Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-11-27
LETTER FROM TEXAS

.
Dear Sister:
In a recent letter you asked me
what the Y NJ c. A. was doing for
us. Well to tell the truth, l can not
begin to tell you how much it does
but will do the best / can.
You perhaps can imagine what our
camp is like. A bunch of over 20 900
men, all real northern men, too. AS
our camp (the 32nd division) is com
posed entirely of Wisconsin and Mich
igan men, and oftimes when we are
all mixed together and one of the col
lege yells are given of either state,
everybody yells, and then follows up
with yell for both states. You never
saw soldiers who take so much pride
in their states as the boys of our
division do.
Well, the Y. NJ C. A. is largely re-
sponsible for all this harmony and
good-fellowship. They furnish us with
writing material, sell money orders,
stamps and pencils. They give ad-
wise cheerfully on any thing you ask
of them, and even have gone out of
their way to get certain information
on some things that really do not
come in under their line.
They furnish the most up-to-date
plays at the lowest possible admission
fee, for instance; The musical COM
edy success, "The Mihada" was
played here the last three nights and
the soldiers got tickets for 15c. There
will be more high class plays through
out the winter at the same reasonable
price.
At the 'Y' building they amateur
vaudeville by the soldiers, boxing
matches and every kind of clean,
manly athletics.
In this building are tables to write
daily papers and magazines to read
and library books to loan out.
They issue pamphlets every now
and then on clean living and the
lectures here can not but help the
boys see they are making drive
for subscriptions to the W and that it
is meeting with success. l am very
glad to hear it. Any one who helps
the 'Y' is helping Uncle Sam in a
| greater way than most people realize
You know as well as / do that it
sometimes takes more of a man to
fight demoralizing influences than it
| does to stand up and fight in battle
| line A man may be a real fighter
physically but at the same time he
might be woeful coward in a battle
with the temptations which are
thrown at soldier boys.
This the 'Y' takes care of in every
way they possibly can. The lectures
are great in this way, as they start
man thinking. Without his atten-
ton being drawn to these tempta-
| lions, man might easily be lost be-
| fore he was awakened to the fact that
he was on the wrong road
Ask any one in khaki, what he
thinks about the red triangle" and
the answer from one and all will be
something like this. 81 really don't
know what we would do without it.
And that is the only answer | myself
could give.
| | am glad Wausau and Mosinee are
showing up SO splendidly in the
drive" We can feel we have an in
terest in the ~ when we know the
folks at home are with US.
l see quite lot of mention of the
drafts" whenever l get a paper
which is seldom now as our company
was enlarged with parts of two new
companies, and the old Wausau boys
being scattered through 20 tents
makes it hard for us all to see a
paper. We are never mentioned in
them so it looks as though Wausau
had forgotten her volunteer company
Our division is considered second tc
none in the U. S. army and "Old
Company c. is right up in the front
| too.
Well | must close for this time
With love and best wishes to all.
John Koran,
| Co. G, 12Sth Inf. Camp Macarthur.
| GA Brigade Waco,
81 DIVISION Texas.