The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1918-10-10
Soldiers From Camp Grant
Infect the Georgia Camp
With Spanish Influenza
Last Week.
kENOsHA BOYS PROMOTED
Letter Prom Acting Corp. Harry NJ
Ortiz Describes Some Incidents
Connected With His Training for
One Of Uncle Sans Military Men.

II sure did wish they we're Germans
we were popping over when I was on
the machine gun range popping over
targets, 4 says Acting Corporal, Harry
M. Orth, of the 59th Grade Machine
Gun Training Camp Hancock, Augu-
sta, Georgia, in a letter to the editor of
the Kenosha Evening News. In his
letter Corporal Ortiz says:
cit will soon be three months since
left good old Kenosha on my way to
get old Kaiser Bill. I promised all
my friends to bring back with me
the kaiser s mustache and / hope I
will still have chance to do it be-
fore this thing ends.
EtThe trip to Columbus Barracks
was very tiresome. After we left
there ] sure have had some experiences
although | have not got over there yet.
All the boys are anxious to 80 over
and finish this war up in a hurry but
they are making as much use out Of
us as they can.
II am now pretty well trained In
almost anything they can put me at.
/ have learned all the manual Of arms,
and from that got transferred to
the machine gun training school and
made good there. already have sat
in back of those Browning Automatic
30 ealibre guns that can shoot 500
shots minute, it was only yesterday
that was on the machine gun range
Popping over targets. l sure did wish
they were all Germans we were pop
ping over.
They can all talk about these saw
mills up north making noise. That
would only be sweet music to our
ears against the noise these machines
guns make. This is the main train
ing depot of the machine gun school
and what $ more, it is the first that
ever originated in the good old U.S.A.
and | always can say I belonged to
the first machine gun company that was
started in this country. They. sent
Wallie Strangberg and myself to
the non-commissioned officers school
where we made good. Then we were
transferred to the 59th company ma
chine gun training camp to instruct
others where we still are. We expect
to get sent with the company to either
Camp Lewis, Washington, or Camp
Dodge, Iowa. WaIlie Strangberg is
the third Of the strangberg family to
I be under good old Uncle Sam and is
a brother of our chairman of the coun-
ty board of Kenosha. / have been get
ting the News every day from my
wife, 50 you can bet the boys leaving
home want is the good old paper that
tells them everything.
The Kenosha boys are all split up
now, there are only two Of us left
here ID Camp, the rest are either all
gene over or transferred to other
camps, Camp Hancock has an average
of from $4,000 to 10000 soldiers al
ways. 1t sure is surprising how they
can turn them out so fast with but
a few months training, they are fit
to lick the best of those Germans. r
saw it done here for over two months.
We had very bad thing happen in
our camp here last Sunday, September
20, when there were few hundred sol
oil
Camp Grant, that got the awful dis
ease called Spanish influenza, and it
sure did spread here like wild fire.
We were free from it until that time.
now we are pretty well watched. All
theatres, canteens, Y. M. G. AS. and
knights of Columbus huts and all
places of amusement are closed up. Tt
sure is taking the pleasure out of the
boys here.
Our eats are good we sleep with
our tents wide open and enjoy the
good old Georgia breezes. The DAYS
are sure hot yet, 12o in the shade and
the evenings get about 80 degrees. I
bet you people can not say that in
Kenosha, this time Of the year.
We also had sand storms here. They
tore down tents for blocks, but they
come very seldom. It was my first
experience to see one of them come
along and miss my tent by less than
one hundred feet. Last month was
very beautiful month here in Georgia
to see those cotton fields, and watch
those darkeys gather cotton.
The city of Augusta is only six
miles from the camp we go there in au-
! tc e. Augusta Is q very haantifnl ai4u