Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-10-31
Letters from Paul Parker.

4
Mr.. and Mrs. C. S. Parker of Glow
er, have received several interesting
J letters from their son, Paul. He is
on the U. S. S. Richmond, at Norfolk,
Va, having enlisted in the navy some
months ago.
eve have just had barracks inspec-
ton. The deck has been swabbed
down and swept twice. All the wood
work has been wiped over. This is
done every Wednesday. Personal in
spection for clothes comes every
Saturday and physical inspection once
every two weeks.
81 have got now SO [ can eat any
thing. For breakfast had a plate of
beans, a piece of cake, one of bread
and cup of coffee. They are not a
bit stingy with the food. You can
| have all you want. This noon we had
beef steak, with fried spuds, gravy,
soup and ice cream, also coffee. We
get coffee twice a day, tea once and
sometimes cocoa. The water is warm
and not much like that good little
spring Of ours. I can drink any
thing for after having been shot three
times for typhoid fever there is no
danger. We drink from little foun-
tains, just turn the handle and the
water spouts up into your mouth, II
you are lucky enough to hold your
mouth right, if not you catch it IN the
face. Everybody knows Pm north
erner by my language. I don't drawl
my words out the way they do.
"Last night [ saw submarine
chaser. Believe me, she split the wa
ter, for they run about 40 miles an
hour. It has not rained but twice
since I came here and then only to lay
the dust. The nights are cold enough
to need a quilt or something over you.
''The fog rolls in here so thick you
can't see anything sometimes. When
it does there is some racket on the
bay and river for it is full Of boats
and battleships which all carry heavy
fog horns. Quite a number OF the
fellows are sick from change Of eli
mate, but I am hale and hearty now
and gaining in weight.
"There are boys here from every
state in the Union. Many of the
bows say they would like to see old
sp1 10Y :. ,t - .a;so +ba doad
when a hundred Or more fellows get
to playing and practicing, and all diff
ferent tunes. Our hammocks are
slung eight feet high. We get into
them by climbing rope which IS
hung over one end"
In another letter he speaks Of
hours, getting up at o'clock, and
says at o'clock in the evening a can
non is fired, taps sounded and every
one must turn in and put their lights
out. He tells of guard duty as fol-
lows:
II am on guard duty this week and
was week before last. I have to keep
order and see that nothing is stolen in
Barracks No. 2. It is a pretty hard
Job in the night for [ get awful sleepy
but the thoughts of what they would
do to me if [ was caught mapping will
keep me awake.
One poor fellow went to sleep on
duty and was court martialled and
put in prison for two years with a
dishonorable discharge at the end.
Every Wednesday we get barracks
inspection and every Saturday per-
sonal. Everyone must be dressed
with regulation white leggins, etc,
and must have a shave and hair cut.
! I have managed to get by every time
SO far. It is hard to keep clean with
white clothes on where there is so
much dirt and dust.
''TOday we had fire drill and I have
about ruined one of my suits. I was
on the hose cart. They sent us off
without telling US where to so and
with no officer with US. We had to
run through a lot of tar and [ got it
all over my clothes. Pay day comes
the fifth and the twentieth
'For dinner today we had beef
steak, French fried potatoes, bread,
ice cream and coffee
II expect to be shipped out Of here
soon. I hope so for it is tiresome
with nothing to do much but guard
duty"