Thought I'd forward this for all to enjoy on
Ridecamp, in honor of our birthday boys, the United States Marines.
Bruce Weary
Subject: U.S.
Marines
FROM AN ARKANSAS FARM KID, NOW AT PARIS ISLAND MARINE CORPS
RECRUIT DEPOT
Dear Ma and Pa: I 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 am getting so Ilike 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, there's 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 get 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 head and don't move. And it ain't
shooting 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.
Then we have what they call
hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I
have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't
like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got
in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. He
joined up the same time as me. But I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and
he's 6'8" and weighs near 300 pounds dry.
Be sure to tell Walt and
Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come
stampeding in.
