A Farm kid joins the Marines

Heartwarming

Farm Kid Writes Home After

Joining The Marines. This Is Priceless.

A young farm kid wrote

home after joining the marines with this letter.

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 used to it, 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,

Becky Lue