LETTER FROM A MISSOURI FARM KID

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 got 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,