TRANSCRIBED FROM THE SPRINGDALE NEWS AUGUST 16, 1918 P. 3
Dearest Mother and all:
Received your letter yesterday. Was glad to hear from you and that you are all right.
I am just fine and dandy and dong fine. I am as big now as I was when I left home. I weight 165 now and am looking well. I look much better than I did when that picture was taken that I sent you.
It is awful dry down here. Came a little shower day before yesterday, but not near enough. It is dusty now, but think it will rain in a few days again. It is pretty hot in the day time but most of the time the nights are cool and pleasant to sleep but we have had some very hot nights, but not many. I have been sleeping under a double blanket for the last three or four nights and you know by that it gets pretty cool, but it is just fine sleeping then.
We have moved back to our old barracks where we were when we came here and will get a new bunch of men in a few days. We went out on a hike yesterday with a bunch of new men. About a four or five mile hike without packs and got back all right and feeling just fine, but some of the new men were almost all in. It was a pretty long hike for a new company of men but they will soon get to where they can stand it all right.
I think that we will be going to the rifle range in a few days with a company of new men, but my company will not have to do any shooting. We will go along as instructors.
The rifle range is sure some place. There are so many men shooting you can't hardly hear yourself think. You can't imagine how much noise there is unless you should go to the range. It is pretty hard work but you see quite a bit of fun at the same time and it isn't near as bad as some of the new boys think it is.
I am in charge of quarters today and don't have very much to do only stay here at the barracks and see that no one comes in unless they have business or belong to the company. So you can see that I have an easy job today if I did have it a little hard yesterday. I will be all rested up and in good shape for tomorrow, but tomorrow is Saturday and don't guess we will do very much. Guess we will drill in the morning, but tomorrow afternoon will be off and can go any place that we want to.
We have plenty to eat and it is cooked well. We sure have got two fine cooks, the best ones that we have had since we came down. They sure know how to fix things to eat.
I must close. It is almost time for me to go and get the mail.
From your loving son,
Corp. Fred O. Bowman.
NOTES: Fred Otto Bowman was writing to his mother Mrs. J. C. Bowman. He had been serving in the military since May. Bowman was born on May 24, 1895 in Washington County, Arkansas and died in Los Angeles, California on December 30, 1970. He is buried in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, Calif.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD
Dearest Mother and all:
Received your letter yesterday. Was glad to hear from you and that you are all right.
I am just fine and dandy and dong fine. I am as big now as I was when I left home. I weight 165 now and am looking well. I look much better than I did when that picture was taken that I sent you.
It is awful dry down here. Came a little shower day before yesterday, but not near enough. It is dusty now, but think it will rain in a few days again. It is pretty hot in the day time but most of the time the nights are cool and pleasant to sleep but we have had some very hot nights, but not many. I have been sleeping under a double blanket for the last three or four nights and you know by that it gets pretty cool, but it is just fine sleeping then.
We have moved back to our old barracks where we were when we came here and will get a new bunch of men in a few days. We went out on a hike yesterday with a bunch of new men. About a four or five mile hike without packs and got back all right and feeling just fine, but some of the new men were almost all in. It was a pretty long hike for a new company of men but they will soon get to where they can stand it all right.
I think that we will be going to the rifle range in a few days with a company of new men, but my company will not have to do any shooting. We will go along as instructors.
The rifle range is sure some place. There are so many men shooting you can't hardly hear yourself think. You can't imagine how much noise there is unless you should go to the range. It is pretty hard work but you see quite a bit of fun at the same time and it isn't near as bad as some of the new boys think it is.
I am in charge of quarters today and don't have very much to do only stay here at the barracks and see that no one comes in unless they have business or belong to the company. So you can see that I have an easy job today if I did have it a little hard yesterday. I will be all rested up and in good shape for tomorrow, but tomorrow is Saturday and don't guess we will do very much. Guess we will drill in the morning, but tomorrow afternoon will be off and can go any place that we want to.
We have plenty to eat and it is cooked well. We sure have got two fine cooks, the best ones that we have had since we came down. They sure know how to fix things to eat.
I must close. It is almost time for me to go and get the mail.
From your loving son,
Corp. Fred O. Bowman.
NOTES: Fred Otto Bowman was writing to his mother Mrs. J. C. Bowman. He had been serving in the military since May. Bowman was born on May 24, 1895 in Washington County, Arkansas and died in Los Angeles, California on December 30, 1970. He is buried in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, Calif.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD