LETTER FROM A KENTUCKY KID (NOW A MARINE CORPS RECRUIT AT SAN DIEGO). 
Dear Ma and Pa,   
I am well.  Hope you are too.  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 maybe all of the positions are filled.  
I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 
6 AM, but 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 as 
there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice,
cereal, eggs, bacon, and stuff like that,  but kinda 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 til 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 country
is nice but awful flat. 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, but they don't bother you none. This 
next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals 
for shooting.  I ain't figured out 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 back  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 cause they break real easy.  It ain't like fighting with
 that ole bull back 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 weighs near 300 pounds dry. Be sure to tell Walt 
and Elmer to hurry up and join before other fellers catch onto this
setup and come stampeding in. 










Your Loving Daughter,   
Gail