Camp Wadsworth
April 16, 1918
Dear Aunt Ida:
Have been here a little over a week now and have not heard from you but expect a letter any day now.
All
the boys here are from around Montpelier and I know most of them so I
get along very well. The first Sat. and Sunday I was here they had a
ball team and we played one of the other Regiments and beat them. My
arm is fine and I expect to play all the time, they think I am some ball
player. It will get me out of a lot of hard work.
I
had a chance to go in the kitchen but have changed my mind. I think I
will stay in the infantry as this regiment will probably never do any
fighting. I think my chances are better in this branch of the service
than any. You see this has been transfered to a Pioneer Regiment and
their work will be building up the roads and repairing this in general.
This
is some camp here about 40,000 men and we all sleep in tents Officers
and all, but the weather is very warm and when the wind blows it is
something terrible. Today has been one of those windy days and the dirt
is everywhere but I guess it won’t do any damage.
My
service record has not got here from Fort Slocum and I won’t get any
pay this month so I wish Uncle Will would send me $10.00 to hold me
through (by money order) so that I will get it before the last of the
month.
Has he got any of my State pay yet? He didn’t let me know if he had rec’d any.
I
have been doing most everything since I came down here but don’t seem
to mind it. I am glad to have something to keep my mind taken up.
I got a long letter from Ida May today and she seems to like it very much where she now is.
One
of the boys from this camp is home there now, Arthur Mack, he sleeps in
the same tent with me and he enlisted at Wht. River Jct. the same time
that I did, he think he is some big man now.
There
are all kinds of entertainment here every night and I have used some of
the Surileage [?] books that Uncle Will sent me. They have Liberty
tents here and the ticket are good.
Yesterday
I got a long from Homer by the way of Fort Slocum and he is getting
along fine and making much better than at Montpelier.
I was sorry that I had to leave Fort Slocum but I don’t suppose that we can have things just as we want them.
We expect to move north soon so I will come home when we get up there.
Hoping this finds you O.K. and enjoying yourselves.
I remain With love and Kisses
Ervin
57th Pioneer Inf., Co. H.
Camp Wadsworth
Spartanburg S. C.
How to you like my envelope? [Knights of Columbus War Activities]
Will send you some pictures of the camp soon.
