The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-09-06
LETTER FROM
T. E. KEENAN,


Bakery Company No. 50. United
States Regulars. Camp Bowie, Fort
worth. Texas. sept. 3. 1917. Editor
| TIMES: Lest we forget, or be forgot
ten by our friends. the soldier must
do more than merely write letters.
and to keep the friends of the good
old days notified as to my whereabouts
I write this letter. wishing them
health and happiness. and assuring
them Of my own c-ontentment-
have travelled rather a lot since
i left my home in East Chicago early
last May. but wherever 1 go one meets
people he knows and who know the
great Calumet region. When I was
n recruit in St. Louis boys from Ham
mond. Whiting and East Chicago were
my companions. just the same as when
associated with them in these cities.
And when 7 was transferred TO San
Antonio. which city contains the great
post of Fort Sam Houston. many lads
from the Calumet region gave me the
glad hand and exchanged gossip of
the many points of interest. peoples
'of interest. and places of interest in
old Lake county When I was ship
ped to Douglas. Arizona. 7 thought.
well. surely now 1 viii not meet any
one from the Calumet region but
was mistaken. for there were two,
one q lad who formerly worked in In
diana Harbor and the other a Gary
foreigner. Being transferred again.
this time, have failed to see any of
the residents Of the cities Of Lake
county. but / expect to meet some at
any minute.
sF+r- a~-c u~rolrs - 0aurrrT I-srfs--i
and expectant moods while at st
Louis. the war department saw fit to
move 3 number of as into the southern
department and We enjoyed the splen-
did city Of san Antonio. the largest
city IN Texas. to the utmost. its points
of interest being many and it's climate
fine. The Alamo. where fell the inn
mortal Davy Crockett, Colonel Bowie
and Captain Travis. is very much
revered by the "Santonians" and de-
servedly so. To the young soldier it is
inspiring for the story of the brave
men who fought and bled there present
as fine as example Of military bravery
as has ever been recorded BY his
torians. The Alamo stands today. as
ii has stood sin6e its birth. and the
halowed tales Of the valiant martyrs
ara easily recfted by the descendants
and citizens for whom they fell. who
gratefully praise the defenders of the
post. The story Of the siege Of the
Alamo would make any man proud 10
think that American courage may pos
sihly be equaled. but can never be sur
passed.
In Douglas. Ariz, little Of historic
interest can be seen. but that city. too.
has seen war. Just across the border
from the little city the C%arranza
troops under Salazar met and defeated
the villa troops under The famous ban
dit leaders, personal direction. and the
terrible raid on Columbus. n. ~. was
in rcprisal for what villa claimed to
be the injustice Of the Americans,
whom he said allowed the Carranza
troops to travel on American soil that
they might cut him of. The Amer
lean army story of the Columbus raid
is that there were three million rounds
of ammunition stored there. and the
troops being thirty miles away drill
ing. the bandits generals made a dash
i'm an endeavor To secure the stores
What happened has been pretty we'll
recorded. but il is not generally known
that over eighty bandi lost their
lives. while eleven Americans were
killed The FIRST sergeant of this hak-
cry company participated in the de-
fence of the ammunition and has many
souvenirs of the -engagement. The bak-
ing company which 7 was with in
Douglas took rifles and fought at
Vera Cruz a few years ago when the
Americans landed there.
The camp here is for the state SOL
diers OF Texas and Oklahoma, and
when fully occupied win house some
forty thousand troops. 1t ia two miles
from Fort Worth and is the first mill
tarv post in this location. a great
many IF the Oklahoma troops are In
dams and they present a very rugged
appearance In the khaki Of Uncle sam.
The t~ownspeople Of Fort Worth are
hospita0le and seem to be more
patriotic than the citizens Of the other
towns at which we have been sta
toned. AS to the possibility Of an
early trip across the water. do not
know bat the bakery companies are
very aut to De called shortly as the
army needs bread as badly as they
need a~asnunition, and all bakers agree
with the man who said AN army
marches on its stomach Ny East Chi
cage friends VIII be pleased to know
that I have been recommended for a
Sergeant. Quartermaster Corps. and T
eventually hope TO secure a commits
sion. Closing. wishing ali my ac-
quaintances in the region. my most
sincere best wishes. ] am,
Respectfully.
FRANK f. KEENAN,.
Formerly Of 472s Tod Ave. East Chi
cago, Ind.