The letter of February 15, 1943, continues:
We have finished basic training and passed the 9th Corps army test, which was Sunday a week ago. We went out only a few miles and I rode both ways because of my feet. Saturday night before I went to the dispensary and had my blisters drained and my feet dressed for I thought I might have to hike. I hung around the radio car that day and did nothing but kill time. The examiner asked us a few questions on radio procedure and that was all. The 9th Corps area headquarters are Fort Lewis and that was where the examining officers came from.
Also a week ago Saturday the 1st Battalion went on "alert." Now I can't tell you for sure what alert means except you have to be ready to pack up and do almost any silly thing. For instance, last Sunday we got back from said test about 6 P.M. and no sooner had we struck the barracks than we were "alerted" and just had time to swallow a little food when we were told to pack everything we owned in our barracks bags, roll a full field pack with overcoat and overshoes tied on top of pack, carry rifles and wear our helmets and be ready to leave at 8 o'clock. As a matter of fact, we fell out at 7:30. There was some speculation as to whether it was the real thing or not for whenever the time comes to move on we will do just that. As it turned out we marched about two miles and returned to barracks and unpacked everything.
Then middle of last week as part of the alert we got ready for an all night problem. Everybody got ready with packs and the hour of departure was postponed from time to time until it got nearly 10 p.m. Our lieutenant came in then and said, "Parkins, Dobson, McCeary and Watkins go to bed because you have to go to school tomorrow. The rest of you will fall out at 10 o'clock." Well, those poor devils went out and didn't get back until 5:30 a.m. and they really took a beating for they walked up hill and down and fell in the mud with rifles and all. They fell into bed as we got up and got ready for school. Of course, they got the day off if you can call cleaning up after a mess like that a day off. That was about the end of the fireworks.
3 comments:
Boy, I'll bet that "Parkins, Dobson ... go to bed because you have to go to school tomorrow" were welcome words!!
Do you think the other men had animosity toward the guys who didn't have to do the tough stuff?
I'm sure excuse from drilling in the middle of the night was welcom indeed. If there was animosity, Daddy doesn't let on. But, of course, he did do some "tough stuff" even though he was assigned to communications and attended classes.
Daddy was drafted with the third draft, 4-27-42, which called for men 20-21 and 35-44 years of age. He indicates a mix of people at induction -- old guys, Blacks, Hispanics, and Filipinos. And my understanding was that 38-year-old men were the oldest called. We happen to know the particular problems Vance was having. What we don't know -- and I haven't been able to find anywhere -- are the problems others were having. Chuck commented a while back that training was controversial and he believes men died at Camp White as a result of training.
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