Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1918-01-30
Arthur Noble, Hesper Boy, Writes
Most Interesting Letter to Ole
X. Sanden, of Hesper,
About Army Life in
Georgia.
HAS TAKEN OUT
LARGE AMOUNT INSURANCE
Has Been Going Through Some Stiff
Training and Says Men i'm His
Company Are Hard as
Nails.
Chattanooga. Tenn,
Jan. II, 1918.
Dear Ole:

Jan. L lJIO
Dear Ole:
Well | am on leave of absence now
and of course | am spending it with
the wife. We are training now at the
camp real hard daily and we expect to
go across this spring. We are now
pretty we'll trained and are as hard
as nails. The work has been very
hard aid we have been puts through
some bad grinds, but it is just what is
needed to put us in readiness for the
dirty Germans. French officers are
here from France and are teaching
us the system of digging first line
trenches. To the outsider trench dig
ding does not look much, but when
he goes through them and sees their
layout he thinks different. There are
dug outs fifty feet underneath the
ground. Rooms for barber shop, pool
halls, reading rooms, officers rooms
and pianos. We go through bayonet
practice on dummys, going through
different points and jabs, football,
high jumping, running broad jump,
boxing, etc. might add that we have
a boxing instructor here and / am
put on with men of my own weight.
enjoy it a great deal and manage to
hold some of them to ten or fifteen
rounds. One fight we put on last
week was between two soldiers who
had grudge for each other and be-
lieve me it was a great scrap. Here
in the army they make man fight
it out with the gloves if he has any
hard feeling for another soldier. al
ways could box some, but since 1
have been here l am pretty handy
with the gloves. They teach us to
fight because they claim~a man ought
to be able to take care of himself
and | guess it will come in handy
when we get over there. OF course
men never learn to box because II
you don't wish to learn you don't
need to- But most men who are II the
army to fight want to learn all they
can. We have little shovels and picks
strapped on our packs and we are
taught to dig ourselves in, as we are
made to think we are under fire. We
lay down fiat and dig, dig, dig. We
are taught quick loading of guns,
rapid and slow fire. Also get target
practice often and five, ten and fifteen
mile hikes. AS the photo l sent you
will show I never felt or looked let
ter. We are to bed at nine p. m. and
up at the call at Sis. Three plain
but clean meals a day and all we
want to eat. The food. of course, is
government inspected. 1t is interest
ing to see the men on dress parade
and review. We were on dress par
ade in Chattanooga and when our
bunch passed headed by the 18th IL
fantry band, gee how the people did
cheer. They lined the streets for
miles down town. Passing the court
house our band played Where do
We go from Here, and tell you Ole
any man with drop Of red blood in
his body felt good that day. The 18th,
SD, seth, 55th, 51st and 9Th infan-
| try all here in this park were on par
ade that day. l have made an allot-
ment to Rose and the government
puts money to it, and l have taken
out the highest amount of insurance,
$4,000, that the government allows
us, so the wife is well taken care Of.
| can make big wages barbering in
my company. so Rose gets a good
thing every month.
This camp is only outside the city
of Chattanooga. Well write to me,
glad to hear from you any time.
ARTHUR NOBLE,
Company Barber.
Co. X, 18th U. S. Inf.
Camp Chickamaugua, Georgia.