinkleless and sweep the barracks, dustless. Because I didn’t use any emphatic words in the last sentence, don’t think I didn’t mean every word of it. After we get back from breakfast we have until 7:00 to finish tidying up and maybe five minutes to loaf on the floor, not on the beds. Then from 7:00 to 11:00 we spend our time drilling, listening to lectures, and watching demonstrations and picture shows.Then we come back to our barracks andloaf again to 1:00. Don’t be misled by all of these loafs, they are always only for a few minutes, and there is always something to do. From 1:00 to 3:30, wesped on the pea patch, taking calisthenics, playing difficult body conditioning, and body contactgames, running the obstacle course, etc. I forgot to mention that this afternoon schedule is followed on alternating days. Every other day we go on a 8, 10, 12, or 14 mile road hike, in which we spend about 1/3 of the time running, I don’t mean trotting,I mean running. But no matter what we do, we are back on the drill field by 4:00. We drill until 5:00, stand informal retreat and then march home. The day is officially over, but not in reality. We march to chow again at 5:30, and then march back to barracks. We can then go to the P.X., picture show, day room, burlesque show, or service club. Sounds good doesn’t it? Here is the catch. Two days out of the week we are confined automatically to G.I. the barracks. Thatmeans to clean them immaculately. Scrub, mop, sweep, clean the windows, rafters, etc.The other five nights we have to ourselves unless we are on some special list to do something extra. And it is very easy to get on one of these lists. I have been on every one but two, one of those was when the C.T. made up my bed for me. You get on it for anything you do, shoes not straight, a wrinkle on your bed, clothes not hung right, or for just breathing sometimes. Of course we have to take time out for shots, physicals, mentals, vaccinations etc., every once in a while Sunday we have all to ourselves unless they confine us to our barracks, they are always doing this for no good reason at all. Lights out at 9:00 except in latrine. Now you have an idea of a day in the army.3-6-43 11:00 A.M.The lights went out on me last night so I’ll try to finish today.In Amy’s last letter she seemed perplexed about all of the numbers and letters. I’ll try to tell some of them and what they mean. The most used of all in G.I. G.I. originally meant government issue but now everything is G.I. Our haircuts are G.I., our barracks and shoes have to be G.I.’d, sometimes we make up | |
