A farm kid joins the Marines LOL

[madokie]

I can relate as I was a country kid all the way.


A Farm Kid Joins the Marines

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 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,



Alice

[yeoman6987]

1. That is really cute

Thanks for sharing.

[grahamhgreen]

28. How are we gonna pay for the New War???

[NBachers]

2. OK, that's a good, entertaining read

[riverwalker]

3. LOL love it n/t

[Auggie]

4. Excellent!

[mountain grammy]

5. Ha,ha, very cute..

glad I stayed for the end.

[Generic Brad]

6. Thanks for that

I have never been in the military, but there are some experiences and hardships I had in my youth that made that seemed way worse than what people at boot camp experienced. It was a good reminder that it is possible to develop discipline, perseverance and the ability to overcome insurmountable obstacles in civilian life too.

[sarisataka]

7. I forwarded this

To my BiL at MCAS New River. The Marines there are rolling laughing at this.

He says thanks for making their day.

[FailureToCommunicate]

8. "Your loving daughter, Alice"

[Android3.14]

9. Apparently its been floating around since 1952

http://www.snopes.com/humor/letters/marines.asp

[Aristus]

27. A lot of it was cribbed from a book by Marion Hargrove called "See Here, Private Hargrove."

Hargrove was a journalist who wrote about Army life before and during his service in World War II.

[MuseRider]

10. I can relate to a point.

At 60 I am a LOT more relaxed on time than I used to be and not as strong. Putting 200 bales in the barn about kills me now. Did make me smile, I know a few of these young men and they are as tough as they come but usually very kind.

LOL, Alice <now that did my heart good!

[FormerOstrich]

18. Hey, Muse.....

Dad always wanted a son but there was my sister and then me. I suppose he decided I'd be that son he didn't have (yet).

My sister was the girly-girl so she got to drive the flat-bed truck. Me? Well I had to buck the bales with whatever crew Dad pieced together among neighbors (and they were all male and loved to hang close to the pilot).

I was lean and strong. In my younger days I was attacked three different times. Each time I was able to confidently say...well yeah you think I look bad....

I'm not 60 yet but only four years away. I'm still very strong but not lean and have don't have any stamina. I'd probably feel good if I could do 10 bales before giving up. I'm way impressed (and jealous) at 200!

However, just wanted to let you know......when I go back home each year, I look at those big round bales and think...kids are really lucky today!!

[madokie]

20. lucky, have you ever tried to pick one of them up

Picking it up ain't so bad its stacking them three high that about kills me


keeed'n

I never could buck 200 bales at one setting but I did a lot of hay hauling as a kid. Work all day (10 to 12 hrs) at a gas station, fixing car, truck and tractor flats, changing oil, washing cars, pumping gas then haul hay half the night and still find time to have a girlfriend. Now I keep a chair close by so I can sit down every little bit as I do my yard work or work on the house. Been thinking about inventing a chair that I strap to my back so when I stand up it stands up with me and when I want to sit down it folds into a chair so I can sit in it.

Heres what I built to help me in my yard work, complete with a dump bed

[MuseRider]

24. They are lucky!

Finding help is impossible. Used to be there were tons of kids wanting to help at haying. Now there are only us oldies, all the help we get is each other. It is still doable but getting people to even hay your place is getting hard, glad my livestock (yard art pets now lol) are getting old and beginning to decrease in number.

The only people my age that are able to still do it well are those that do it all the time, the entire summer is all about the hay. They can do it forever but us 4 time a year get a load people lose our muscle at my age

With a husband who is no help it is kinda mine to deal so I just do the best I can.

[BlueJazz]

11. I didn't see the "Your Loving Daughter" Alice: at first.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. It was funny until that...

then it became hilarious.

[BlueJazz]

14. I know that's right !

[JimDandy]

12. LOL--that's great! n/t

[raven mad]

15. I can hardly wait till spouse comes back inside (he's humping some trash) to read this!

He will be rolling on the floor. Thank you! The ending was anticipated and hoped for by this ex-USAF old gal!

[rocktivity]

25. He's outside humping some trash? Aren't you tolerant! Your marriage is your business,

Last edited Sat Sep 13, 2014, 02:28 PM - Edit history (2)

but if he were MY husband, he'd be rolling on the floor when he came back inside, all right -- but from the OPPOSITE of laughter!


rocktivity

[raven mad]

30. Poor guy - all that lifting and humping (we use a local dump, so it accumulates, no pickup here).

Came back smelly and grumpy and I said "read this" - he humphed and grumphed a bit.................then started giggling.............

[Brigid]

16. I thought it would be signed . . .

Gomer Pyle.

[murielm99]

17. Have you ever seen

"No Time for Sergeants," starring Andy Griffith? This sort of reminded me of the movie.

[madokie]

19. I think so years ago

I'll look for it again as Andy was one of my favorite actors of all time.

[irisblue]

21. Go Alice!

[raven mad]

22. Reporting back in!

He was rolling on the floor and then got to the signature line - the giggle tears started!! LOL, I love this suff! (He was born/raised here - the work is a given). Needed this one; our thanks!

[7962]

23. My niece is going into the Navy next week! I'm sending this to her; it fits.

[Kalidurga]

26. I was gonna ask

are they okay, the marines? Good thing Alice is on their side, just sayin.

[ProgressiveJarhead]

29. Funny, but

Don't call a Drill Instructor "Platoon Sergeant." They go off. My civilian rear end was the first to ask to go to the rest room. I was in deep crap that lasted for an hour over the new terminology. The bathroom is the "head." Your name is Recruit Last Name in the third person. We were up at 0530 and dressed by 0531. OCS was about 10 times demanding, but having been through Boot Camp almost made it comical. Drill Instructors are the best stand up comedians by far.