TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ASHLEY COUNTY EAGLE NOVEMBER 15, 1917 P. 2
Dear Shock:
I have just received your highly appreciated letter, and was glad to hear from you, but sorry to hear of you and Dora being sick.
I am enjoying life fine; don’t have to work but very little. We get up at 5 o’clock sharp every morning, scrub out the barracks and lace our hammocks. At 6:30 we fall in ranks for roll call; after roll call we are marched to breakfast. We eat about 7 o’clock, and are called out at 8 o’clock and marched to the armory, get belts and rifles and drill until 11 o’clock; then stack our rifles and march off the field to the barracks and have another roll call; eat dinner at 12 sharp. Go out again at 1 o’clock and get our guns; then march until 4 o’clock, take our rifles back to the armory, fall out and go where we please until 5:15. Then we fall in for supper, eat at 5:30, after which we can work, read or write until 8:30. Then we have another roll call; the cannon fires at 9 sharp, and when it fires everybody had better be in bed or have a good reason for being up. If any one fails to be present at roll call he goes on report, and gets extra duty or gets his shore liberty taken away from him. We get from 12 to 36 hours shore liberty a week if we manage to keep off report. I haven’t been on report at all and haven’t got any extra duty. We get every Thursday afternoon as a holiday to do as we wish.—Most of us play foot ball. We don’t have any special time for target practice, though we generally get target practice every two weeks, and the best shot in each Company gets $1.00, and the best shot on the Station gets $5.00. At present a man from Texas is the best. I am second. He only missed one shot out of thirty. I missed three. I guess what drilling we do from now on will be in the drill hall, in order to be out of the weather. We have a hall 200 feet wide and 500 feet long to drill in. Believe me things are well furnished up here. While this cold weather gets next to us Southern scouts, guess we will get used to it before winter is over. I am having a fine time, enjoying life the finest way. All I regret about joining the Navy is that I didn’t join four years ago; for if any one ever expects to amount to anything, here is the place to start; for the Navy learns a man the value of life, also learns him to take life easy. Mr. Bolinger, my first commander, has been promoted, and I have a new commander now. He sure is a jolly fellow I am bound to say, for he is from Arkansas. We Jackies have made up a song; this is the chorus:
“Do you duty and stop your kicking.
Join the Navy and do your fight-well.
For what is the use of all this kicking
When you know we have got to give the Kaiser—a licking.”
I don’t know when we Jackies will go to sea, but I don’t think we will go before Spring. I hope you will all keep well, for when we lick the kaiser I am coming home, and then I can tell you all about the excitement. Give my regards to everybody. I am as ever.
Joe Burgess,
2nd Reg., Co. B., Great Lakes, Illinois.
NOTE: Joseph Perry Burgess was born in Louisiana on October 10, 1896 and died in Jonesboro, Arkansas on August 19, 1962. He is buried in the Promised Land Cemetery in Hamburg, Arkansas. He enlisted in the navy on July 16, 1917 and was discharged on October 18, 1919. In later life he became a Baptist minister.
TRANSCRIBED BY LINDA MATTHEWS
Dear Shock:
I have just received your highly appreciated letter, and was glad to hear from you, but sorry to hear of you and Dora being sick.
I am enjoying life fine; don’t have to work but very little. We get up at 5 o’clock sharp every morning, scrub out the barracks and lace our hammocks. At 6:30 we fall in ranks for roll call; after roll call we are marched to breakfast. We eat about 7 o’clock, and are called out at 8 o’clock and marched to the armory, get belts and rifles and drill until 11 o’clock; then stack our rifles and march off the field to the barracks and have another roll call; eat dinner at 12 sharp. Go out again at 1 o’clock and get our guns; then march until 4 o’clock, take our rifles back to the armory, fall out and go where we please until 5:15. Then we fall in for supper, eat at 5:30, after which we can work, read or write until 8:30. Then we have another roll call; the cannon fires at 9 sharp, and when it fires everybody had better be in bed or have a good reason for being up. If any one fails to be present at roll call he goes on report, and gets extra duty or gets his shore liberty taken away from him. We get from 12 to 36 hours shore liberty a week if we manage to keep off report. I haven’t been on report at all and haven’t got any extra duty. We get every Thursday afternoon as a holiday to do as we wish.—Most of us play foot ball. We don’t have any special time for target practice, though we generally get target practice every two weeks, and the best shot in each Company gets $1.00, and the best shot on the Station gets $5.00. At present a man from Texas is the best. I am second. He only missed one shot out of thirty. I missed three. I guess what drilling we do from now on will be in the drill hall, in order to be out of the weather. We have a hall 200 feet wide and 500 feet long to drill in. Believe me things are well furnished up here. While this cold weather gets next to us Southern scouts, guess we will get used to it before winter is over. I am having a fine time, enjoying life the finest way. All I regret about joining the Navy is that I didn’t join four years ago; for if any one ever expects to amount to anything, here is the place to start; for the Navy learns a man the value of life, also learns him to take life easy. Mr. Bolinger, my first commander, has been promoted, and I have a new commander now. He sure is a jolly fellow I am bound to say, for he is from Arkansas. We Jackies have made up a song; this is the chorus:
“Do you duty and stop your kicking.
Join the Navy and do your fight-well.
For what is the use of all this kicking
When you know we have got to give the Kaiser—a licking.”
I don’t know when we Jackies will go to sea, but I don’t think we will go before Spring. I hope you will all keep well, for when we lick the kaiser I am coming home, and then I can tell you all about the excitement. Give my regards to everybody. I am as ever.
Joe Burgess,
2nd Reg., Co. B., Great Lakes, Illinois.
NOTE: Joseph Perry Burgess was born in Louisiana on October 10, 1896 and died in Jonesboro, Arkansas on August 19, 1962. He is buried in the Promised Land Cemetery in Hamburg, Arkansas. He enlisted in the navy on July 16, 1917 and was discharged on October 18, 1919. In later life he became a Baptist minister.
TRANSCRIBED BY LINDA MATTHEWS