At Plattsburg

There was then just time to change for the parade, which was partly interesting, partly tedious. Thanks to the lieutenant's drill, we made no mistakes, though at one time we had...

It is odd that David Farnham is in your squad, and amusing that I should have seen his mother only yesterday. She never was so proud of anything in her life as of the fact that...

Well, at last we heard the captain's whistle, and steadied. His voice came: "Range, eight hundred and fifty yards." We set our sights. "At one o'clock, to the right of the cemet...

I shall presently make a dash, for the tent, snatch my tooth-brush and make for the spigot, and bring back a basin of water for my feet. Then Knudsen will bestir himself and rac...

This afternoon we were taken to a neighboring field, where in limited area are samples of most of the military engineering devices approved by moderns. Three officers of the eng...

It takes three lacings below the knee to get yourself dressed, and three unlacings to get to bed, unless you want to be a real soldier boy, and sleep in your clothes. And only t...

(_Later._) My turn approached, and I stood waiting, the sling clasped on my arm. I felt the strain of the long wait before there came the call, Ready! To my coaches I had said--...

Our last afternoon in camp! We felt that we had earned repose after a day's hard work--a month's hard work! No more skirmishing among rocks, stumps, and barbed wire; no more fir...

"That was some hike we had this morning," calls Bannister to a friend across the street. Such is the general opinion, especially Reardon's, who slept till he had to be roused fo...

The bugle blew Recall, and it was very welcome. We were marched back to the company street and dismissed. My rear rank man was one Pickle, a hardware clerk from a town in centra...

We have just come back from general conference, a nightly occurrence except in bad weather. Tonight, because it was cold, the men went grumbling and tardy, having put on sweater...

We arrived at camp late, as battle-scarred warriors, and found the peaceful first battalion already encamped. At once we pitched tents and then hastily fed; at home, after hours...

I begin this letter in the tent at about 5.30 in the morning, expecting the first assembly, yet trying to snatch a little time while the rest of the camp is still dressing. My h...

MY BOOK THE SQUAD ISN'T AS IT REALLY WAS. SOME OF YOU ARE NOT THERE, AND THE REST ARE ALTERED. BUT WHILE, ON ACCOUNT OF THE STORY THAT I NEEDED AND THE FACTS I WANTED TO DISPLAY...

In my pocket the foot-powder which it is my duty to carry as sub-squad-leader. (The other men carry the intrenching tools and the wire-cutter. The corporal carries nothing but t...

"Poor old buzzard, get away out of here! Poor old buzzard, get away out of here For we are Captain Kirby's men, We neither drink nor swear, We never wash our hands or face Nor c...

It is fine to march in a column of men and know the current of energy that flows along it. However many miles you have marched, however tired your feet and back and arms may be,...