[YMCA]
[Army and Navy
Young Men’s Christian Association
“With the Colors”]
Ordinance Supply School,
Provisional Co. D,
Camp Hancock, Ga.
July 8th, 1918.
Dear Mother:
It seems that I did not get my accustomed Saturday or Sunday letter to you this time. The
reason is somewhat like this. Saturday afternoon was actually too hot to do anything that was
not absolutely compulsory. I laid in the tent most of the afternoon. One fellow said the
thermometer went to 133∘ out on the Company street. I guess his thermometer did do that, but I
think there was something wrong with the thermometer. It was warm, nevertheless. I went
down to Augusta in the evening. Yesterday I was on K.P. until three o’clock, and in the evening
I went down town to church. So, you see why I did not get a letter to you before Monday.
We finished our course last week. This week we are starting in on detail that takes all our
time during the day. Today, I was on what they call the “Honey Wagon.” Why it is called the
honey wagon, I am unable to explain, unless it is due to the fact that what they haul is so
different from honey. It consists of a four-mule team to an army wagon, two drivers and five
fellows to load and unload. (I was one of the five today). What they haul is slop or the very
dirtiest dishwater. You should have seen me at work with my old blue overalls on, lifting slop
cans in and out of the wagon. It reminded me very much of threashing [sic]. We always got a
ride between the points of loading and unloading.
Last week being our last week of school we made it a sort of social week. Last
Wednesday evening the alumni of the University of Pittsburgh held a little banquet at the Albion
Hotel at Augusta. It was for those who are in the Supply School here. There were about thirty
present and we had a very good time. Thursday was the Fourth. Our company marched in
Augusta in the evening. I was on guard that evening. I was forunate [sic] on guard as I had the
last relief, and it was only from 5:30 Friday morning until 6:30—one hour. They require us to
remain at the guard tents when on guard and sleep with our clothes on. That does not seem to
affect my sleeping in the least anymore. I carried my cot up by the tents on Thursday evening
and placed it down in the open field, piled down on it and slept until called for guard at 5:30.
The sky and stars were beautiful as is true of them most every evening down here. On Friday
evening, we had a banquet for our company in our own mess hall. That was to use up some of
our reserve mess fund. We had a great feed. I am sending you the program and menu. The
poem on the back was written by one of our own fellows. He is also a story-writer of some note.
On Saturday evening, the attorneys of our company gave a banquet in the Albion. We are
represented by attorneys from all over the United States. We invited in two Augusta attorneys. I
dare say there is not another company in the whole Army that has so many attorneys. We have
about twenty-seven, twenty-two of them being present at the banquet. The two elderly attorneys
spoke. I was also honored by being one of the speakers. We had a fine time. I am sending you a
little memo card of the affair. I am sorry I could not get an Augusta paper that had quite a nice
write-up of the affair in it.

Mother, I wish you would save my letters and the things I send home in them, as I expect
them to serve as a sort of diary of my army life, and may want to look them over when I get
home.
Nance gave me his picture today to send to my father. I marked an arrow which points
towards my tent. His is down near where he is standing.
I had a letter from Morgan today. He said they had their examination for “overseas
duty,” but that he did not think that he passed.
I am beginning to get acclimatized here until I do not mind the heat and sort of like the
place. I have gained ten or twelve pounds in weight since I joined the Army. Get weighed most
every time I go down town.
Guy
P.S. It is very pleasant here this evening. We had a very hard rain between four and five o’clock.
I think it was a wonderful Godsend to the farms here. A man told me yesterday that there would
be no corn crop if rain did not come soon.
Your son,
Guy