TRANSCRIBED FROM THE SOUTHERN STANDARD AUGUST 29, 1918 P. 8
Camp Zachary Taylor, Ky.
August 17. 1918.
Dear Editor:
Thanking you very much for the publication of my other little letter I come at you with a little more “Army dope” mixed up with a friendship letter to my friends. I hope it has the results that the other had. I have received several highly welcomed and appreciated letters from my friends who appreciated the fact that I did not have time to write them separately. They all take the view that I have in regards to the “Old Reliable” as being an ideal means of communication as well as information.
Dear Friends,
You don’t know how my heart leaped with joy as I read the letters you wrote me in reply to the one that the Editor published for me a few weeks ago in our Old Reliable. I am very sorry that my time is still so well used up that I can not write all separately, but I’m sure glad that you see it as it is and write me any way.
The first thing of interest to you in my “Old Kentucky Home” probably is the fact that the crops are good, the papers state. We have plenty of rain here in consrast to your dry weather. This is especially interesting to us soldiers for the way to a soldier’s heart is thru his stomach. But this plenty of rain does not excuse us from hot weather. The contrasts in temperature are great here. Last week the temperature ran up to 109 degrees in the shade. You can just imagine how the perspiration trickled down our tanned cheeks and dripped or streamed out of our woolen shirtsleeves as we trotted, over hill, our dale as we struck the dusty trails in the parching sun with those heavy gun carriages. And to make us still hotter as we do our task of pushing them around as well as while doing other drugery, cheerfully for our country, is the fact creeping into our minds occasionally that the Hun is the cause of all our troubles. Some of the boys say it is hell (which is exaggerating it of course) while you will hear some good old pal say, “Cheer up men, you will soon be dead,” or “dont be discouraged men, life will soon be over.” All such punning on the meaning of sentences takes our minds off of our hardships and makes us enjoy our tasks and forget the weather and hard work.
Some times we have a sand storm in the camp which covers our bunks and clothing in our barracks and as we are supposed (or I had better say) as we have to keep all dust and almost every grain of sand off of clothing, beds and lockers we wonder why so much sand is raised, but bringing it down to its real cause we blame Kaiser Bill for stiring up so much sand, for we would not be here by the thousands if it were not for him and his followers.
Friends, I wish you could have seen the program that about 15,000 of us Sammies pulled off today at the graduating exercises for 1,200 of our school soldiers who received their commissions. If you had seen us hit the step on the dot with snap as the bands played the marches it would have made you feel like we were going to lick the Huns. It makes fellows as blue as I am cheer up. But right here don’t understand me to say that I am blue because I am in the army for I don’t want out of this hard life of soldiering till the Kaiser is in his hole and smashed in there. I am blue because it has to be done and not because I have to help do it.
You all agree with me that it is hard to give up a well paying position with all kinds of freedom and enjoyment for a job of this kind; but since it has to be done we do it cheerfully. Some bright day the Hun will be no more than those of us who are lucky will come riding home with all the pomp and glory due us to receive the glad tiding and everything good that you have saved for us while we were fighting for you and our country. We know you are behind us from the generous way you contribute to the Red Cross, Y. M. C. A. and War Saving Stamps. Be liberal continuously and help us out for we don’t want to and are not going to quit till its over, over there. Most of the soldiers are liberal towards Liberty Loan Bonds and W.S.S. investments. Go to the post office and find out for yourselves what faith we have in an investment with our great Government. It is all out of the question to think that a purchase of War Savings Stamps is risky. There may remain a question of when we will win the war, but there is no doubt that we will win the war. Next year when we are 3,000,000 strong over there and Kaiser Bill come up the hill to take a look at France, you will see Kaiser Bill go down the hill with bullets in his pants.
I’ll have to close as they are about to hollow frog which means for me to jump. We do all of our movements in quick time, at 120 steps per minute except going from our classes on different parts of the camp which is done in double time. Some times we have about a mile to run and let me tell you, it almost has some of our tongues hanging out before we get there. But if you will think of us occasionly as you sit up in the cool shade and send us some cheerful words we’ll stick to it.
I’ll tell you about the surrounding camps in Kentucky next time, such as West Point, 20 miles away. Stils, 30 miles. Jeffersonville just across the Ohio river in Judland and the additions to this camp, also I may make a trip thru the Mamouth Cave, 100 miles front Louisville or Camp Taylor, and tell about that.
Excuse the structure of this as time won’t permit me to do better.
Sincerely your friend and home boy.
Candidate Lemuel A. Francis
24th Btrv. F. A. C. O. T. S.
NOTES:
TRANSCRIBED BY GABBY RUSHING
Camp Zachary Taylor, Ky.
August 17. 1918.
Dear Editor:
Thanking you very much for the publication of my other little letter I come at you with a little more “Army dope” mixed up with a friendship letter to my friends. I hope it has the results that the other had. I have received several highly welcomed and appreciated letters from my friends who appreciated the fact that I did not have time to write them separately. They all take the view that I have in regards to the “Old Reliable” as being an ideal means of communication as well as information.
Dear Friends,
You don’t know how my heart leaped with joy as I read the letters you wrote me in reply to the one that the Editor published for me a few weeks ago in our Old Reliable. I am very sorry that my time is still so well used up that I can not write all separately, but I’m sure glad that you see it as it is and write me any way.
The first thing of interest to you in my “Old Kentucky Home” probably is the fact that the crops are good, the papers state. We have plenty of rain here in consrast to your dry weather. This is especially interesting to us soldiers for the way to a soldier’s heart is thru his stomach. But this plenty of rain does not excuse us from hot weather. The contrasts in temperature are great here. Last week the temperature ran up to 109 degrees in the shade. You can just imagine how the perspiration trickled down our tanned cheeks and dripped or streamed out of our woolen shirtsleeves as we trotted, over hill, our dale as we struck the dusty trails in the parching sun with those heavy gun carriages. And to make us still hotter as we do our task of pushing them around as well as while doing other drugery, cheerfully for our country, is the fact creeping into our minds occasionally that the Hun is the cause of all our troubles. Some of the boys say it is hell (which is exaggerating it of course) while you will hear some good old pal say, “Cheer up men, you will soon be dead,” or “dont be discouraged men, life will soon be over.” All such punning on the meaning of sentences takes our minds off of our hardships and makes us enjoy our tasks and forget the weather and hard work.
Some times we have a sand storm in the camp which covers our bunks and clothing in our barracks and as we are supposed (or I had better say) as we have to keep all dust and almost every grain of sand off of clothing, beds and lockers we wonder why so much sand is raised, but bringing it down to its real cause we blame Kaiser Bill for stiring up so much sand, for we would not be here by the thousands if it were not for him and his followers.
Friends, I wish you could have seen the program that about 15,000 of us Sammies pulled off today at the graduating exercises for 1,200 of our school soldiers who received their commissions. If you had seen us hit the step on the dot with snap as the bands played the marches it would have made you feel like we were going to lick the Huns. It makes fellows as blue as I am cheer up. But right here don’t understand me to say that I am blue because I am in the army for I don’t want out of this hard life of soldiering till the Kaiser is in his hole and smashed in there. I am blue because it has to be done and not because I have to help do it.
You all agree with me that it is hard to give up a well paying position with all kinds of freedom and enjoyment for a job of this kind; but since it has to be done we do it cheerfully. Some bright day the Hun will be no more than those of us who are lucky will come riding home with all the pomp and glory due us to receive the glad tiding and everything good that you have saved for us while we were fighting for you and our country. We know you are behind us from the generous way you contribute to the Red Cross, Y. M. C. A. and War Saving Stamps. Be liberal continuously and help us out for we don’t want to and are not going to quit till its over, over there. Most of the soldiers are liberal towards Liberty Loan Bonds and W.S.S. investments. Go to the post office and find out for yourselves what faith we have in an investment with our great Government. It is all out of the question to think that a purchase of War Savings Stamps is risky. There may remain a question of when we will win the war, but there is no doubt that we will win the war. Next year when we are 3,000,000 strong over there and Kaiser Bill come up the hill to take a look at France, you will see Kaiser Bill go down the hill with bullets in his pants.
I’ll have to close as they are about to hollow frog which means for me to jump. We do all of our movements in quick time, at 120 steps per minute except going from our classes on different parts of the camp which is done in double time. Some times we have about a mile to run and let me tell you, it almost has some of our tongues hanging out before we get there. But if you will think of us occasionly as you sit up in the cool shade and send us some cheerful words we’ll stick to it.
I’ll tell you about the surrounding camps in Kentucky next time, such as West Point, 20 miles away. Stils, 30 miles. Jeffersonville just across the Ohio river in Judland and the additions to this camp, also I may make a trip thru the Mamouth Cave, 100 miles front Louisville or Camp Taylor, and tell about that.
Excuse the structure of this as time won’t permit me to do better.
Sincerely your friend and home boy.
Candidate Lemuel A. Francis
24th Btrv. F. A. C. O. T. S.
NOTES:
TRANSCRIBED BY GABBY RUSHING