TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ROGERS DEMOCRAT AUGUST 1, 1918 P. 5
I can hardly stand on my feet. Honestly, I believe they marched us 99 miles yesterday. To commence the day we had to get up and play reveille at 6 o'clock, and then at 8:30 we marched over to parade grounds, and then all of the bands of the 87th Division were united, and there were something like 250 of us; some band! Then all soldiers and officers of the 87th Division were there with their five Battalions, which numbered about 50,000 soldiers. Well the parade was formed and had to march the entire Battalion by a big platform, which was occupied by Governor Davis and all of our high officers. The entire Battalion was marched by them for their inspection. It was called the Passing Review Parade. It took 45 minutes for the entire Battalion to pass. The band took the lead across the parade grounds, and as soon as the band had passed the review stand formation alongside the review stand and played all the time the soldiers were passing by. We played one march over and over 15 times. Ray, what do you think of that for playing a piece? You see there were enough of us that a man could take a little rest now and then long enough to get his breath. Well when it was all over and the addresses delivered by all the N.Y. big men, it was 11 a.m. Then 334 F.A. Band was loaded onto cars and to Trenton, the capitol city, we went. We were taken to a big hotel and dinner was served in grand style; and at 1:30 the parade was pulled off. There were eight bands in the parade, and the 334 F.A. Band, or Soldier' Boys Band, had the pleasure of leading the parade, and it was some parade! It would have reached from Gentry to Springtown. It was said by the people in general that the 334 F.A. Band was the best one in the parade. Then in the evening we gave a nice two hours' concert. It was 10 a.m. when we landed back at our barracks at Camp Dix, and we were a tired set of boys.
NOTES: Otis Monroe Mitchell was born on June 17, 1895 in Pea Ridge, Arkansas and died on March 18, 1984 in Marion County, Oregon. He is buried in the Restlawn Memory Garden in West Salem, Oregon. He was serving with the 334th FA Band and was writing from Camp Dix, NJ. The letter was first published in the Gentry Journal-Advance.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD
I can hardly stand on my feet. Honestly, I believe they marched us 99 miles yesterday. To commence the day we had to get up and play reveille at 6 o'clock, and then at 8:30 we marched over to parade grounds, and then all of the bands of the 87th Division were united, and there were something like 250 of us; some band! Then all soldiers and officers of the 87th Division were there with their five Battalions, which numbered about 50,000 soldiers. Well the parade was formed and had to march the entire Battalion by a big platform, which was occupied by Governor Davis and all of our high officers. The entire Battalion was marched by them for their inspection. It was called the Passing Review Parade. It took 45 minutes for the entire Battalion to pass. The band took the lead across the parade grounds, and as soon as the band had passed the review stand formation alongside the review stand and played all the time the soldiers were passing by. We played one march over and over 15 times. Ray, what do you think of that for playing a piece? You see there were enough of us that a man could take a little rest now and then long enough to get his breath. Well when it was all over and the addresses delivered by all the N.Y. big men, it was 11 a.m. Then 334 F.A. Band was loaded onto cars and to Trenton, the capitol city, we went. We were taken to a big hotel and dinner was served in grand style; and at 1:30 the parade was pulled off. There were eight bands in the parade, and the 334 F.A. Band, or Soldier' Boys Band, had the pleasure of leading the parade, and it was some parade! It would have reached from Gentry to Springtown. It was said by the people in general that the 334 F.A. Band was the best one in the parade. Then in the evening we gave a nice two hours' concert. It was 10 a.m. when we landed back at our barracks at Camp Dix, and we were a tired set of boys.
NOTES: Otis Monroe Mitchell was born on June 17, 1895 in Pea Ridge, Arkansas and died on March 18, 1984 in Marion County, Oregon. He is buried in the Restlawn Memory Garden in West Salem, Oregon. He was serving with the 334th FA Band and was writing from Camp Dix, NJ. The letter was first published in the Gentry Journal-Advance.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD