Dear Harriet,
I hope you
got my card from L.A.
I wrote it over at the U.S.O. we ate in L.A. and
took the 12:10 streamliner to San
Diego . It’s about a 3 hr ride. If I ever get a few
hours liberty I’ll go over to L.A. to see my
aunt and Grandma at Hollywood .
It’s sure funny how they marched us from one place to the other but we’re used
to it now. When we got to Diego they crammed us in a bus and hauled us to the
Base and dumped us out at the reception center. It was too late to do much so
they bedded us down topside. We hit the deck at 4:50 then went to chow after we
showered. After that we got a physical from stern to stern and 3 inoculations
and a vaccination to boot-half the crew can’t raise their arm above their
shoulder. Then they detached a generous portion of our wig what a laugh.
Especially some of the boys with pretty black curly hair. After that they gave
us a sea bag and sent us through a line where they threw clothes in mattress
covers about 6 ft long. When we got through dragging it, it was filled about 4
ft up-with $137 worth of gear. (Navy for clothes, shoes, utensils, etc). We
went from there to have it stenciled. They put our name and Co.
on everything from shoes to hat-including belts and socks. We went from there
to check to see if we had everything and then sent our “civvys” home. Then we
boarded a truck that shipped us over to Camp Decatur Camp Decatur Camp Decatur Utah
man good if you see an Ogden Boy very good. Dec Garner and Jr Taylor bunk
topside in our Company and Walter Garner and I below.
Last night
we made our bunks, washed up and lights out at 8:30 p.m. That’s 1630 Navy time.
You see here from noon on instead of 1:00 p.m. it’s 13:00-2:00 p.m. 1400 and so
on to midnight it’s 24 hundred and thirty for half past midnight. This morning
we hit the deck at 5:30-Sunday other days 5:00 or before. We “swabbed the deck”
and straightened the barracks ship shape and I marched to chow.
I’ve been getting a lineup on Jim
and the boys ever since I been here. A couple of days ago I found out they were
at Camp Decatur and last night after chow I found they were in Co. 326 so we
moseyed over there and sure enough there was Jim, Judkins shupe –Vic and all
the other boys. Boy it sure was swell to see them. This morning each boy goes
to church according to his denomination: Catholic, Protestant, etc. at certain
time. I’ve sure been busy since we got there. I’ll write-correction scribble
off a few lines whenever I get a chance because I don’t think things will slow
down any. We’ve got to get a 12 t0 14 week boat course done in 5 or 6 weeks.
Well
now maybe I can tell you a little about Navy talk, dress, and chow. The grub’s
good but not quite enough of it. I’ve seen very little milk (1/2 glass since I
been here). (I had 1 cup of lemonade) the rest of the time it’s coffee-water
for me. You get your chow cafeteria style-a ladle of this and a ladle of that.
As soon as you hit the curb coming to chow you fold your cap up and put in back of your neck by your collar. When
you’re through eating you separate your knife, fork, and spoon and put them in
separate boxes. You put your cup and bowl in one pan and wash your plate in a
large tin one with dents in for different foods. Courses to you now about
dress-we’ll probably be in dungarees most of quarantine that means about 3
weeks. That we’re restricted to our barracks expect when instructed otherwise.
Then we have 3 suits of whites.
Dress and undress 2 suits of undress blues and 1 dress blue which I expect we’ll see very little of. I couldn’t
begin to tell you about all our sox, underwear, turtleneck sweaters and combs,
toothbrush, etc. You’ll find a little about navy lingo in all my letters. In
the Navy they got a name for everything and you have to get hep quick or you
don’t know what they’re talking about.
You
don’t go upstairs o downstairs. You go topside or below on the ladder, not
stairs. You swab the deck not mop the floor and the walls are bulkheads.
Everybody’s “mate” or “mac” for short unless they’re your friend. The front end
is the bow the back the sten. Last night I asked an old Navy man where I could
get a rope to “baten” (tie) my sea bag to my bunk-he didn’t know what I was
talking about. They call them lines in the Navy.
Well I’ll tell you more about the
Navy after while. I’ve got to get on the line to go to church. Before I forget
when you send my mail (which better be often) send it to:
Paul Hyer A.S.
That is until I tell you different. After quarantine we’ll
be shipped somewhere else. Some of these guys are the slowest, dumbest, most
uncomprehending guys I ever had the displeasure of meeting. Some are sissies,
some are mama’s boys, that I don’t expect did a day’s work in their life. But
boy we’re changing, especially when some of them have to swab out the “crews
head” (Lavatory to you). The kid who bunks aft of me is from Morgan and he
knows Elaine-name’s Dick Thackery. He’s a swell kid-but what I was going to say
was-he rolled over on his sore arm, the one with all the shots in and did he
come to attention. He woke up so fast he sat straight up in bed. It was sure
miserable sleeping. You had sore spots in every position.
Well write
soon or I’ll go craze (probably). As ever, your sweetheart.
Paul
p.s. If something seems to be screwy with this please
overlook it. The way they run us around I been working on it about 10 different
times.
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