The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1918-06-13
LETTERS AND NEWS FROM
KENNEWICK'S VICTORY BOYS

Flying Cadet Floyd Kelso, who is
training at San Diego, California,
writes that flying is the greatest sport
in the world. In letter to Mr.. and
Mrs. Robt. @. Macmahon, he says: Il
received your Smileage book some
time ago, and also your letter. /
haven't been able as yet to use any Of
the tickets, but know that some time
/ in the future that it will come in very
nice.
81 am getting along very nicely
here with my flying and am away
ahead of most of the boys. hope
will continue progressing for the next
month or so as / have been in the
last two weeks If / do I'll make a
good flyer. 1 am flying three diff
ferent kinds of machines now and am
up from one to two hours day and
consider that quite an honor as they
won't leave most of the boys up for
more than half an hour I have aver
aged just TX hours day for this last
week.
"Flew alone in just three hours and
fifty minutes and was the first out OF
the sixty-two in our squadron. flew
alone in less time than had figured
Flying is the greatest sport we ha 'e
soocy and I like t so well l car
hardly wait for nv time to go up.
sWe have it very easy here. Pra.-
!, 1 :ally nothing to do except eat AID
slecp. We have tr, classes in moc,-
ing of two hours each and fly all az
! ;crnoon, or rather ,ay around waiting
for our turn to fly We each get 50
many shots with our machine guns
! and as soon as that is over we haze
nothing to do bat to wait on the
others.
"I would like to take some pictures
and send back but as we were made
! to turn in our cameras as soon as we
arrived, it is clear out of the question"
There really isn't anything very ex-
citing about q trip in railway train
across the United States fom the Pa
cific to the Atlantic. But when the
taveler is high school lad who is
making the trip for the first time, who
is getting away from the family
hearthstone for the first time, who is
submitting to military discipline for
the first time, whose new khaki clothes
are not yet wrinkled and who is head
! ed for the uncertainties of the western
battlefront the trip is one of life's inn
portant epochs and one long to be re-
membered.
In an 18-page letter Norman Lynch
gives proof that nothing escaped his
notice on the trip across the continent
to Camp Mills. He writes at length
of the trip from Fl. Leavenworth to
Camp Mills, Long Island, and says:
eve got to Garden City about 10 p.
m. We waited until some trucks came
and got our barracks bags and US.
They took us about four miles to Camp
Mills. Then we rode for about two
miles to where we are stationed. This
is some big place, too. Just to give
you an idea of its size, there were
! $4,000 men left here last week and
there are quite few left, believe me.
eve grabbed our barracks bags,
sorted them out, then went to our
tents. This is the original tent city.
There are no barracks here, but all
tents. You can get on a high knoll
and look all around and all you can
see is tents, tents, everywhere, and
not wooden shack in sight
"We got into our tents, got our
folding canvas cots fixed up. Then
came mess call. We hadn't had any.
supper and if there wasn't some rush
1 have never seen one. 1t was just like
a bunch of pigs running for the
trough. You have never seen me eat
I know you haven't, for I never ate
before last night.
"Ihis is sure the real life and it is
my first taste Of it. But I suppose
chs is heaven compared with France.
It is sure nothing like barracks life,
but it is preparing US for life over
there.
UI can't toll vo,, xuhny, wa 1oovo for