[ NOTE: IF YOU ARE READING THIS SERIES FOR THR FIRST TIME, IT'S BEST TO START AT THE BEGINNING]

Diary entries while still in Camp Wadsworth Base Hospital -

Jan. 27, 1918, Sun., Cloudy, later sunshine. Base hosp.

Had toothache so didn't sleep very well last night. Good breakfast. Wrote a few letters. Had chicken, bread, mashed potatoes & gravy, pickles, coffee, celery & pudding for lunch. Some feed. Wrote mother, Allen & Sis. Fair supper. Took dose of salts. Felt slightly better at 8 p.m.

Jan. 28, 1918, Mon., Colder. Cloudy. Base hosp.

Up early. Slept fine last night. Good meals. Wrote a few letters, read some & smoked. Remember "Charlie" - attendant. Six new "members" today. Day passed easy. Sleep early.

Jan. 29, 1918, Tues., Cold. Cloudy. Rain. Base hosp.

Good meals. Read Gas Attack T F & S [probably a field training manual], smoked & wrote a bit today. Feel fine. Nurse - Miss Sharkey has measles now! Letters from Sis, Dot, Bernice H., & Uncle D. today. Bed early.

Jan. 30, 1918, Wed., Cold - Cloudy. Rain. Base hosp.

Wrote several letters, read a good novel, smoked and slept today. Feel rather pep-less yet. Read & smoked in evening. Sleep early.

Jan. 31, 1918, Thur., Cloudy. Some rain. Base hosp.

In bed most of day. Feel pretty pepless. Wrote Dad. Read some. Wrote Aunt Nell & Claude. Read Post. Raw day. No mail. Signed pay-roll.

Letter to Aunt Nell -

Base Hospital

Camp Wadsworth, S.C.

January 31, 1918

Dear Aunt Nell: -

Well - I'm still enjoying my vacation - and - I'm jolly well pleased with the world in general - and particularly thankful to the kind person - whoever it may be - that gave me these German measles. I moved later Saturday to Ward 26 here at the Base and it has 36 beds, all of which have been continuously full - each and every patient here having measles. It's surely a very cosmopolitan bunch here - men from the Infantry, Artillery, Cavalry, Engineers, Signal Corps, Pioneers [soldiers employed to perform engineering and construction tasks], Field Bakery, Supply Train, Remount Station [taking care of the horses], Quartermaster Corps, Ammunition Train, Trench Mortar Battery, and from the Ambulance Corps. There are three Sergeants here, but in this ward - we're all privates! Ha!Ha!

The ward is very warm, well lighted and quiet. The fellows are all a jolly bunch. I have a cuckoo of a white, springy bed, lots of blankets and we're furnished nice pajamas, bath robe, bed socks and slippers. The food is extraordinarily good - being very well cooked and very tastily served. We have four day nurses, and they are very nice - two of them quite young & pretty! Ha!Ha! I've become quite well acquainted with one of them! We are supposed to go to sleep at 9 p.m. at which time the lights are turned out. At 5:30 the night nurse makes the rounds - taking each man's temperature & pulse and waking him to get up & wash for breakfast. I am in the last bed - #35 so by the time she wakes me it's 6:15 and I have just time to get washed for breakfast at 6:30 - and - consequently get a 45 minute edge on the man in #1. Lunch is at 11:30 and supper about 5:00. Nothing to do all day but read, write, smoke & sleep - and of course keep shaved. Then we take turns at mopping out - that is the men who are nearly ready to come out, also at sweeping, serving the meals and washing dishes. Each man sweeps & mops half the ward and serves the dishes for one meal once while he is in the ward. I'm feeling pretty good, but somehow I'd much rather lay abed - so I am not up over two hours a day. We have six big wicker rockers around each of the two stoves - so we loaf around and talk all the time. Surely - the life o'Riley!

I've had just one bunch of mail since I came over here - but expect another pkg. of them today. Hope there's one from you in it - but hardly dare bet on there being one so soon!

Just now we're having a rather hot discussion around the stove and from what I get from it, it includes astronomy, physics, chemistry, physical geography, geology and gosh knows what all! We have a youngster from the Bronx and what he doesn't think he knows about all this stuff is a caution - but - the further he gets in the discussion the less he gets, or wants to get - into finer details. It is surely funny! There's one man here with a B.S. degree so - you can picture the fun we are having at our Bronx friend! It's true comedy!

They were just through here - the ward master and a surgeon with application blanks for insurance. Every fellow who had not taken insurance before was very strongly urged to do so - so I guess Uncle Sam is quite insistent that every soldier be well insured.

I didn't bring a single manual, or anything military of any sort - and - while here haven't even thought about my company, my own platoon, drills, or anything concerning "army" at all. So it's surely been a perfect physical and mental relaxation. I expect to be discharged and back in my own company again Saturday afternoon. 

My pay-roll just came over for me to sign - and as I had mailed Claude a draft on my accounts - and with pay day now meaning something to me - I'll sure be flush for the coming month - so will prepare for going over by getting a big stock of tobacco and a reserve supply of socks, gloves, underwear, soap, toothpaste, extra tooth brushes, etc. - which I may need for emergencies - over there.

There's not a darned bit of news so I'll close this dull letter - hoping to hear from you soon.

With much love, / Clyde

Observations - Care in the hospital seems above standard considering the short time Camp Wadsworth has been up and running.

Coming up - Clyde goes on a rant!