The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-10-31
The Making of a Soldier of
the Seas.
by RICHARD BoECYEy.

Marine Corps Cantonment. Oct.
So,--sstretchine I'D the aide ~ a mi
are PARALLEL lines OF SQUAT buildings
all built OF clean new boards and al
IKE as peas In a pod Running up
from the railroad station near the
river are hundreds Of rutty roads with
busy, efficient looking prav motor
trucfs running back and forth. SQUADS
or khaki coated men with rifles flung
over fnefr shoulders are march 'ng out
10 dritt. Somewhere of the r'~ht rifles
ana machine rims are era cking.
II Is still verv early in the morn
fHg. The shadows R~e still long to
the westward. hut the marine corrs
ranfonrent here fs tcer1inp with lie
Whe~n this canfonrnent is how MANY
marines are training here when thew
VIII 20 abroad. one In not ,err1'tted
~ say Indeed. II is very difficult 10
IND some cf those things ont even
which mot for publication"
4 This canto~ rtent ~ tvp'cal OF ~ev-
erai others fhr0urhout the country
u "a located tust outside n very small
TOWN. sndden'v grown tn military
m etronnHs Work was begun on tina
caotonroent only four months a~o
i TO-DAY u IL marvel OF completeness
ard efficiency
The TRAIN coroinw An~rn vaa Allied
with affaoan= si.o- had Ner-yl fr~,r-,,--
weekend furfou@ss AZ fhev ,ept the
station rnanv nf them CARRYING heavy
suit cases. thev were fo~rad m ga
'"'e many t'r>es On m eeti1g brother
officers. COR n1'sstoraA officers were
r'et nv their or1arlieS The COM
~a0aart-a h'g NAV nuerng a larre
hlark e'~ar--'"es met nv motor
cycle rider THE. co--,y,1oodart cI',,,> 81
frf0 a iar~a 'wo seated side car AVID
MA" wicked oT over the rough road
to h's Nandauq vfars
A'f The hrt7~as co-17tuv Down we're
heavily ruard ID The railroad IA tba
on'v rre NJ rom rnuntcatio-, owl NJ
The ea~to1meot AID nothtnc can he
""owed to Interfere with tho Yroo
t~a 0sno4taf'on of .svn1Fies The first
thing cornect@s With the camt ons
covres pooe ss tf'e "',o,ier-rnor.,. =" Two
~-eat boilers with hot errs hevrenth
thor, ite IN deon hollow near the
"a i,rnaS tracks THEW are ,sua~tiea Nv
sentries who march hack ard forth
: with rites s'ur~ over Their shoulders
Power is almost as intporfiant a con-
sid"-atinn as lives ~ uornrulr 'cat'ou
The onte tow buildings on tho hi
now are deserted Thes are IRE hunk
! N"rsas The cor, m r'es rua~.erea In
D
O'Clock. Each building IL ronTad vita
'"r n".~er and has two stnven'ree stuck
, through the ton. Fro~, the outside
h'tt He-s. hs'h hot,ras and hunk houses
all ioak alike Thev were alt built
IN I'VE same nfans witch should he
' Kitchens and witch bath houses was
decided afterward
Cnfs'dn 'h~ kff~her eh.-a are unw.
81 In frenlaces with great pans OF come
D black. pitch. like stun coakins nm top
They are the gsi hace fnrsra~ators-
fou'-sr~afli-R. nut very necessary
The hunk houses are not equipped
with hunks" hut With ird'v.drai irot
cnts painted hinrk. Each hufldiag H.
large enough to house com oar,v
Non-comrn 'ssfoned officers eteep with
the men. each wrour or e'vht marines
being in charre OF a corrora,
Ts"aliv the men are IN bed by .
o'clock. a'thoueh the iirhss are not
turned of until 1910. Earl risfne
, and hard DAYS Of work crt OF doors
= do not make for late htHirs The
, men seem 70 have benefited v~eatl,
from their life IN camp. The hospital
: are empty, All the man IRE tanned
: and hardennS Democra,y's soldiers
are a healthy lot.
, To ret into the car~r Z Ia nece asa ~
first to 60 TO an eff IN the title
town o.~d OrnSent credentials Then
a pass iseuad and one las tho free-
dom Of the cautp. AT every bridge
I and every crossroads 's atat'onad an
inausitive individual who Wishes 70
see the rass II IS necessnrv M show
the cardboard even when wishing to
: leave the camp.
rnw~ below the cHNtonraent a few
! miles Is a national 8r,nv cantnnm emf
Trains loaded with drafted men null
: past the station almost hourly. The
marines look uNon them not unkindlv,
but with the air of professionals to-
ward at-sat~ura Tho drafted men are
wildly euthusia site. All are tagged and
) each has tin Gun. The cun is uslSa l'y
used as a matchmaking device. The
sides Of their trains always are chalk =
ed up with slo~a-s such az ''We're off
to Berlin" or "N'ow for lock OF the
81 kata~r's wh'skerr"
II Draft trains do not stoo here. Usn-
ally there IL some man who har~s far
ont of window with a letter in his
Ia hand The rnarine on the station plat
form knows what tha' means.
II "s-hoot ~" he wells.
And the other tosses the letter 10
! him. fIsuai'v the letter ts addressed
To riri Tho mar'nn wakes straight
for the post hox w'-h il
/ Training to he fighter in hr7 arica's
ARRIVES is not easv work Put the
i newly enlisted marines are taking to
i u with heen interest. Al much %
! what they are doing and how they
are doing N as rhe censor will hermit
| WIZ he to'A IN this series OF stories.
\