Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1918-02-14
FROM CECIL RUPEE
Division E.

Division E.
Dearest Home Folks:
received your letter last night
and was sure glad as it is the first
letter have had from home for four
days. I got all your Christmas boxes
and sure appreciated them. When
opened that one box we thought sure
that we had found some cigarettes,
and you ought to have heard the re-
marks, but those kind of cigarettes
were good anyway and we ate them.
Well, I've seen some pretty rough
seas and once 1 was sure sick for
about an hour but I finally went up
to the searchlight on watch. The
wind blew ninety miles per hour and
the waves dashed over the decks.
The old boat rode like a teeter-totter.
1 was standing in the stern watching
the ship behind US. We'd go up till
I couldn't see the ship behind US, then
we'd go down so all could see was
the whopping old wave but it wasn't
breaking over the ship then-only
spray. The ship would plunge right
into a big wave then rise for another
wave. Am inclosing a picture of our
fleet in the storm. We got twenty
sacks of mail last night and I saw
40 more sacks come in. We sure had
feast last night. Almost every boy
got Christmas box and we just COM
bined them and ate till we couldn't
swallow another bite. We didn't eat
much mess that night. We're sure
ipmroving down here. I weigh ITO
now and I~sure possess an appetite.
1 could eat anything and sleep on a
barbed wire fence.
1 got letters and cards from the
kids in T. c. H. S. at Wa-Keeney and
Christmas box too. We also got
boxes from Iowa, from the citizens
and school kids. Then we electricians
and strikers for electricians got up
purse of $45 and had a Christmas
dinner to which we invited the COM
just like the rest of u.s. Our COM
mander was an aviator until last
February, and he told us all bout it.
am going to try for the Aviation
Corps, they say I can Now for the
Christmas dinner Uncle Sam gave US.
We had turkey, potatoes, peas, cake,
apple pie, candy, pickles, olives, oran-
ges, coffee, ice cream, cigars and
Then we got Christmas BOXES from
the Red Cross too.
You asked me what blower watch
was. Well there are electric motors
in different parts of the ships and
they run blowers that force air into
the compartments of the ship. This
is done to prevent the air from be-
coming stale and hot and our work is
to inspect them every hour to keep
the blower motors going. This school
bunch certainly comes from all over
the old U. S. A. There are three
from Nebraska, two from Mime
sofa, one from Arkansas, one from
Connecticut, one from Mass, one
from New Jersey and four from good
old Kansas.
The old ship sure looks fine. We
decorated her with holly branches
and when we turned on the red and
green lights she sure is a pretty old
boat Seven of US fellows from
school went after holly Sunday and
of course we got some fine branches.
Of course the very prettiest ones
with the prettiest berries were at the
top of the trees but we got dandy
bunch some of it almost seven feet
long.
The coolest it has been here has
been above zero but seems colder
here than there because it is so damp
1 suppose. That sausage and tender
loin looked so good we couldn't wait
to warm it up but it tasted good any
way.
You could put the town of Oakley
and more on our ship. We have 1,20O
sailors, officers and marines on here
We've decorated the gun easements
with red, white and blue lights and
flags and scads Of holly.
Yes, we have some sickness, natur-
aIlv. but we put them on the hospital