[StBernard] Southern Farm Kid Joins The Marines

[Westley Annis]

	Dear Ma and Pa, 
	
	I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the
Marine Corps 
	beats working for old man Minch by a mile.. Tell them to join up
quick before 
	all of the places are filled. 
	
	I was restless at first because you get to stay in bed till nearly 6
a.m. But I 
	am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do
before 
	breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to
slop, feed to 
	pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

	
	Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. 
	
	Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs,
bacon, etc., 
	but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie
and other 
	regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two
city boys 
	that live on coffee.Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon
when you get 
	fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much. 
	
	We go on 'route marches,' which the platoon sergeant says are long
walks to 
	harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different.
A 'route 
	march' is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys
get sore 
	feet and we all ride back in trucks. 
	
	The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is
like the 
	school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown.They
don't bother 
	you none. 
	
	This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing.I keep getting
medals for 
	shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a
chipmunk head and 
	don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at
home. All you 
	got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even
load your own 
	cartridges they come in boxes. 
	
	Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to
wrestle 
	with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break
real easy. It 
	ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best
they got in 
	this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. I only
beat him once. 
	He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6' and 130 pounds
and he's 6'8' 
	and near 300 pounds dry. 
	
	Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other
fellers get onto 
	this setup and come stampeding in. 
	
	Your loving daughter, 
	Alice