The Real Dope

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but still and all a man has got to do something to keep themself busy and I know you will be glad to hear all about our trip so I might as well write you a

what I tell you is the real dope that I seen myself where if you read it in a newspaper you know its guest work because in the 1st. place they don't leave the reporters get nowheres near the front and besides that they wouldn't go there if they had a leave because they would

am to where the submarines is located at and they wouldn't send no 1 or 2 submarines after us but the whole German navy would get after us because they would figure that if they ever got us it would be a rich hall. When I say that

ave got not only 1 boat load but we got four boat loads of soldiers alone and that is not all we have got. All together Al there is 10 boats in the parade and 6 of them is what they call the convoys and that means war ships that goes along to see that we get there safe on acct. of the submarines and four of them is what they call destroyers an

an shouldn't come right out and say when we left and from where we come from but if they didn't have some kind of rules they's a lot of guys

as we come out of the harbor and seen the godess of liberty standing up there maybe for the last time but don't think for a minute Al that I am sorry I come and I only wish we was over there all ready and could get in to it a

ing and I am tickled to death I am going and if I lay down my life I will feel like

ur family where we was going to sail from but I notice they was a lot of women folks right down to the dock to bid us good by and I suppose they just guessed what was comeing off eh Al? Or maybe they was all strangers that just happened to be there but

suppose you will wonder what am I talking about when I say chow. Well Al that's the name we boys got up down to Camp Grant for stuff to e

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when they's four trying to sleep in a room that wouldn't be big enough for Nemo Liebold but I wouldn't make no holler at that if they had of left us pick our own roomys but out of the four of us they's one that looks like he must of bribed the jury or he wouldn't be here and his name is Smith and another one's name is Sam Hall and he has always got a grouch on and the other bo

rest and he keeps the room filled up with cigarette smoke and no air and you can't open up the port hole or you would freeze to death so about the only chance I get to sleep is up in the parlor in a chair in the day time and you don't no soone

its a fake you got to show up just the same and yesterday they was one bird thats supposed to go in our life boat and he was sea sick and he didn't show up so they went after him and on

n giveing drills and etc. in one of the camps in the U. S. and navy officers and gunners an

on the trip just as if I would. But any way I asked him why not and he says because all the mail would be opened and read by the censor

it and cut out whatever he don't like and then mail it himself. So I didn't know we had a censor along with us but Lee says

t the kind that spill anything about the trip that would hurt anybody or

ing us go up ahead and set the pace for them and no wonder we never get nowheres. Of course that ain't the censor's fault but if the old U. S. is in such a hurry to get men across the pond I should

for chow and that's the name we got up out to Camp Grant for meals an

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rd and I guess pretty near everybody on the boat were sick and Lee says to me how was it that I stood the rough weather so good and it didn't seem to effect me so I says i

hey got for old sailors that's been all their life on the wa

but it makes a man kind of proud to think the rough weather don't effect you when pretty near everybody else feels like a churn or some

knew they needed men and I told Lee so and he said he thought the U. S. made a big mistake keeping it a secret that they did

and he was a waiter in the big French resturent in Milwaukee and now what do you think Al he is going to learn Lee and I French lessons and Lee fixed it up with him. We want to learn how to talk a little so when we get there we can make ourself understood and you remember I started studing French out to Camp Grant but the man down there didn't know noth

its a wonder a man can keep up at all where they got you in a stateroom jammed in like a sardine or somethin

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eing as I was taken sick last night from something I eat

re to head in. He started out by saying to Lee that Jack Tar looked like somebody had knocked the tar out of him and after a w

I am going up and try and eat something and I hope they don't try and hand me no more of that canned beans or whatever it was

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n would come the fun and we would probably all have to keep our clothes on all night and keep our life belts on and I asked him if they was much danger with all them convoys guar

ip and they shot two periscopes at this ship and just missed it and they seem to b

ll ready been keeping them on all night because when you have got a state room like

hour but I learned more then all the time I took lessons from that 4 flusher out to Camp Grant because Smith don't waist no time with a lot of junk about grammer but I or Lee would ask him what was the French for so and so and he w

the French for and is und so we would say beef steak und brot mit butter schmieren und bier and that's all they is to it and I can say that without looking at the paper where we wrote it down and you can see I have got that much learned all ready so I wouldn't st

on't want to try and learn to, much at once or we will forget

in so lebe wohl and that's th

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t night to because they don't many of the boys go to sleep nights and they go to their rooms and preten

of anything because I always figure if its going to happen its going to happen but I stay out because it ain't near as cold as it w

that we had been out nine days and he didn't see no France yet or no signs of getting there so I said no wonder when we had such a he--ll of

cers that's on the ship and he thought he would try some of his French on him so he said something about it being a nice day in Fren

laugh on the rest of the boys when we get there that is if we do get there but for some reason another I have got a hunch that we wo

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corporals that if a sub got us we was to leave the privates get into the boats first before we got in and we wasn't to get into our boats till all the privates was safe in the boats because we would probably be cooler and not ge

t looked like they wouldn't nobody get into the boats but the sargents and corporals was as cool as if nothing was comeing off and they quieted the soldiers down and finely got them into the boats and the N. C. O. officers was so cool and done so well that when Gen. Pershing heard about it he made this rule about the N. C. O. officer always waiting till the last so they could kind of handle things. But Dor

ook out for the boys that's in my boat and not think about myself till everybody else is O. K. and Doran says if this ship ever does get hit it will sink quick because its so big and heavy and of course the h

't nothing I eat or like that but its just I feel kind of faint like I use to so

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ever get off of the ship alive but will go down with her because I wouldn't never leave the ship as long as they was anybody left on her rules or no rules but I would stay and help out till every man was off and then of course it would be to late bu

in common you might say because Florrie has always been a swell dresser and cared a whole lot about how she looked and some way she felt like Bertha wouldn't feel comfortable around where she was at and maybe she was right but we can forget all that now Al and I can say one thing Al she never said nothing reflecting on you yourself in any way because I wouldn't of stood for it but instead of that when I showed her that picture of you and B

me having $10000 dollars soldier insurence in Florrie's name as the benefitter and the way she is coining money in that beauty parlor she won't need to touch my insurence but save it for little Al fo

they's a whole lot of things pretty near as good and one of them is kindness and what I am asking from you and Bertha is to drop in on her once in a while up in Chi and pay her a visit and I have all ready wrote h

the kind that would have to wait around on no st. corner to catch somebody's eye but they would follow her around and nag at her till she married them and I would feel like he--ll over it because Florrie is the kind of a girl th

is the kind that flare up easy and specially when they think they are a little better then somebody. But if you could just drop her a hint and say that she should ought to be proud to be a widow to a husban

what chance has a corporal got? But I figured I would make some arrangements for a little present for you and Bertha as soon as I got to France but of course it looks now like I wouldn't never get there and all the money I have got

ain and good luck and now hav

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off and some of the birds on this ship took me for a sucker and tried to make a rummy ou

all the way over. Well I thought I would try myself out on him like Lee said he done so I give him a salute and I said to him "Schone

t him I seen we wasn't going to get along very good so I turned around and started up the deck. Well he must of flagged the first man he seen and sent him after me and it was a 2d. lieut. and he

found me in the parlor and says I was wanted right away and when I got to this room there was the Col. and the two Frenchmans and my captain Capt. Seeley a

lain and we was going to pass them up first on the grounds that Capt. Seeley said you probably

the night before last and you made the remark that we had a he-

was thinking about something else or of course I never would of believed him because the censor ship isn't no ship like this kind of

the Colonel asked me what I meant by doing such a thing as talk German why of course I knew in a minute that they had been trying to kid me but at first I told the Colonel I couldn't of said no German because I don't know no more German than Silk O'Loughlin. Well the Frenchman was pretty sor

that before long we would find out that this war wasn't no practicle joke and he give Lee and Smith a fierce balling out and he said he would leave Capt. Seeley to deal with them and he would report Doran to the proper quarters and then he was back on me again and he said it looked like I had been the innocent victim of a practicle j

oran because I got just what I wanted because I never did want to be a corporal because it meant I couldn't pal around with the boys and be their

something over on somebody only I figured two could play at that game as good as one and I would kid them right back and give them as good as they sent because I always figure that the game ain't over till the ni

quick as I feel like it but jokeing a side if something like that happened it wouldn't make no difference to me if I was a corporal or

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ld get at us but between you and I Al I never thought about the subs all the way over only when I heard somebody else talk about them because I always figure that if they's some danger of that kind the best way to do is just forget it and if its going to happen all right but what's th

many sights to see so I

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in France

re we are at but of course it don't take no Shylock to find out because all y

othing like how its spelled out and you won't catch me trying to pronounce none of these names or ta

boys that three nights ago we was attacked and our ship just missed getting hit by a periscope and the destroyers went after the subs and they was a whole flock of them and the reas

what it was but I knew they was something in the air and I was expecting every minute that the signal would come for us to take to the boats but they wasn't no necessity of that

Al they are some girls. Its a good thing I am an old married man or I believe I would pretty near be tempted to flirt back with some of the ones that's been trying to get my eye but the

e maybe and tell you how we are getting along and if you want drop me a line and I wish you would send me the Chi papers once in a while especially when the

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