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

More diary entries -

Page from Clyde's diary with ballistics information for the U.S. rifle.

Mar. 1, 1918, Friday, Warm. Fair.

Hiked in a.m. Finished a.m. with musketry, also part of p.m. Had 2 1/2 hours of bayonet. Pretty stiff day. Went to artillery lecture in eve. Bed late.

Mar. 2, 1918, Sat., Fair.

Reg. insp. in a.m. Packed extra luggage & loaded baggage during day. Made our packs and entirely prepared during evening. Fine day. Cool night.

Mar. 3, 1918, Sun., Warm. Fair.

Up at 3:50 a.m. Early mess. Started for Fairforest about 5:50 a.m. [Fairforest is a Census-designated place located in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.] Carried 1 meal. On train 7:15. Arrived at Campobello 9:45. [During World War I portions of Campobello (in Spartanburg County) around Caldwell and Depot Streets were designated as a staging area for the U.S. Army and a tent city for the troops soon appeared.  Recruits were housed in tents in town and they traveled down Highway 11 to Gowensville to their artillery and small arms firing ranges to learn to use their weapons before being sent to the front lines of the war.] Started hike 10:05 a.m. Arrived in camp at 3:20 p.m. Dead tired. Up hill all the way, hard hike (12 miles). Slept on ground. Cool night.

Mar. 4, 1918, Mon., Cold. Cloudy.

3rd and 4th platoons shot this a.m. on 1, 2, & 300 yard ranges. Good scores. 1st & 2nd platoons started on 100 after noon, but rain drove us off. I shot all score however 46 ex 50 with hair trigger gun. Stove in tent. Slept on ground. Bed early.

[many of these entries contain numbers and abbreviations represent the results at the firing range, but I don't know how to decipher them all]

Mar. 5, 1918, Tues., Fine day. Warmer.

1st half Co. shot this a.m. I coached & shot. All finished 1st table this a.m. Cigars from Murph today. Mail. Shot 1st table. Scored as follows:

Bayonet on. "A" target

100 yds. Peep at 10 sh. Prone - 46

200 yds. Peep at 5 sh. Standing in trench - 20

200 yds. Battle at 5 sh. Standing in trench - 20

300 yds. 5 sh. stdg. peep bayonet - \

300 yds. 5 sh stdg. peep no bayonet -       59

300 yds. 5 sh. stdg. battle. bayonet - /

                                                          Total 1st table  145 ex 175  [scored 145 out of possible 175]

Back early. Dead tired.

Mar. 6, 1918, Wed., Fine day

Coached failures of yesterday with Lt. Cramer. Shot on Table 2 as follows -

Slow fire. Head target at 100. Silhouette target at 200, 300. -

100 yds. 4 hits ex 5

200 yds. 4 hits ex 5

300 yds. 5 hits ex 5

Total 13 hits ex 15. Targets OD color.

Shaved. Wrote. Good eats here. Bed early.

Mar. 7, 1918, Thur. Fair. Strong wind.

Shot part of Table 3 today. Had day to shoot. Letters came lastly. Built myself a bed. Some bed. Shot and coached all day. Bed early. 

Mar. 8, 1918, Frid., Fair

Shot in p.m. Worked in a.m. Am working hard with the poor shots. Completed Table 3 as follows. -

100 yds. Sil. head target. Rapid. 5 hits

100 yds. Sil. target. Rapid Peep. 8 hits

100 yds. Sil. target. Rapid Peep. 5 hits

Total 18 hits as required. OK

Mar. 9, 1918, Sat., Cloudy

Good light for shooting. Shot Table 4 today as follows. -

100 yds. Rapid. Peeps. 11 shots - 10 hits

200 yds. Rapid. Peeps. 10 shots - 9 hits

300 yds. Rapid. Peeps. 9 shots - 6 hits

OK. Total 25 hits as required.

Shot 24 ex. 50 on 500 yds. and 28 ex. 50 on 600 yds. under very poorest conditions this p.m.

Mail

Mar. 10, 1918, Sun., Strong wind.

Shot some in a.m. Qualified a few more men. Did not shoot in p.m. - too strong a wind. Some went up Glass Mt. I slept most of p.m. Good eats. Cold night. No mail. Bed early.

Mar. 11, 1918, Mon., Fair. Cool.

Completed some more men this morning. We have record in Div. for shooting. Pked up & loaded, messed and started for Campobello about 11:50. Fine hiking - everyone finished the 12 miles. Lunch at Campobello. Entrained at 6:45. In camp Wadsworth at 8:00. Mess. Bed early.

Mar. 12, 1918, Tues., Fair.

Up at 1st call. Missed Reveille. Cleaned up rifle and equipment, shaved, etc. all forenoon. Wrote few letters. Loafed all this p.m. too. Saw guard mount. Wrote more letters. Played rummy with Pete Smith. Bed early.

Letter to Aunt Nellie -

Camp Wadsworth, S.C.

March 12, 1918

Dear Aunt Nell : -

Your most welcome letter of the 2nd came while I was on the range but as I had no stationery with me - and there was no means of mailing letters - I've not written you before - but will now scribble a few lines to let you know I'm back, etc.

So you are helping with the draft work? Just what do you have to do?

No - you had not told me about your keen interest in poetry before - but from the various verses you've sent me - I presumed that you were rather keen for modern works.

Huh? I don't know much about this World President idea! Gee! That's pretty big for me to gasp all in one breath! I'll have to think it over a while. Will talk about it later.

Gee! yes! I'm feeling so extraordinarily good of late that there isn't work enough in camp to keep my quiet.

I've caught up on my automatic rifle school and am instructing as I was regularly now. I'm now getting along quite famously with our Captain. I went to the rifle range in a pretty obstinate frame of mind and had no interest in the shooting at all. He called the "non-coms" together and all the old rifle shots - and formed 30 coaches. Then he told them that I was reported to be the best rifle authority in the regiment and instructed me to hold classes in coaching - and handled all the impossibles myself. Now - he thinks I'm it and can't be good enough! The old cuss falls all over himself making things rosy for "Sergeant Bliss". I'm sure in the old man's graces strong now! Funny, eh? 

Our company came away with the highest shooting figure of merit of any of the 48 line companies of the 27th Div. - and Capt. "Dick" tells the company, it's my fault! Ha! Ha! So, I'm pretty chesty about these (?), you can bet.

The mountains were superbly wonderful! We could look for over 50 miles at every point of the compass. The air was great - the water most entirely pure - and such weather! Gee! I felt 20 years younger after being there a couple days. Could stay there a month.

Gen. O'Ryan announced last week that we would be in France before the end of May. Thank gosh for that! Gee, won't I be glad when we begin doing some real soldiering!

Well, it's mess time - so will close for now, telling you more about my scores, etc. in my next letter.

With much love / Clyde

Next up - More diary entries - Clyde is back at Camp Wadsworth.