Dear Ma and Pa:
> > Am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine
> > Corps beats working for
> > old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before maybe all of
> > the places are filled. I was
> > restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m., but
> > I am getting so I like to sleep late.
> > Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot and
> > shine some things. No
> > hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay.
> > Practically nothing. Men got to shave
> > but it is not so bad, they get warm water.
> > Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon,
> > etc..., but kind of weak on
> > chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food.
> > But tell Walt and Elmer you can
> > always sit between two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus
> > yours holds you till noon, when you
> > get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.
> > We go on "route" marches, which the Platoon Sergeant says are long
> > walks to harden us. If he
> > thinks so, it is not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is
> > about as far as to our mailbox at
> > home. Then the city guys gets sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.
> > The country is nice, but awful
> > flat.
> > The Sergeant is like a schoolteacher. He nags some. The Capt. is like
> > the school board. Majors and
> > Colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.
> > This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals
> > for shooting. I don't know
> > why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk and don't move. And it
> > ain't shooting back at you, like
> > the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable
> > and hit it. You don't even load
> > your own cartridges. They come in boxes.
> > Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers
> > get onto this setup and come
> > stampeding in.
> > Your loving daughter, Gail.
