FROM A FARM KID AT SAN DIEGO 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 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. 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 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'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
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. 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 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.
Your loving daughter,
Gail.
