The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1917-12-06
tell EXPERIENCES IN
UNCLE SANS SERVICE
South Dakota Boys in Different
Branches Write to the
q Folks at Home.

| astins information concerning the steps
! navy and make it a great force in the
| war with Germany is given by w. d..
| Fitzgerald, Hanson county young
| man, who last August enlisted in the
| United States navy and has since been
| at naval training station. He is
| spending Il few days furlough at the
home of his parents in South Dakota.
Young Fitzgerald reports that at
present there are ~ 900 blue jackets In
the training camp; that they are treat
ed fine, with plenty to eat and excellent
quarters. With the launching of the
many new ships and destroyers now in
course of construction rnere will be ac-
tive duty for numerous new naval men,
and a great part of those at the naval
training station are expecting to be
called for this duty. 1t requires from
rs to 100 men for each destroyer, ac-
cording to Mr.. Fitzgerald, and himself
and the other recruits are being given
thorough course of training. He
states that he is we'll pleased with his
experience thus far and thinks he will
enjoy life on the ocean when he is as
signed to ship.
With Machine Gun Company.
George Steinlicht, a Milbank boy,
who is at a permanent training camp,
where he is a member of a machine
gun company, writes of preparations
which are being made for the soldier
boys comfort during the winter
months. He writes in part as follows:
There are several stores on the
campus so a person can buy anything
that he needs. Also several Y. M. c.,
A. buildings here, and a person can gol
there and get paper to write home on
Ncf x,fI,;
are putting up an awful lot of build
1ngs, including a brick bank, a pool hall,
and great big theater, SO there will be
all kinds of amusements for this win
ter The steam laundry here started, SO
we won't have to do our own washing
after this. This sounds good to all of
us here. We have our machine guns
now and there are three guns for one
company. The gun complete weighs
about 80 pounds. In the afternoon we
stay in our barracks and study the diff
ferent paris of the gun. We have to
Know all the different parts, so If any
thing breaks we can tell what it is"
On Sub Chaser.
Merriee /. Doty, an Alcester boy, has
been assigned to duty on a ship of some
sort, presumably a torpedo boat de-
stroyer or submarine chaser, but the
censorship does not permit him to tell
Ii q 1eIlef TO ms father he writes that
ne has just completed his first journey
across the2Atlantic, and had arrived
on the other side feeling fine. The let
ter was written in European waters.
I. Corp. Fred Willard, another AIcester
boy, writes from a camp on the Attain
tic coast. He writes among other
things that Ed Brokne and John Ma
thleson, other Alcester young men, have
peen transferred to headquarters in the
one Hundred Forty sixth artillery, as
horseshoers. and that three drafted men
nave been assigned to fill the vacancy
caused by their transfer There are
quite 9 few drafted men here" he
writes, and they are mighty fine fell
lows. We have quite a bunch of air
planes here, about 100, and they are
lying over us all the time, and the BOYS
nave got SO used to them that they
never look up to see them. There is
one thing would like to impress on
any of the boys who will have to go
later on, and that is, get their teeth
nxed up before they go, because it's no
run after they get in. / know; I had
seven pulled myself"
Leslie Caldwell, son of Mrs. w. A.
caldwell, Of Alexandra, who recently
completed course at the second Off
GERS training camp at Fort Smelling and
was commissioned first lieutenant is
spending a two weeks furlough with
ms mother in Alexandria, after which
ne expects to be assigned to duty at
some training camp for soldiers.