TRANSCRIBED FROM THE BAXTER BULLETIN FEBRUARY 22, 1918 P. 1
U. S. Naval Base,
Hampton Roads, Va.
Co. 110.
Feb. 8, 1918.
Dear Mr. Editor:
Will write a few lines to your paper, as it is my home paper.
I received a copy of the Bulletin from my father, who lives at Norfork.
Charlie Martin, Tate Baker and myself all of Norfork enlisted in the navy the 18th of Dec. 1917, and were shipped to Norfork, Va., to the training camps.
I like navy life better all the time, so does Charlie and Tate. We three boys are still in the same Company, but Tate is now in the hospital with the mumps and we may loose him, as we are to change camps again Sunday. We are now in our third camp and are about through drilling. We have had some pretty tough times in the past, but times are getting better for us now.
We have had some awful cold weather here but we have good warm barracks to live in, and we get lots to eat here.
In two more weeks we we go to the beach for target practice, then we are ready for going abroad some ship. I am anxious to get on some ship. I prefer a battle ship.
We all sleep in hammocks and keep our clothes in a bag and we we have them both to scrub every Sat. The main thing here is to keep clean.
We have two uniforms, blue and white.
We get up in the morning at 5:30, have muster at 5:45, breakfast at 7, dinner at 12, muster again at 5:45, supper at 6 and go to bed at 9 o’clock.
We get to see lots of sights that are great to us.
Would be glad to hear from any of my friends any where back there. Will try to answer all letters rec’d,
With greetings to all who read this, I close.
From a sailor boy in blue,
Owen A. Stone
NOTES: Owen Alfred Stone was born in Sidney, Arkansas on October 25, 1894. He died in January 1978 and is buried in the Oxford Cemetery in Oxford, Arkansas. When he registered for the draft he was living in northwest Arkansas in the town of West Fork.
TRANSCRIBED BY DAVID COLLINS
U. S. Naval Base,
Hampton Roads, Va.
Co. 110.
Feb. 8, 1918.
Dear Mr. Editor:
Will write a few lines to your paper, as it is my home paper.
I received a copy of the Bulletin from my father, who lives at Norfork.
Charlie Martin, Tate Baker and myself all of Norfork enlisted in the navy the 18th of Dec. 1917, and were shipped to Norfork, Va., to the training camps.
I like navy life better all the time, so does Charlie and Tate. We three boys are still in the same Company, but Tate is now in the hospital with the mumps and we may loose him, as we are to change camps again Sunday. We are now in our third camp and are about through drilling. We have had some pretty tough times in the past, but times are getting better for us now.
We have had some awful cold weather here but we have good warm barracks to live in, and we get lots to eat here.
In two more weeks we we go to the beach for target practice, then we are ready for going abroad some ship. I am anxious to get on some ship. I prefer a battle ship.
We all sleep in hammocks and keep our clothes in a bag and we we have them both to scrub every Sat. The main thing here is to keep clean.
We have two uniforms, blue and white.
We get up in the morning at 5:30, have muster at 5:45, breakfast at 7, dinner at 12, muster again at 5:45, supper at 6 and go to bed at 9 o’clock.
We get to see lots of sights that are great to us.
Would be glad to hear from any of my friends any where back there. Will try to answer all letters rec’d,
With greetings to all who read this, I close.
From a sailor boy in blue,
Owen A. Stone
NOTES: Owen Alfred Stone was born in Sidney, Arkansas on October 25, 1894. He died in January 1978 and is buried in the Oxford Cemetery in Oxford, Arkansas. When he registered for the draft he was living in northwest Arkansas in the town of West Fork.
TRANSCRIBED BY DAVID COLLINS