Life at Camp Shelby Continues

In the May 18, 1941 Letter to Mary and Mickey, Mike asks how they and Jerome are doing.  He tells them he has not heard from them in some time and that it is terribly hot.  Outside of the intense heat, life is OK.

In the hot weather, they do most of their maneuvering at night.  They are leaving in about 8 days for a month of maneuvers in Louisiana.  They have been asked to ship all of their civilian clothes home or store them in the mess hall.  Since Mike only has a civilian jacket, trousers, and a sweater there, he opted to store them in the mess hall.

Mike continues this same letter on May 21, 1941 after a two day march out from camp.  Mike says they tramped through swamps and creeks with mud up to their middles.  "Every time we go out from camp for a long time when we do get back this old camp sure does look good."  He tells them that it was hot and dusty during the day and at night the mosquitoes and insects nearly drove them crazy.  And then he writes:  "Flash!  I just received your letter and am glad to hear a box is on the way."  He wants to thank them for it now even though it has not arrived as of yet.  The calendar they sent is also very nice and will come in handy during maneuvers.

At the top of the next page of the letter, Mike announces he has been recommended for Private First Class.

The next morning Mike will attend 5:00AM Mass, and he mentions that there are a lot of Catholic Boys in Camp.

Mike also asks  Mary to ask Rosie to show her some of the snapshots he has sent to Rosie.  With his new camera, he will be sending Mary some photos soon.

"I am feeling good and I have a swell tan."

Mike wants to know if Mickey knows a man named Surface and one named Adams who are in Company I.  Both men have worked at Firestone Plant 2 for about 13 years.

One fellow in their tent has his wife visiting.  The guys all do their own laundry except the dress clothes that must be dry cleaned.

"Mississippi is a h__l of a state.  There are a lot of swamps here and mosquitoes #!!??_~.  They can never replace Ohio as a place to live.  Well, so-long.  I will try to write as often as I can.  Your brother  Pvt.  Mike

PS  Tell Jerome to be a good boy and grow up strong so he can be a good football player.  I will probably see you in July.  I can't wait 'til then.  The time really flies tho"

On May 25, 1941, in a letter addressed to Mary and Mickey, Mike begins:

"Dear Father and Mother:"

This is the first letter in which Mike begins by directly addressing his parents. 

[Editor's note:  Mike's father, John, was a 1912 emigre from southeastern Poland (Lubno), and Mike's mother, Elizabeth, was a 1905 emigre from present day Uzovce, Slovakia (Ursfalu, Hungary in 1905).   Both John and Elizabeth had limited reading and writing attainment in the English Language, and I believe this letter and all the letters in this summary were probably read to them by either Mary, Andy, Betty, or Rosie (Mike's siblings).  I also believe that the formal use of his address to his parents reflects the formal address in languages like Polish and Slovak (also a sign of respect, and in this case, I believe, love for his parents)].

Mike tells his parents that the day he is writing is Sunday, and he hadn't gone to Mass yet, but he was going at 9:00AM.

He relates that he had gone to see two movies the night before:  "The Devil Commands" and "Lone Wolf Something or other".

Mike tells them he believes the month of May is certainly going fast.  "It won't be long before pay day again.  Soon I will be getting paid $36. a month.  This will be almost twice as much as I now get."

He asks if the time flies for them, and says it does for him because the troops are always doing something.  The day that seems to go the slowest is Sunday because they have nothing to do but lay around.

A great care package arrived from Mary containing candy, cookies, sardines, and cracker jack as well as a letter.

A nice letter from Rosie had arrived ("..the one with the name card in it.."), but Mike wants to know when Rosie is going to send the Reynold's picture and if Rosie got the two sets of pictures he had sent.

Mike mentions he has not received a letter from Andy and Esther for a long time and wonders how Junior (David) is doing.

D(eming) Seymour, Mike's long-time Rootstown School Buddy, KSU Classmate, and OSU Roomate, sent a letter telling Mike that he had taken the Army Induction Physical, but did not know when he would be called up.  Mike speculates that it will be July for him.

Again Mike mentions how happy H. Meeks was when his wife was down visiting.

He asks how the old corn is coming along.  Or had they not put any in this year?  He can't wait to see the farm again and bets it will look different to him.

Mike lets them know that about half the men will get leave in June with the remainder getting leave in July and cautions that the leave will be only for about 15 days.

"I sure will be glad to see you guys again.  Rosie, how do you like to be out of school now?  I hope you get a good job so we can have some spending money.  Eh, Rosie?

Well, ma, you have a lot of ducks this year because I want one when I come home.

How are you feeling, father?  How is your work?

I know Betty is getting along O.K.

Well, goombye folks.

Yours

Pvt. Mike"

In a short postcard, not postmarked,  Mike tells Andy and Esther that the next Saturday at 2:00AM, they will be leaving Camp Shelby for Camp Claiborne, Louisiana for about a month.  He asks that they please write to his Camp Shelby Address and all his mail will be forwarded to him.

Mike thanks them for the box and letter and tells them that he should be home soon after maneuvers.

In a second un-postmarked postcard, Mike tells Mary and Mickey that they have been out on maneuvers for about 5 days near Camp Claiborne, Louisiana.

Mike was a member of the Red Army fighting the Blue Army.  He tells them that there is plenty of rain there and that it is really hot when the sun shines.

He lets them know that he has not heard from them for awhile.  He asks about Jerome.  He hopes to be home in July some time to see them all.  Pvt.  Mike

On June 7, 1941, Mike wrote, "Dear Father, Mother, and Sisters,".  He says that he received Rosie's Letter yesterday, and to tell Betty not to feel bad because he has not written.  He explains that he just hasn't the time to write, and that he will make up for all the letters he did not write when he gets home.  "Tell June happy birthday for me.", Mike adds.

Mike explains that they are out in Louisiana now, and since some of the pup tents they sleep in leak like sieves, you might as well say they are sleeping in the rain.  Mike adds that the trip down there was long, tiresome, and interesting.

They crossed the Mississippi River on May 31st, pitched their tents at the Baton Rouge Airport, ate some cooked food, and were on their way.

Mike then adds some statements that thinly disguise his home sickness when he says, "This is really interesting to be in the Army.  There are a lot of things happening all the time.  But I wish I were home again."

They arrived at Camp Claiborne about 1:00PM on June 1st.  The first thing they did was clear out a place to pitch tents. "Boy, we are really out here in a jungle!"

They worked all day Sunday building camp.  They were tired that night.  "The ole band came with us, and we have music every night."

The next day they (The 37th Division) built a supply road through the jungle to their  own camp.  It didn't take long for this swarm of men with picks and shovels to accomplish this....about one day.

Tuesday and part of Wednesday, they continued to work around camp.  Then at 3:00AM Wednesday morning, they pulled out of camp for 2 days of maneuvers.  As Mike further explains, this was really some battle.  They marched over hills, on roads, through swamps.  "Boy, I never knew a guy could get so thirsty!"

They didn't get any sleep that night watching for the enemy, and when the battle finally ended the next day  at 5:30PM, when they returned to camp, they were really tired.

Mike further explains that there were no showers there.  They bathed in a nearby swamp.  "Louisiana is just full of swamps and bayous."

Mike picks up the story again on Saturday.  He lets them know that it started raining about 8:00AM, and that it had been raining all day.  Again he mentions that the ole pup tents were just like seives, so it was just like sleeping out in the rain.  They had stew for lunch, but it was more like soup with all the rain.

He describes how they eat.  They all line up at the mess wagon and then circle around trees to eat under.  Mike tells them that he has some unbelievable stories to tell them when he gets home in July.

"There are scorpions, snakes, alligators, and armadillos here in Louisiana." Mike tells them.

Mike lets them know that they will hear from him whenever he has the time to write, otherwise, they will know he is out somewhere and can't write to them.

Mike asks that they let Betty know that he has not forgotten about her, and that this letter is for her also.

He concludes with, "Well, so-long Family, P.F.C. Mike", and then in a P.S. He tells them that he is glad they think Raki is a good guy.  Harold Meek is doing O.K. too he says, and they are all going to try to come home together.

He got paid $21 the previous week.  He won't get his pay raise to $36 until July 1st because his P.F.C won't become effective until June 1st.  Mike sends them $10. by money order.  "Do whatever you want with it.  I wish I could send more." he says ruefully.

On June 15, 1941, Mike sends a Penny Postcard to Andy, Esther, and Junior in which he tells them to look on a map for Alexandria, Louisiana.  He says they are having maneuvers in that territory; the sun is hot with it being 105-110 degrees in the shade, and there is no shade. Mike asks if they received his letter, how everything was going on the farm, and tells them he will probably see them in July. "Well, goodbye, Pvt. Mike"

And then in another Penny Postcard to Andy, Esther, and David on June 18, 1941, Mike writes, "Where are your letters?"  He continues by admitting that he knows they are busy with the farm and all on Andy's hands now.  He lets them know he saw the pictures that Rosie sent, and the one of Ole Antik' sure looked well and fat. Mike says he will be home after maneuvers, and he will let them know when.  "Well, take good care of everything.  I can't wait to see junior.  Mike"