Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-06-11
NEWS FROM BEN III. WEGNER

framing Cadre or Company 5, 161St
Depot Brigade, at Camp Grant, Ill.
Camp Grant, Rockford, ILL.,.
April 16, 1918.
We have now been in quarantine
for eighteen days and the end isn't in
sight yet Am kept busy every day
and some times even on Sunday.
have had about six examinations, a
vaccination and two shots in the arm
All get another shot in the arm in
another day or two.
This is my daily schedule. Get ur
at 6:15, eat at $50, wash our dishes
and then begin to drill at 7:15. We
get back from drill at about 11:OC
a. m. Eat at 1900 and at 100 D. M,
begin drilling again, and finish up al
4:30. Eat at 500, line up for re-
treat at 500 and at $50 attend school
until about 1880, and then have one
and half hours to study and get to
bed. This is busy life. It's great
going to bed every night at nine
o'clock, and in the morning we can't
roll oyer when thet whistle blows
either, for we have just about ten
minutes to dress and line up for
reveille. At reveille everything has to
be in first class shape.
Quite few of the fellows are be-
ing transferred to other companies
today, but l have been assigned to
Company 5, which is the one | am in.
| have been acting Corporal for a
week and they say we have to stay
here and drill the new recruits
MAY 10, 1918.
Will try to explain what the Depot
Brigade is and what it is for. 1t
is situated at the northwestern corner
of Camp Grant and covers about one
half mile square. 1t is near the
river and we have a very large parade
or drill ground a short distance away.
We have two canteens Tor stores,) a
Y. M. C. A. and the Brigade Head
quarters. Colonel Brooke is Com
manding officer of the Depot Brigade.
There are twenty-four companies
here divided into six battalions of
four companies each. The companies
are commanded either by a Captain
or First Lieutenant Our company
which is the fifth has a Captain and
TOUR second lieutenants and they are
line officers. All officers of our com
pany are graduates from Training
camps. The companies are composed
of from 240 to 400 men. At present
our company is double strength, that
is, we have about 49O men.
All drafted men that are sent to
camp Grant, are put in the Depot
Brigade, unless there isn't any room.
then they are put in >other barracks.
winch are also under quarantine.
Now each company has a training
cadre, that is commissioned of
flcers, who help the other officers, and
am on the training cadre of Company
B, and therefore am kept very busy
whenever new men arrive.
Take for instance 1000 men are
coming to Camp Grant. The first
thing that is done each Captain is Civ
en- a list OF names oand these men are
put in his charge. If our Company
has room for 400 men then we are
given that many and have charge of
these. Their names are called and
to find if all are here. Now
the work begins for the officers and
training cadre. First the men are
given three blankets, bed sack &hich
is flled later with straw, cots and
mess kits, then they are put in bar
racks. Then we fill out their service
record, allotment cards, insurance
and also give them all their clothing
Everything that is given an enlisted
man is put on his record, so if any
thing is lost this man will be charged
with 1t. Then they are taken over
to the infirmary or hospital for vac
clnatlon and incubation (shot in arm)
and about dozen other examina-
tlons. They are also given instruc-
ton on military courtesy and obedi-
ence; also we have to drill these men
so that they can keep in step, right
iace, lett face, march, squad work,
etc. All this requires time, but we
nave orders to get all this finished
and teach these men to drill in two
weeks time. Can you imagine how
much work this requires. Take a
raw recruit and try to make a soldier
out of him in two weeks. After two
weeks time these men are sent to diff
terent camps to fill in companies.
FULLY equipped, and then a new lot is
given us, and we go through the
same thing again. We get all kinds
OF different men, some over six feet
others about four and one-half feet
tall, and some. look as if they were
forty years old, others cannot speak
English. Its quite a job to make a
short man keep step with one over
two feet taller, but we do it after a
while.
Am glad to hear that Wausau went
over the top for it gives the bows
from there more courage and now
we know that you are all still stick
ing with Us and sincerely hope that
Wausau and Marathon county will be
loyal to the boys until the finish, for
we won't be back until its over. over
there. | notice the women and young
girls are doing their share. Good
work. l knew they would not fall
behind.
Must close now as it's near mess
time and l am never late when mess
call sounds. Some men are late at
reve1lle mornings, but never at mess.
That's strange isn't it?"
June 8, 1918.
This outdoor life is great and | do
enjoy it. We get plenty of physical
exercise and almost too much lung
exercise, since the new rockies have
arrived. | am anxious to get "oyer
there" but it seems 1 am never
chosen. l was on the available list
for overseas examination and thought
surely | would go, but it seems they
always miss me. Theo. WINNER. one
of the Marathon boys that came down
with me, has been packed for three
days, waiting for orders. Sixty men
were to leave last Saturday morning,
but they are still here. George
(Wilbur) Schoenfeldt and Abe Wiesner
are still with me, also see Gordon
Walker about twice a week. Several
OF the Marathon county boys that
came down with me are in France.
l have charge of barrack. and nv
work is to see that the men keen
things neat, sweep up, get to meals
and also put them to bed early. This
barrack is about two blocks
from where / sleep, and the only
trouble l have is to get them out in
the morning for Souaatimac eIoox 4.