wasn't no reason why he wouldn't be advanced higher up the ladder some
time in the future and he says "Yes but now is the time I would like to
be in your shoes because I would like to get over to France and get in
it." So I asked him what he meant and he says the dope Red Sampson was
giving me was part of it right and part of it wrong and the right dope
was that General Pershing hadn't sent for our whole regt. but what he
had sent for was all the non commission officers out of the regt. and
that means all the corporals and sergents and they was the only ones
going this time because the French army had ran out of non commission,
officers and General Pershing was going to lend them the best ones we
had over here in training.
[Illustration: Florrie is still in the hay yet and little Al is playing
on the floor (p. 97).]
So I said "Well it looks like I was elected and its 100 to 1 that I
won't never come back." So Shorty says "Oh I don't know about that and
I think Red Sampson is wrong about them killing all them corporals
because from what I heard they's a few of them they don't try and kill
so they can take them prisoner and get information off them."
So I said "They would have a hell of a chance getting information off me
because they could kill me before I would spill anything." So Shorty
says "You might not spill nothing at first but you would be a game bird
if you stuck through all the tortures because when they ask you
something and you don't tell them they cut off a couple of toes and see
if that won't make you talk and so on till you don't hardly know if you
are alive but if you are game enough to stand all they give you why
finely they will see what a game bird you are and then they finish you
off so you won't suffer no more. But if you tell them all you know right
at first they won't do nothing to you only of course you will be a
prisoner there in Germany till the war is over and they make you work
your head off without no food and they don't even feed the guards
because they want to keep them mad at the prisoners so as they will make
them work harder and every time you act like you was loafing or
something the guards scratchs their initials in you with their
bayonet."
So I asked him where he got his dope and he says he didn't know if it
was all true or not but his wife's 2 brothers was in the German army and
they had wrote home about it and maybe it was all bunk.
Well Al I figured I would take Florrie to a show somewheres last night
because maybe it would be the last time but after supper I felt kind of
sick on acct. of the change in food and I asked Florrie if she would
just as leave stay home so I went to bed early and I thought I would get
a good rest but I didn't get no sleep and as I said I couldn't sleep
this A.M. and now I am waiting for her to get up for breakfast.
I only wish they was some way for me to get out of this corporal and it
isn't that I can't handle it but it seems like a shame to leave the
other boys that almost worships me you might say and here is little Al
playing on the floor and if his daddy was just a private I might maybe
stay at Camp Grant all winter and come in and see Florrie and he every
month.
Your pal, JACK.
CAMP GRANT, Oct. 30.
_FRIEND AL:_ Well Al I am not going to France at all that is right away
and this time I got the dope straight from Capt. Nash and not from no
Lahey or Sampson.
Here is the way I come to find out Al. I was supposed to get back in
camp Sunday night but I missed the train out of Chi and I took the first
train yesterday A.M. and I got reported for being A.W.O.L., and
that means I was absent without no leave so I got called up in the
orderly room in front of Capt. Nash.
So he says "Well Keefe don't tell me your aunt died." So I asked him
what he meant because I haven't no aunt only by marriage that lives down
in Texas. So he says "Do you know what we could do to you for being
A.W.O.L." So I said "I suppose you could bust me." So he says "Yes and
that isn't all. If you was drunk or some excuse like that we could have
you out in front of a fireing party or if we wanted to go easy with you
we could send you down to Ft. Leavenworth for 10 yrs." So I said "I
wasn't drunk sir and all the trouble was that I missed a train out of
Chi and I didn't miss it more than 2 minutes." So he says "Well 2
minutes and 2 wks. don't make no difference in this game. But you have
been behaving yourself O.K. and we got a fine record in this Co. and I
don't want to loose no non commission officers because I haven't got
none now thats worth a dam. So you see that you don't miss no more
trains because the next time it will go a whole lot different. You are
excused only that you won't get no more leave for a month."
So I said thank you sir and told him I was sorry because I was in a
hurry to get to France and didn't want nothing to come up to interfere
with me going and he says "You don't want to go no more then I do but it
looks like we would all be here till we die of old age." So I asked him
if the corporals wasn't going ahead of the rest of the bunch and he says
the corporals would go with the privates unless they was all shot by
that time for being A.W.O.L.
So here I am Al and I have told the boys I was not going to quit them
and I never seen nobody so tickled. Well Al I am glad to in a way and on
the other hand its a big dissapointment but a man has got to learn to
swallow their dissapointments in the army and take what comes.
Your pal, JACK.
CAMP GRANT, Nov. 4.
_FRIEND AL:_ Well Al they have begin to bust up our regt. and take men
away from it and the men they take will get to France before the rest of
us the lucky stiffs but they don't send them right to France from here
but they send them down south to the national guards camps and fill up
the national guards with them and the national guards are going to get
across the pond first because Secty. Daniels wants to save the good
regts. for the finish.
Well Al they can't send me to France to soon but it looks like they
wasn't a chance for a man like I to get sent with the national guards
because the men we are sending down south is the riff and raff you might
say who we want to get rid of them so when Secty. Daniels sends word
that the national guards at such and such a place wants 7 or 800 men the
officers here picks them out from amidst the kitchen policemen and the
guard house.
It looks now like the real soldiers that they got here would be here
maybe all winter but between you and I Al I got a scheme to beat that
game. I found out today that they are going to start a officers training
camp here in Jan. and if a man makes good in it they will give him a
lieut. or a capt. and they won't be no riff and raff allowed in the camp
only men that would make a good officer so I guess I won't have no
trouble getting in the camp and once I win my lieut. or capt. bars they
will probably send me straight to France to take command.
Things are going along O.K. without much news to write about. Sarah
Bernhart the French comedian was in Rockford Friday and come out to give
the boys a treat and for some reason another the most of the boys fell
all over their self trying to get up close to her and get her to smile
at them. Well Al everybody to their own taste but from what I seen of
her she would be perfectly safe around me and if she is a day old she is
50 yrs. old and I will bet money on it. Any way I wouldn't trade Florrie
for a dozen like she.
Your pal, JACK.
CAMP GRANT, Nov. 7.
_FRIEND AL:_ Here is one for you Al and its just between you and I
because I wouldn't have no one else hear about it for the world.
Yesterday we was all presented with some sox made out of knitting and
they come in a bunch from the Red X and when I was going to bed I
thought I would try mine on and see if they fit and if they didn't maybe
I could trade with somebody that they did. Well Al I stuck my foot down
in 1 of them and my toe run into something funny and I pulled my foot
out and stuck my hand down in it and pulled out a note that was folded
in side of the sock. Well of course I opened the note up and read it and
I will copy down what it said. It says "Dear Soldier Boy, you may never
see me but if you can spare time to write me just a few lines it will
make me happier than any one in the world for I am oh so lonesome. You
won't disappoint me will you Soldier Boy?" And it was signed Lone Star
but down below she had wrote her name and address. Her name is Miss Lucy
Chase and she lives in Texas.
Well Al I can't help from feeling sorry for her and if it wasn't for
Florrie and little Al I would write her a note back and thank her for
the sox though between you and I they are to small and try and say
something that would cheer her up. But of course Florrie wouldn't like
for me to do it and a married man shouldn't ought to be monking around
like that and lead a girl on though of course if I did write to her the
first thing I would tell her would be that I am married.
But what has been puzzling me is where she seen me. Maybe it was 1 of
the times we played in Texas in the spring trip either that or she seen
my picture somewheres. Well Al it must of been a picture without my feet
in it or she would of made the sox bigger and I wish she had of because
I don't feel like tradeing them off to nobody now that I know they was
made for me by a admirer. Laying all jokes to 1 side I do feel sorry for
the girl and if she had of made herself known to me a few years sooner
things might of been different. Don't say nothing about this even to
Bertha because I don't want it to get all over Bedford. I am not the
kind that brags around about their admirers especially when its a girl.
[Illustration: Everybody cut loose and sung and you could of heard us in
Beloit.]
I thought once or twice today that I would just drop her a card
pretending like the sox fit me to a tea and thanking her for them and
giving a hint that I was a married man but on second thoughts I guess
its better to just let the whole affair drop right here.
They sprung a new one on us last night. Word come from the head quarters
that everybody had to learn to sing and last night was the first lesson
and they was about 3000 of us and the teacher was a bird named Nevin and
he got up in front and started out on Keep the home fires burning and
said we was to all join in. Well Al for some reason another everybody
but he had the lockjaw and as far as we was concerned the fires would of
all died out. Most of our gang is from Chi where they leave takeing care
of the furnace to the janitor. He tried 2 or 3 other songs but we was
all deaf and dumb mutes and he finely give up and says he would try some
other time when the cat didn't have a hold of our tongue so on the way
back to quarters everybody cut loose and sung and you could of heard us
in Beloit. We got a lot of good singers right in our Co. that can hit
the minors to but we are not going to bust out on no teacher's say so
like we was in kinder-garden or something.
Well Al I am going to break into a new game football. They are getting
up a club here in camp to play against the Great Lakes navy and the Camp
Custer club up in Mich. and they want all the men thats played football
to come out and try for the club here. Well I never played but I told
them I did and they won't know the difference when they see me because
when a man is a born athelete they can play any game and especially a
college Willy boy game like football. I seen one of their college games
out to the university in Chi once and a man built like I could of made a
sucker out of both clubs.
The capt. of the camp club here is Capt. Whiting and he played with the
university of Chi and they got some other would be stars like Shiverick
that played with the Ithaca club down east and Schobinger or something
from Champlain college here in Ill. and a man from Princeton name Eddy
something. Well I will show them something before I get through with
them because an athelete has got to be born and you can't make them out
of college Willy boys that stays up all night doing the foxy trot and
gets stewed on chocolate and whip cream.
Your pal, JACK.
CAMP GRANT, Nov. 10.
_FRIEND AL:_ Well Al I suppose you read in the papers about that troop
train that a gang of spys tried to wreck it and it was a train full of
burglars from here that we sent down to Camp Logan to fill up the
national guards and the papers made out like the people that tried to
wreck it was pro German spys but if you had of seen the birds that was
on the train you wouldn't believe it because they wouldn't no Germans
waist their time on them because they will all kill each other anyway
before they get to France. One of the birds on it was Shorty Lahey that
I all ready told you about him and when the national guards sees him
they will just about declare war against Camp Grant.
Well Al you remember me writeing to you about that little girl down in
Texas that sent me the note in the sox. Well I got to thinking it over
and the more I thought about it I got to thinking that it wasn't the
square thing to not pay no attention to her when she maybe wore her
hands to the bone and strained her eyes so as my feet would keep warm so
finely I set down and answered her back and I didn't say nothing mushy
of course but just a friendly note to let her know I received the sox
and I told her they was a perfect fit and I asked her where it was she
ever seen me or my picture or how she come to pick me out and I didn't
tell her nothing about being married because what would be the use of
hurting her and they can't be no harm done because we will never meet
and as soon as she writes and tells me where she seen me that will end
it. But I just couldn't stand it to think of the poor kid running to the
door every time the mail man come and maybe crying when they wasn't
nothing for her. I guess Florrie wouldn't have no objections under the
circumstances but if she did find out and start to ball me out I would
tell her to take a jump in the lake because she never even mended me a
pair of sox to say nothing about knit them. I also asked the girl to
send me a picture of herself because it tickles them to be asked for
their picture and of course as soon as I get it I will tear it up but
she won't know that.
[Illustration: 5 or 4 of us bumped into each other and I got a kick in
the head (p. 117).]
Well Al I decided to not play on the football club here after all. In
the 1st. place theys 3 or 4 privates trying for the club and I don't
believe in mixing up with them to much and if Whiting and them other
officers wants to all right, but that don't make it all right in my
mind. And besides I figured it wasn't fair to either myself or Capt.
Nash to run the risk of getting hurt in some fool game to say nothing
about learning a lot of fool signals that don't mean nothing but just
learning them takes up your time that you ought to spend thinking how to
improve your command. And another thing the minute they started to
practice I seen they didn't know the fame and they will get licked every
time they play and I can't stand to be with a looser. They talked about
what a great kicker this Shiverick is but I watched him trying to kick
gools and he missed 3 out of 10 and one of them rolled right along the
ground like a baby had kicked it.
Capt. Whiting come up to me when I come out on the field and asked me my
name and etc. and what position did I play and I told him center rush or
tackle back it didn't make no difference. So he asked me what college I
played at and I told him Harvard which was the 1st. thing that come into
my head. So he says "All right we need a good tackle back so you can
play there now in signal practice" so they lined up and I stood back of
the center rush and they called out some numbers and throwed the ball to
one of them and 3 or 4 of us bumped into each other and fell down and I
got a bad kick in the head but it wasn't bad enough to make me quit but
what is the use of takeing chances. They can have their football Al if
they want to waist the govt. time but I got enough to think about
thinking about winning this war.
Your pal, JACK.
CAMP GRANT, Nov. 14.
_FRIEND AL:_ Well this was our day out to the rifle range and I'll say
Secty. Daniels better hurry up and send some teachers here that knows
their business. But wait till you hear about it.
In the 1st. place it was a rotten day and a bad wind and so dark you
couldn't hardly see and they ought not to of made anybody try to shoot.
Well they had some targets that they said was 100 yds. from where we was
to shoot from but it was more like 1/4 of a mile and they said 100 yds.
so we would think it was closer. Well the idear was that each guy was to
shoot 10 times and if you hit the target it counted 1 pt. and if you hit
the bulls eye it counted 5 pts. so if you hit the bulls eye every time
you got 50 pts. but nobody in the world could do that the way they made
us shoot. What do you think of them makeing a man lay on their stomach
to shoot instead of standing up and I suppose if the Germans got 100
yds. from us we would all lay there like we had a stomache and let them
come. Somebody said we layed that way so as to give them less mark to
shoot at. How is that for fine dope? Because if you was laying on your
stomach faceing them and they hit you at all they couldn't hit you
nowheres only in the head and kill you where if you was standing up
straight they would be more libel to hit you anywheres except in the
head and maybe you would get off with a flesh wound or something.
Well 1 of the smart aleck lieuts. started out and hit the bulls eye 8
times and the target the other 2 times and that give him 42 and he
swelled up like a poison pup but the way the wind was blowing you could
tell it was just a accident because if he had of really shot at the
target the wind would of carried his shots to hell and gone away from it
but what he done was shoot with his eyes shut and the wind done the rest
of it for him. So some of the other boys shot and some of them had a lot
of luck and Red Sampson got 38 and finely it come my turn and I was
dizzy from something I eat and besides by that time it was so dark you
couldn't hardly make out where the target was and I was all cramped up
laying there but at that I just missed the bulls eye the 1st. time and
finely quit with 8. So afterwards Red Sampson asked me how it come I
didn't have a expert rifle shooter's meddle on me trying to kid me. So I
said "I never had to shoot for a liveing because I could go out and
pitch baseball and make real money where a man like you every time the
family wanted meat for dinner they would send you out to shoot a snake
or a tom cat or something." So it was him that got kidded.
Well Al I will be shooting with the best of them as soon as I get the
nack and when they get a man here to learn us that knows his business
and pick out a day when the wind ain't blowing a mile a minute and pitch
dark.
I haven't had no answer from that little girl down in Texas and I hope
she has got over her infatuation and decided to forget me.
Your pal, JACK.
[Illustration]
CAMP GRANT, Nov. 17.
_FRIEND AL:_ Well Al what do you think I got a letter from the girlie
down in Texas and the poor kid has gone crazy over me and I only wish
they was some way to stop her because of course it has got to end right
here and I will just have to drop her a line and tell her the truth that
I am a married man and the best thing she can do is try and forget. But
I am afraid it will be pretty hard for her and I only wish she hadn't
never seen or heard about me.
For some reason another she won't tell me where it was she seen me or
she won't send me no picture because she says I might show it to the
boys and laugh over that little girl down in Texas and of course I
wouldn't do nothing like that and she wouldn't think so if she knew me
better. Here is what her letter says.
My Soldier Boy, so you are an officer now. Well that is just grand and I
feel all the happier and prouder to hear from you. No Soldier Boy I
won't tell you where I saw you. You will just have to guess. Don't you
remember that day at------? If you don't I won't tell you. And I won't
send you my photo because I know what soldier boys are. You would show
it to everybody in camp and you would all have a good laugh over the
little f--l woman down in Texas who is fond of you. Well Boy we will
probably never see each other unless you should happen to be sent to one
of the camps down here. Is there any chance of that Soldier Boy? So you
quit a job in the big league to fight for Uncle Sam? That was fine of
you and makes me all the prouder to have your friendship. I am glad you
like the hose I knitted for you. Do you want some more or can I make you
a helmet or a sweater or something? Just say what you need and I will
make my needles fly to furnish you with it. And write to me soon. We are
so far apart that it takes your letters days and days to reach me. Au
revoir for this time Big Boy.
Well Al I can't remember to save my soul where it was I and she could of
met. Maybe I could if she had of put the name of the town in her letter
but she just left a dash like I copied it. I been trying to think up all
the girls I met in different towns while I was with the ball club and I
can remember a lot of them but nobody named Chase but of course she
might of give me a fake name the time we met.
Well as I say theys only the 1 thing to do and that is drop her a line
and say how things stand with me and for her to forget about me. Its
mighty nice of her to offer to knit me them other articles but of course
I can't ask her to under the circumstances and all I can do is just to
call it off or maybe it would be better to not write to her back but
just leave her guess the truth only I am afraid she would think I was a
bum to not acknollege her letter. I wish they was somebody to advice me
what to do but I guess I can't look for no help from you along those
lines eh Al? You never had them looseing their heads and makeing
garments for you and etc.
I pretty near forgot to tell you that these college Willy boys got
cleaned up 9 to 6 in their game with the sailors from the Great Lakes
and the sailors made a monkey out of them and they wasn't a kid on the
sailors club that is 20 yrs. old. I bet Capt. Whiting would of gave his
right eye for a good husky tackle back when them sailors was pushing his
Willys around the field.
Your pal, JACK.
[Illustration]
CAMP GRANT, Nov. 22.
_FRIEND AL:_ Well they have just sent away another train load of the
boys to 1 of the national guards and if they keep it up we won't have
more then 30 or 40 left to a Co. I wish I was with the boys that went
but theys no chance of that because they are keeping the best men here
so as we will be all together when they get ready to send us across. And
it looks like I won't be able to get into the officers training camp
because I heard today that they won't leave nobody in that can't talk
all the languages of the ally countrys. Red Sampson heard 2 of the
lieuts. talking about it and 1 of them was saying how even the college
boys would have to hustle between now and Jan. because while most of
them could talk French and Italian they was very few colleges where you
can learn Roman and Australian and etc. so it looks like I would be
bared out because while I might pick up the French and maybe 1 or 2
others I couldn't possibly master 8 or 9 languages in hardly a month you
might say. I don't know what the idear is but it probably come from the
same guy that makes you shoot laying on your stomach.
Speaking about a month my month without leave is pretty near up and I am
figureing on going to Chi the 1st. of Dec. and see Florrie and little
Al though for all as I know they both may be dead because Florrie won't
never suffer from writers cramp on my acct. I have asked her 2 or 3
times to come out for Sunday and bring the kid but no its always to cold
or she has got company comeing for dinner or 1 thing another.
Sometimes I pretty near wish I had a wife like Sebastian's thats so
homely you can't hardly look at her but still and all you get a chance
to once in a while.
Well I wrote to that poor kid down in Texas and told her I didn't want
to bother her to make me a helmet or a sweater but I all ready got a
helmet. I didn't have the heart to tell her about Florrie or tell her to
quit writeing to me but I give her a kind of a hint that I was to busy
to spend much time writeing letters and I hope she don't try and keep up
a correspondence because it can't do neither of us no good and the best
way would be for us to both forget it and of course that wouldn't be no
trouble for me but I am afraid a girl don't forget so easy.
Well Al this ain't what you might call a happy letter but I don't know
no good news to write only they have gave up our choir practice as a bad
job and we don't have to worry no more about letting the fires go out.
Your pal, JACK.
CAMP GRANT, Dec. 2.
_FRIEND AL:_ Well Al I just got back from Chi and of all the tough luck
a man ever had I had it.
You remember me telling you about the last time I come back from my
leave and I got in late and Capt. Nash says I couldn't have no more
leave for a month. Well the month was up Friday and I had it fixed so as
I could go to Chi Saturday A.M. with the gang that was going to
the football game between our club and Camp Custer and the only ones
that was allowed to go was the ones that had boughten tickets to the
game so I bought a ticket though I didn't have no intentions of waisting
my time out to no Willy boy football game.