Letter from a Marine

I received this heart-stirring letter, from what must be a North Carolina Marine, detailing the experiences of bootcamp. My good friend David Peterson made sure that I received a copy of the letter. It is moving enough that I thought I would share it with you.

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer, themarine Corps beats working for old man Chester by a mile. Tell them to join upquick before all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6a.m. but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all youdo 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 isstrong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., butkind 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 twocity boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you until noonwhen 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 longwalks 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 cityguys 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 a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors andcolonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none. This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medalsfor shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunkhead and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys athome. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don'teven 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, theybreak 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 fromover in Sibley I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, butI'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 fellersget onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,

Alice