On the fourteenth day of his training at the Naval Station at Great Lakes, Illinois, Frank Stevens receives his first paycheck, which he promptly mails to his Dad, William Stevens, in Chicago. With it comes a number of other issues to think about, and contingency planning for his parents figures in the calculations.
Frank sends news about the immediate schedule as well as the anticipated future schedule indicating plans to get more training at the Navy’s training base in San Diego. He sees this as a positive move, enabling him to visit his two married brothers who live in the Los Angeles area.
His current schedule can’t be keeping Frank too busy, for he has plenty of time to realize that he sure would appreciate more mail. Although he’s already heard from his aunt in Ohio (his mother’s older sister Mary Monica Tully McGonagle) and her granddaughter Rita (whose mother Anna Catherine is actually Frank’s cousin though Rita is only four years younger than he is), it is Frank’s buddies from around the neighborhood that he’d really like to hear from, and soon!
Frank Stevens Co 162
U.S.N.T.S.
Great Lakes Ill
Dear Dad:
I’m sending this check home as I cannot cash it any place when you send Role [?] send cash or else a money order. I took out $10,000 worth of insurance and it costs $6.40 per mo. I could have taken out less but pretty soon my pay will jump to 36.00 so I’ll not miss it. I made it out to ma but named you next in line as is required. I expect to go to school in San Diego Cal. so maybe I’ll get to see the folks in L.A. As long as everybody else’s insurance is made out to ma. At 5:00 AM our Day starts. We hit the deck and wash air our Hammocks and bed clothings, at 5:50 We are at chow and eating breakfast, at 6:20 we are given 15 min to smoke, at 6:35 we start to work and at 8:00 we are thru sweeping the street, steel wooling the floor and waxing. Then we go draw our arms and drill till 11:20 at that time we again have chow.
After chow we can smoke till 12:30 then we drill some more till 4:00 or 4:30, then we go to supper and after that our time is our own. After 7:30 we can turn in and get some sleep if we want to. Lights go out at 9:30 and then we all have to be in the hay. Our evening is usually taken up with washing our clothes. So far we are the honor Company of C Battallion. Monday we move over to paradise it is from there that we get our leave. So I expect to get 36 hrs shortly, tell all the women to beware because the master wolf is again loose. Well Dad I hope this letter finds you in good health also ma’s and the rest of the family. I received a letter from Aunt Mae also Rita Keister, tell ma to write to Aunt Mae as she owes Aunt Mae a letter. Tell the fellows at the gas station to get the lead out of their britches and write me. I can’t think of anything more except that I will still owe the government after my first payday $1.40 we get paid 2 times a mo as insurance costs 6.40 and I have to pay $5.00 for a canteen soap [?] that was issued me. See you soon write Love, Frank
Interesting to see how the government "nickled and dimed" the sailors and soldiers even then, fighting a huge war.
ReplyDeleteThis letter makes Franks "demand" for money in the last letter sound less strigent as the money might have been his to begin with.