A letter home from a Marine recruit

[Mescalito 19]

Subject: A Letter from a Marine Recruit.

 

 

 

LETTER FROM A FARM KID

(Now at San Diego Marine Corps recruit training)

 

 

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 all of the places are filled.

 

I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till

nearly 6am, 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, 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 by the two city boys that

live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you until 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's 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

school teacher. He nags a lot. The captain 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. I only beat him

once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and

130 pounds, and he's 6'8" and 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.

 

 

 

 

 

Your loving daughter,

 

Alice

Edited July 21, 2006 by Mescalito

[picoman 1]

I spent 2 years on a ship with women. Trust me, they don't exist like this. One of the reasons I got out after 8. I could have been retiring next September...