"Here come the new boyscouts" - September 20, 1941

The letter is typed and unsigned, and doesn’t appear to have been sent.

Saturday afternoon
9/20/41

Dear Bud,

Am just waiting around for a new bunch of selectees to show up—. They are due in camp about 3:00 o’clock. Our company is being assigned about 75 of ‘em and what a time we’re going to have.

The life down here isn’t so bad though, because we are permitted to lie around in bed every morning until 5:00 o’clock. This, of course, gives us plenty of time to get washed, shaved, dressed, make our bunks, sweep out the barracks, change the water in the fire buckets outside, and a helluva lot of other things by 5:10.

At 5:15, the Top Kick blows a whistle and we all run outside and stand and shiver while some son-of-a-gun blows a bugle. After we are reasonably chilled, we grope our way through the darkness to the mess hall. Here we have a hearty breakfast consisting of an unidentified liquid and a choice of white or rye crusts.

After gorging ourselves with this delicious repast, we waddle our way slowly back to the barracks. We have nothin' to do until 6:30 so we just sit around and scrub the toilets, mop the floors, wash the windows, pick up all the cigarette butts and match sticks within a radius of 150 feet from the barracks.

Soon Sergeant Nelson comes in and says, “Come on out in the sun, kids.” So we go out and bask in the wonderful Louisiana sunshine. Of course we stand in six inches of mud, up to our hips in fact. To limber up we do a few simple calisthenics like touching our toes with both feet off the ground and grabbing ourselves by the hair and holding ourselves at arm’s length. 

At 7:00 o’clock we put on our light packs and start walking to the bayous, (Swamps infested with snakes of the rattle type, black widow spiders and what not). The light pack is not to be confused with the “heavy” pack. The light pack includes a gun, bayonet, canteen, fork, knife, spoon, meat can, cup, shaving kit, fire extinguisher, tent pins, a shovel and a few other negligible items. The heavy pack also has a blanket.

Carrying my light pack I weigh about 300 pounds. (Notice the increase in my weight. I normally weigh about 165). Can’t you see what fun we have, traipsing around these swamps, or Bayous as the natives call them.

Behind us on these so-called marches, we have an observation car which picks up the boys that faint or the ones that can’t move on. These are given six months in the guard house, but they do not have to face courts martial. At 12:00 o’clock those as can, limp to the infirmary. At the infirmary, patients are divided into two classes, those who have athletes foot, and those who have colds. If you have a cold, you get your throat swabbed with iodine. If you have athlete’s foot, you have your feet swabbed with iodine. Anyone who claims he has neither a cold or athletes foot is sent to the guard house for impersonating an officer. 

I am very popular at the infirmary. I told them that I have both a cold and athlete’s foot. What I really have is piles, but I know when to keep my mouth shut.

Here come the new boyscouts, so I’ll have to say so-long for now Bud,

As ever, your bushwhacking pal,

[unsigned]