Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-11-26
DRAFTED MEN
HERDED INTO
l64TH u. 5. A.
Cinnamon, Italians and 9th.
ers Wished onto North
Dakota.
BY Earle H. Tostevin.
taft Correspondent of The Herald
With tho Sunset Division.

Camp Mills. Hampstead, N. Y.
No ane'e Dakota K ~ InfansSy. At Camp
Greene, Charlotte. \. c., 1t was
masked under the new title OF l64tn
L. S. Infantry. Now it has lost us
identity completely. engulfed as its
original companies are by the tide Of
draft men which have been pouring
into the ranks with the arrival
in this camp came draft men
by the hundreds from California:
Some of the men will make splendid
: soldiers, some of them sho,:ld be re-
turned to the work from which they
were taken. l%aundries, section gangs
and like employment.
For instance take Fargo Company
Is. captain Cooley has in his assign.
ment of draft men two tull squads OF
Chinese. But n of these can talk
English. In Major Boyd's third bat
tallion is a man with a wooden leg.
Captain Richie of Valley City Com
pany G is learning to talk "Dago' so
he can give new commands.
Like IL Melting Pot.
These draft men with which the
ranks of the old First North Dakota
have been filed are all from Pa
cifc coast states. They include men
of every nationality. speaking every
dialect, but withal they seem willing
to fight for the United States. the
wide range of ~nationalities represent
ed has reached the limit according
to Col. Frank White. former cnle1 Oh
the Second North Dakota, now com
manding the 18th Trains, Head
quarters and the Military Police.
one man included in n of the as
signments of draft men to his COM
mand is of a breed unknown:
Thirty-nine different languages and
dialects have been tried" on him
with no result. He could not under-
stand any of them.
But the draft men, who shy, diff
fdent and in the vast majority with
out any previous military training.
were herded like sheep on their ar
rival here are now getting settfeo
and ninglins with the older men IN
service. There are some splendid
boys in their ranks and it Will NOT
be long efore their are digging INTO
the military game with a VIM Wnlcn
spells ultimate success.
Today. after four or five lays OF
. confusion, nasty weather. filthy camp,
and the thousand and one other dis
agreeable features OF coming INTO
this camp. on top of which was the
tremendous task of in a few hours
notice, providing shelter and food
lot the llcoinilEH .f!ileu' ~ iSSi
mental officer beginning 10
breathe free o't. ..
Not I.ik<.
Were YOU cl,.. ,.t Il beautiful Sun
day morning alt dressed up and feel
ing fine. walking along with head IN
the air when suddenly 4 passing
automobile hurled mud all over YOU
and the sky suddenly clouded over
and you were drcncheA to the SKIN.
2 Tha is Il mild comparison with tne
, change from Camp Greene to Camp
Mills. At Camp Green the tents
We're all aoored, the company streets
: Ill graded. mess halls were provided
Mills. AT Camp Greene the tents
: dies. the weather was perfect. Camp
Mills was like that cloud OF mud
Departing troops had left nth and
l.aper. rotting food. refuse and jus
plain dirt cverywhere. Their tents
were left standing and were. III keep
ing with the rest of the camp, JUS
plain dirty. There are no mess halls
Aud the cold ocean breeze with 1t:
last of November New York fogs has
been enough. to dampen the ardor o.
the most optimistic.
Drill Nearly Abandoned.
Everything is in a hustle of activ
ity. There is little or no drill work
and the officers and men alike ar
busy Outf1ttlnS WIN Wdilu Sloliie' ~
through the company streets on var
ious missions. the supply officers al
rious missions, the supply officers ar
up to their ne>ks in work. Order
are mapped out and everyone is be
coming ~''hardboiled," the army tern
for grabbed.
High over head the planes Of tn
aviation camp whirr by creating in
--cessant roar and it is nothing unusus
@ to see as. high as twenty aircraft owe
the camp at the same time, divlnt
rising, volplaning, describing spiral
and other
Yes it is indeed a different caml
The very military atmosphere is di1
= ferent. 1t no longer is a case Of dri
with the everlasting squads right
and left and the rest of the order
but work towards the end of gettin
into the fight to fight like hell. TIL;
Is Camp Mills.