Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-06-20
Letter from zenas VaF1s
Preside of San Francisco
California,
June II, 1918

Il
noon and it sure is great. l en-
joyed it very much. OF course we
get this infantry drill with every
branch of the army. 1t sure will
make a different man out of me
just about one year of it. | sure
am glad l joined the army for
feel that it will improve my health
the way feel now. Say Mother
you can send me my razor ane
strop and every thing that goes
with it for l need it pretty bad.
Ii Cyrus ever has to go to the
army tell him. to enlist before
they draft him for you sure car
tell the difference. The enlisted
men are treated so much better
that there sure is a difference.
have been vaccinated and ia
ken my incubation twice in the
right arm and still have one moro
yet to. take in the right which will
make total of three NEGOTIATIONS
and of course the vaccination is
in the left arm. But they d not
bother me one bit. Some Of the
fellows faint away and fall over
in revelee and retreat. Ofscourse
those fellows have a weak heart
When ever l go up I always have
smile on my face and when
come out l have smile on my
face. To tell the truth about
things believe in Christian Sci
ence. l wrote one letter a while
ago but while we were drilling
they moved our tent and the wind
blew them away. So 1 have got to
do it over. We have shower baths
here and we were instructed to
take one every night or day and
to wash our teeth three times a
day. OF course we have regular
times to go to bed and regular
times to get up and that is what
helps. We have got to be in bed
at nine O'Clock and 1 have got to
get up at five o'clock of at five
thirty, mean. But Mother,
can't explain how we'll | like it.
1t sure is great life. AND further
you will be proud of me when |
come back. 1t may be such a thing
that we will have to buy our dress
suit if we get one right away but
if we wait until winter we will
get our dress suit then, but if
ever get the Jack | sure will get
one. There was an officer that
told me that you could get a good
dress suit for about $35 or $40.
We were measured up for new
shoes yesterday and then we will
have two pair when we get them.
You see this camp is just a
Preside of San Francisco, Cali
fOrnia, and it is where theworld's
fair was the year of 1915 of the
Panama Canal. There sure are
some swell looking buildings
around here. Our mess house
where we eat is a Chinese build
ing. have met three of the boys
out here from the Valley, Charles
Stewart, Art Hansen, Ben Tensile
myre. And as luck had it l am
bunking with Chas. Stewart. The
dishes we eat out of are nothing
but tin, but the eats taste just as
good out of them as it does in
regular dishes. 1t sure seems
funny not to have got bit home
sick yet. We are now under quar-
antine for ten or fifteen days
from the date we were or arrived
here in camp. But that is done
with everybody OF troops that en-
ter this camp. That is the same as
safety first. So as not to get any
disease started. For a body of
men that way it would not take
much to kill them off like flies.
There are five in our camp,
bunking in the same tent. And
they sure are a nice bunch of
kids too, but one and he seems to
be a nut. He believes everything
you tell him and he said he was
never out Of the State of Iowa,
and / believe him. Well I guess
this is all. From your son,
Zenas.
June IL 1913