The Oskaloosa herald., 1918-07-04
Have filled blanks and undergon,

y =
ter they use the squirt gun.
The nights here are very cold from
the sea breeze. Am sleeping undel
three thicknesses of army blankets OF
a straw tick without pillow.
But talk about regular sleep there's
| simply no way to dodge it If you were
so inclined. Taps at 10 o'clock means
all lights out and each little buck
: private in his bunk, and that can't be
! stretched to one minute after 10 eli
Their. You cannot leave your bunk be
fore six a. m.
At 6:15 you receive the bugle call
for reyeille, at 6 30 you must be dress
ed in uniform and in formation for
roll call. Breakfast at 7, drill at s, g.
10 and IL o'clock, for As minutes. with
Is minute rest intervals, mess at noon
and drill again at /, 2, 8 and 4 O'Clock
for another as minutes each. Retreat
at $50, supper at 6. After that you
are at liberty to shave, take your
shower, wash your underelothes, tow.
els, ETC., and sneak to the Y or Liber.
ty Theatre for a few minutes recrea-
ton before turning in.
The 53rd Engineers are just now
marching by with full equipment,
headed for the depot. They are hard
ened, well drilled, and look like veter-
ans, bands are playing and neighbor-
ing camps are giving them a whoop-
ing send off. It's wonderful to think
these same men struggled into camp
green, unframed rockies, not long
ago.
This morning our entire company
marched to camp headquarters about
three miles up camp, and arranged
for our insurance. took out the limit,
$4,000. IT costs $500 per month. The
system for handling this work is won
derful, efficient to the extreme. An en-
tire company is taken care of at a
time. A large building 100 by 200 feet
with $50 to ITS clerks is used in this
work, even then we used the entire
morning to complete our records.
This afternoon we received the
balance of our oversee equipment. or
dinance and all, something over $50
pounds. We get no khaki cloth at all,
Our equipment in part is as follows:
2 suits o. ID. uniform.
2 wooden shirts.
S pair wooden socks.
2 pair leggings.
2 pair trench shoes, 5 pounds each.
2 suits, 2 piece underwear.
l service hat, hat cord, etc.
/ fatigue uniform ,(oyeralls).
toilet set including comb, brush,
So Gillette safety razor and 2 towels,
etc.
8 wooden blankets,
/ barrack bag
! haVasack.
gun and bayonet plus side arm.
pup tent belt and canteen.
emergency ration box.
l heavy coat.
rain coat.
You can immagine that with the
above lot, a mess kit and numerous
small items to look after, ! was only
too glad to shoot part of my other be-
iongings home.
/ am in no wise disappointed with
the army. knew of the hardships and
work l would encounter and the per
sonal sacrifices l was making when
enlisted. We fellows face our duties
cheerfully and eagerly, knowing we
are taking our small part and should
ering the greatest responsibility ever
given to a generation of this world.
My only request is to disabuse any
thought or concern about me beyond
a fraction of doubt | will be better
physically, mentally and morally for
my having served.
The work we fellows face is no
child's play. ANY mask or sham or
hypocracy is stripped. Every man
stands upon his own acts. All realize
(as every officer expounds) that We
are serving for our country, humanity
and Christ. Men in every barracks go
UI IuclA hhSS Ia SOhoSSioShoh N'NAs
night.
The moral and discipline in the u.
S. army today is 100 per cent better
than civilian life in any part of the
world, men meet men like men and
act the part.
Soldiers in service do not feel they
are bearing an unjust part, even those
at home all know and / am positive of
the fact that the continuance of bust
ness and the shouldering of local war
activities, is as essential to the win
ming of this was as the placing OF
men under arms. Don't let any one ar
que the benefits or ACCESSIBILITY of any
Liberty Loan. Red Cross, Y. M. c. A.
or kindred war measures. They are a
part of and parallel to the service of
the men in uniform.
We were caught out in a heavy
downpour of rain about two miles
from camp the other day but the ar
my game is never postponed for a
shower. We continued with our squad
foramtion just the same.
1t is now 1890, Sunday morning
The lieutenant Just entered the squad
ron and called my name for guard