Pvt. W.D Johnson Jr 34945847 (Postmarked September 10, 1944)
B Co. 227 Bn
69th Trg. Regt. IR.T.C.
Camp Blanding, Fla.
Sat Nite
About 8:30 P.M.
Dearest Mom & Dad:
Your letter of the 6th came today, Mom, and I also enjoyed your letter the other day on bivouac.
Yes, that ordeal is over & was climaxed by a 28 mile march in 8 hours starting at 8:30 last night & lasting all night till 5 am today. All during the night we marched without stopping except for 5 to 10 minutes out of every hour. Miraculously, I did not get any blisters, but we were all worn out from previous strenuous work before the march started. Anyhow, when we got in my feet were numb and my legs ached from ankles to hips. We made the march with field packs, rifle, gas mask, cartridge belt, canteen, bayonet steel helmet and an extra pair of shoes tied on the outside of the pack – about 60 -75 pounds in weight in all. Approx 20% of the men fell out, but I wasn’t in that 20% as I made it right on in with the best of them I had a real feeling of pride in that march as so many who couldn’t take it were the younger fellows – fellows 10 -17 years younger than I. Stamina is not all a manifestation of physical strength. It involves something of the spirit in almost as great a proportion as it does muscle. I was glad to know I could do it, and I’m none the worse for it. Aside from being tired & sleepy tonite, I’m ok. Incidentally, I “slept” in a foxhole Thurs nite, marched all nite Fri nite, worked on equipment this morning (no sleep) & now I’m on guard, but I was lucky to have a “sitting” post at Bn. Hqrs. Which gives me some time to write this. I’ll get some sleep after 10:30 tonite so I’ll be okay tomorrow.
Louise wrote about meeting Bee Savage and I’m interested to know how it all turns out.
Don’t you all worry about me going overseas. I’m really not keeping anything from you all and truthfully, my hunch is that I will not go overseas. It looks like I might be sent to Ft Meade Md (near Baltimore) for reassignment. Ft. Meade is no longer a P.O.E. so the fact that I may be sent there doesn’t mean I’m headed right out. The war news is so favorable that it all may be over soon.
Mom, you may worry about Rip trotting around in a Fortress, but I’ll bet he isn’t worried! I can imagine he’s in a 7th Heaven. I’d love to ride somewhere in one.
Dad, Mom tells me you have been very busy as usual and that you’ve got to break in a new helper. If you are still “armchair generalling” I can probably give you some additional ammunition for your computations when I get home. I’ve lived, eaten & breathed infantry tactics for the past few months so can tell you how the generals ought to do it. Seriously, war is more or less of an exact science up to the point where the variations call for real generalship. There are a lot of fundamental principles of warfare that must be second nature to a good soldier – or a good general.
While on the subject of the infantry, you all need never feel that a buck private in the infantry is an ignominious & slightly unnecessary adjunct to the modern war of plane, ship & machine. When they mark a line on a war map and say our forces are here they mean the infantry is here. The big guns may be firing miles ahead, the bombers flying miles ahead but our position is still the place where the infantry is. The plane pilot has to be skilled – true – so does the tank driver, or the turret gunner, but the foot soldier – to stay alive – must be adept at a dozen skills. He must know & be able to handle a dozen different weapons: he must be a scout – able to crawl unseen for long distances – He must understand camouflage & concealment. He must be able to walk miles & still be able to fight; He must know first aid, in short, the American rifleman is the most versatile fighter in the world either individually or as a team. So, after all, I’m not ashamed to be in the infantry, and to those who really know, the infantry man is quite a guy.
Well, our training ends here about next Saturday Sept 16 and some of us will be shipping out around Mon. or Tues. I hope to know some- time during the coming week where I’ll be sent, but in any event I’m looking forward to getting home soon. And, Mom, I can use some of your good cooking!! Boy am I looking forward to some hot biscuits!
You all take it easy and don’t worry about me and all will work out okay. And in the meantime it won’t be long before I see you.
Love always
David Jr.