Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1918-04-26
BERKIN NOW LOCATED
AT CAMP DICK TEXAS
Troops CHARTERED On Texas State Fair
Grounds, Living in Horse
Barns

In letter from J. j. Berkin writ
ten to Archie Stone he says he is
now located at Camp Dick, Texas,
and he thinks it is hell of a hole.
He says: The camp is out at the
Texas State Fair grounds and they
have us quartered in the COW barns,
horse barns, pig and sheep pens and
poultry houses. w thought the drill
at Berkeley was stiff, but this is out
of the question, in fact unreasonably.
II was sorry to hear that your ill
ness had left you in such bad shape
Why don't you try to transfer into
an observers school after you get in
to shape? You would make the best
kind of an observer and could be
made first lieutenant. I know you
will never be contented out of the
air now that you have had a taste
of it. The pilots are mere taxicab
drivers anyway, as these lieutenants
around here say that it. gets tire
some after the first ten hdhrs.
Cardoff and Charlie Moore are still
here. Bob Cannon too. Their squa-
dron got in bad. They had a mock
military funeral for their pet dog
that died and the major was real
peeved and they lost their priority.
Have been S. o. l.. ever since. S. o.
l.. is the camp expression here. 1t
applies to everyone and means 'Sure
Out'ta Luck
1.-THE major or lieutenant colonel
or whatever he is insists on the West
Point brace at inspections and drill
This is pulling your abdomen up
against your spine with your chest
out about mile. I still have hitch
in my right lung SO this stuff doesn't
appeal to me. At calethenics we
have to remove and place our hats
on the ground in two counts then
replace them in three counts, bring
ing your hand down with a snap
Impossible to get it on correctly but
they give you ''rest" and then you
adjust it. Saturday afternoons we
all go out on ten-mile hikes in the
country. At mess we have to march
in formation and go thru a ceremony
fit for king before we can eat.
"They split the bunch that came
down from Berkeley with and I am
alone with squadron made up of
Princeton and Cornell men only.
Some bunch. They are disguised 1
guess from the way they drill.
There are some awful looking guys
and I don't see how some of them got
| into the service. Nearly every day
gun is dropped. There are seven
teen squadrons here and we rank
| around the lowest each evening.
They have joint system and the
best ranking squadron gets out first.
Tonight we were fifteenth place but
we are improving and have an army
sergeant that is good. He keeps tell
ing us to hold up our heads or we
will skin our noses on the ground
and when the front line began to
crowd he will point to some fellow
and ask him if he trying to crawl
into the next mans pocket. He had
some hard luck himself this after
noon on the hike. The squadron was
passing store and the women be-
gan to throw out all the apples and
oranges in the place. 1t is strictly
against the rules here to pick up any
of them but this bunch does. The
lieutenant in charge called "atten-
ton" and this sergeant had an ap-
pie in his hand and coming up to
attention he dropped it. He was
placed under arrest and will have to
stay in quarters the rest of the time
here. Two other fellows were placed
under arrest and put in the guard
house today for having their hands
in their pockets at crest
Coming back to myself. When
we landed here Saturday night we