17 November, 2010

17 November, 1943 (Route of the ?)

No letter today.    Just this:

Route of the Question Mark

Page 17 and the top of Page 18 from The Route of the Question Mark are transcribed below, describing aspects of Camp Shanks and the crossing of the Atlantic on the Aquitania. You can see scanned pages by clicking on the tab of the same name, above.

pp. 17 and top of 18

"The back-breaking haul up the hill at Camp Shanks when we were trying to find our barracks... The rain... The series of last-minute inspections and the interminable chow-lines... The night we all got a pass to New York, and the condition of the men who staggered in for roll-call the next morning... The ferry-boat ride across the North River the night we boarded the Aquitania, and the Red Cross Girls on the pier who tried to force on us the candy and doughnuts that we were too burdened-down to accept... The last glimpse of America... Life-boat drills... Life-preservers in the chow-line... The boxes of Hershey bars that we all ate all the way across the Atlantic... Our splendid quarters on the "A" deck... The agreeable voyage, traveling alone, unhindered by an escort or a convoy..."

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