The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-12-20

- ~RNSAt HNNN oAANANAS
quarantined us for fourteen days on
account of smallpox. During this period
our food was pretty bad In fact, the
meat became rotten. This could hard
ly have happened on al American ship,
because they are provisioned with
canned stuff and preserved meats, but
the French ships, like the Italian, de-
pend on live stock, fresh vegetables,
etc., which they carry on board, and
we had expected to get a large supply
of such stuff at Spezia. Long before
the fourteen days were up we were
out Of these things, and had to live on
anything we could get hold of-mostly
bareback, coffee and cocoa.
We loaded a cargo Of airplanes for
the italian aviators at the French fly-
ing schools, and started back to Brest.
On the way back we had target prac-
tice. In fact, at most times on the
open sea, 1t was a regular part Of the
routine.
1t was during one Of these practices
that the French officers wanted to
find out what the Yankee gunner knew
about gunnery. At a range Of eight
miles, while the ship was making eight
knots an hour, with a f~ourteen-inch
gun / scored three d's-that Is, three
direct hits out of five trials. After
that there was no question about 1t. AS
a result, I "a awarded three bars.
These bars, which are strips Of red
braid. are worn on the left sleeve, and
signify extra craftsmanship. I also
received two hundred and fifty francs,
or about fifty dollars In American
money, and fourteen days shore leave.
All this made me very angry, oh,
very much wrought up indeed-notl
I saw a merry life for myself on the
French rolling wave If they felt that
way about gunnery.
/ spent most Of my leave with my
grandmother in st. NaZaire, except for
a short trip I made to a star-shell fac
tory. This factory was just about like
one / saw later somewhere in Amer
lea, only In the French works, all the
hands were women. Only the guards
were men, and they were 'blesses"
(wounded).
When my leave was up and / said
good-by to my grandmother, she man
aged a smile for me, though I could
see that 1t was pretty stiff work. And
without getting soft, or anything like
that, / can tell you that smile stayed
with me and 1t did me more good than
you would believe, because it gave me
good to think about when I
was up agains. the real thing.
I hope a lot Of you people who read
this book are women, because / have
had 1t in mind for some time to tell all
the women I could a little thing they
can do that will help q lot. I am not
to be fancy about it, and I hope
you will take 1t from me the way I
mean II.
When you say good-by to your son
or your husband or yoIr sweetheart,
work up a smile for him. What you
want to do Is to give him something he
can think about over there, and some
thing he will like to thilk about. There
Is SO much dirt, and blood, and hunger,
and cold, and all that around you, that
you have just got to quit thinking
about 1t, or you will go crazy. And so,
when you a think about something
nice, you can pretty nearly forget all
the rest for a while. The incest things
you car think about are the things you
liked back home.
Now, you can take 1t from me that
what your boy will like to remember
the best Of all Is your face with a
smile on 1t. He has got enough hell on
his hands without lot of weeps to re-
member. IL you will excuse the word.
But don't forget that the chances are
on his side that he gets back to you;
the figures prove 1t. That will help
you some. At that, 1t will be hard
work; you will feel more like crying,
and so will he, maybe. But smile for
him. That smile is your bit.
I will back a smile against the weeps
in a race to Berlin any time. So ! am
you, and I cannot make 1t strong
enough-send him away with q smile.
NJ