TRANSCRIBED FROM THE SPRINGDALE NEWS DECEMBER 6, 1918 P. 3
Nov. 9 1918
Dear Friend Lester:
How are you and Hugh getting along by this time? Fine I hope. I am just dandy. I will give you a description of a soldiers life. Camp Taylor is an artillery camp, there are eighty thousand soldiers here, most of which are new men. I have to drill them and if a man has got a temper he sure loses it when he is drilling a bunch of recruits. You know I can say what I please to them and they have to take it. But I treat them just as good as I can. We have horses and 3 inch guns. We go out riding almost every day. We are not allowed to throw a Cigarette stub around our barracks. What we eat is mostly "slum", that is made of meat and a little of everything all mixed up together. I have been under quarantine for about two months for the flu and measles. I wish you and Hugh could come over some evening and watch me drill some of these rookies. "Oh, Gee" I guess I am getting cross, in the army they call it hard boiled, but anybody would get cross if they have to contend with all kinds of ignorant men as I do.
Lester they won't let me go across they called for men to go across and so I ran out to get a chance to go, but they said you have a warrant for a corporal. We don't want you to go we want you to stay here. Then is when I cursed myself for being a non-commissioned officer. But I can't quit now. I told them I had rather be a private and go across. But nothing doing. I haven't time to write for we are drilling like h-----. I haven't seen a civilian in so long that I don't know what they look like, you see they don't allow them in camp only on Sat. evening and Sunday and not at all when quarantined, so I would not know how to act when I do get to go with a girl.
Your friend,
Corpl. L.C. Ficklin,
Bat. C, 5th Reg. F. A. R. D. Camp Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky,
NOTES: Ficklin was writing to his friend Lester Mitcheal of near Springdale, Arkansas.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD
Nov. 9 1918
Dear Friend Lester:
How are you and Hugh getting along by this time? Fine I hope. I am just dandy. I will give you a description of a soldiers life. Camp Taylor is an artillery camp, there are eighty thousand soldiers here, most of which are new men. I have to drill them and if a man has got a temper he sure loses it when he is drilling a bunch of recruits. You know I can say what I please to them and they have to take it. But I treat them just as good as I can. We have horses and 3 inch guns. We go out riding almost every day. We are not allowed to throw a Cigarette stub around our barracks. What we eat is mostly "slum", that is made of meat and a little of everything all mixed up together. I have been under quarantine for about two months for the flu and measles. I wish you and Hugh could come over some evening and watch me drill some of these rookies. "Oh, Gee" I guess I am getting cross, in the army they call it hard boiled, but anybody would get cross if they have to contend with all kinds of ignorant men as I do.
Lester they won't let me go across they called for men to go across and so I ran out to get a chance to go, but they said you have a warrant for a corporal. We don't want you to go we want you to stay here. Then is when I cursed myself for being a non-commissioned officer. But I can't quit now. I told them I had rather be a private and go across. But nothing doing. I haven't time to write for we are drilling like h-----. I haven't seen a civilian in so long that I don't know what they look like, you see they don't allow them in camp only on Sat. evening and Sunday and not at all when quarantined, so I would not know how to act when I do get to go with a girl.
Your friend,
Corpl. L.C. Ficklin,
Bat. C, 5th Reg. F. A. R. D. Camp Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky,
NOTES: Ficklin was writing to his friend Lester Mitcheal of near Springdale, Arkansas.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD