When Books Went to War Read Online Free PDF

frequently burned holes in the tent material, and small fires constantly had to be extinguished. While roads around the camp were generously described as “cleared,” in actuality they were riddled with tree stumps that the soldiers-in-training were ordered to remove. There were many other dirty jobs assigned. “You’ll haul coal and ash and ashes. You’ll unpack rifles that are buried in heavy grease and you’ll clean that grease from them. You’ll stoke fires, you’ll mop floors, and you’ll put a high polish on the windows,” Sergeant Marion Hargrove explained in his famous account of military life. There would be times when “you’ll wonder if you’ve been yanked out of civil life for
this
” and “you will be thoroughly disgusted with your new job,” Hargrove added.
    Beyond buildings and facilities, camps lacked even the most basic supplies. Once a man arrived at his training camp, a mountain of gear was supposed to be given to him for his new military life. The Army quartermaster (QM) planned to provide infantrymen with a “field uniform of steel helmet, shirt, trousers, leggings, shoes, underwear, and, depending on the weather, raincoat or coat and overcoat . . . ; a haversack, for his mess kit; cup and canteen; first-aid kit; pack holding blanket, shelter tents, poles, pins, toilet articles, gas mask; intrenching tool, reserve ration; weapon and ammunition.” As one magazine quipped, the men were given “some $85 worth of clothes, but no pajamas.” In reality, the first wave of recruits was missing a lot more than just pajamas. Because the QM had not yet procured their khaki regimentals, men were forced to wear hated wool uniforms from World War I.
    Many camps also lacked ammunition, weapons, and equipment for training drills. The men felt foolish as they were forced to pretend a mop handle propped on a sawhorse was an antiaircraft gun. At Fort McClellan, trucks bore signs reading TANK , and logs were used as placeholders for artillery. Even General Dwight D. Eisenhower recalled in his memoir,
Crusade in Europe
, that “troops carried wooden models of mortars and machine guns and were able to study some of our new weapons only from blueprints.” The use of these pretend weapons “added little to the new infantryman’s
esprit
,” he admitted.
    In addition to the demoralizing reality of the training camps’ unpreparedness, draftees experienced growing pains in adjusting to the regimentation of military life. Up at 6:00 a.m., the men stumbled out of bed and into the dark to spend hours learning how to march and maneuver in freezing temperatures. When ammunition and weapons were available for drills, the Army strove to simulate battle conditions. The men would crawl under barbed wire while live ammunition whizzed a couple of feet above their heads. The sound of grenades, rifle fire, and TNT bursts penetrated the air as dummy enemy soldiers were dropped from trees. The men spent additional hours in classrooms watching films, reading charts, analyzing mockups, and studying how their equipment functioned and was best utilized. They were frequently tested and ranked, with failing students shifted to other courses or training. There was constant pressure to perform well. Top grades meant promotion, a pay raise, and an elevated social status. Most men would do anything to avoid the disgrace of being held back because of academic failure.Military training proved both physically and mentally draining.
    The transition from civilian to soldier did not come easily to the great majority who found themselves wandering around training camps in the early 1940s. Although newspapers and magazines romanticized the experience, in reality, many men were completely miserable and struggled with loneliness, isolation, and melancholy.
    At the end of each day, most men craved solitude and escape. But unless granted a furlough or leave, it