US Army Infantry School - Doughboy Yearbook (Fort Benning, GA)

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.IQ ,. js of fs , f I A -X J Ang X1 IQZ4 DOUGHBQY S Concentrate my wandering faculties on trench and field and moot, So I wrote and what was written was uncommonly poor Was unusually rotton and most uncommonly poor Worse had ne'er been writ before. But at last the trial was ended, my sentence was suspended, I emerged from out the darkness of that nasty stable door Got acquainted with the neighbors, saw the sky, the trees, the jay birds Keep me here forever is all that I implore, Keep me here I gibbered faintly I will monograph no more And the darkness of the stable echoed- Monograph no more. Now I wander in the gloaming, from within there comes a moaning, From my lips there comes a whisper that I never heard before, On my hand I bear a token, an index finger broken Busted smack upon the keyboard just below the figure four And the whisper raised a blister as thru my lips it tore And I mutter morn and evening I will monograph no moref' So the cursed thing was ended and my wobbly way I wended To the Section and Department where they grade and mark and score, There I turned in my effusion, fled from laughter and derision, And I waited in fear and trembling just behind an open door, There I waited and debated till they followed up my spoor And they gave me back my paper It was marked INFERIOR. 59 cuff w -. , , fywiv-M . .. 4 Hg A In an . , 1- V. ,-11 ,., ,az X f 7, l,j'llfU,A Trp - f X .Q X441 - W 4X4:0 N I -rlfflllll H 'Nff nl ' fl- Wai: f , v 'W' f -. ,, f. e ff N',,! ying . ll: - r , , . - ,L s- yy - fri, ,V . .-r nf, , I 7 4 ? r . X - Y K gf.. i-.V T 'fi 1, -1- f L 'Y' 'fa.ul'Brown, L -,-lggflj J .- i A -, -1 ,A H - ,.,,, A. uv ,,,,-15, - --, tl r Y , 1 1 J 1 j -2 if 5' ' i V fs S- fi f' 5 T ' - .ll .xt ,rw ,pin ll: K I WW

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flrjfff , 5 f SLA ,7 1 eq X. f - X , . ' U v THE MGNOGRAPH CWith apologies to The Raven j How well I remember, when early in November, As I entered school one morning, whistling, singing as of yore, There arose before my vision something needing quick decision, 'Twas the monograph. I saw it as I stood upon the floor, Damn the luck I muttered, as I entered through the door But 'twas there in big black letters, I can see it evermore. To the book store then I hied me, when the librarian espied me, Who is this he cried, upstarting, as I busted thru the door, Help me, save me, Mr. Ducrow, give me all the books that you know On the Marne, the Somme, the battles fought by Pershing by the score. The monograph has got me, give me all your stock and store, I'1l be insane by tomorrow, And he added evermore. Home then I weary plodded, to my friends I merely nodded, I was humbled, cowed and stricken, My God, but I was sore, Put my feet beneath the table, gulped my food and thus was able, To gain minutes that were needed to enrich my mind with lore, To fill the yawning cavity that had ne'er been filled before And if I live to be a hundred will be filled thus Nevermore. Thus I lived and worked and fretted, slightly aided and abetted By the drivel and the piffel of those who'd gone before Thus I emulated Gibbons, cribbed from Bancroft, Green and Simonds Improved Buchan and Motley daily as I added more and more Copying words and phrases is a thing that I abhor, To their work, I added phrases, but I added nothing more. Weeks passed by and I was able by living in the stable Close to nature and away from all that I adore, To divorce my wife's affections, forget my boys and by reflection E - 'I fi 1 I? - N -. ' ,,. vis? wi-- l in?

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I ,. , . 'vi f- 'fb -,i X7 1 y , eb- .T ,. it ,N -4 ,AL . - --- -'-- r Dere Ed: Well Ed, this is some course. I gotta rite a monogram, now Ed, on the Eyetalian Fronts in 1915. Well Ed, I don't kno anything about the Eyetalians fronts in 1915 or any other year. What should I care about the Eyetalians fronts, I have enuf truble keeping the soup offen my own, without worryin none about the fronts of them wops. Well Ed, there is lots of books in the library which tells about wop fronts and backs so I gess I'll copy some good stuff an shoot it in. You kno me Ed-clever. Well Ed, the Maje who gave us the dope on this monogram said we gotta be Simpathetic and full of Enthosiam for our subject. Well Ed, I'm pretty Simpathetic over some of them fronts, I gess they is wurse than yours, I'm full of Enthosiam to Ed, it costs about six dollars a Gal. and I keep some in the house all the time. I gess even a stingy guy like you Ed could get Enthoosiastic down here where prices is rite. I'm goin to be some Enthoosiastic about them fronts Ed. You kno me-Enthoosiastick 90'i, that's all. Well Ed, a lotta guys has already given their monograrns. Some guys think its a swell chance to pull sum bum whit Ed, but not me, serious but enthoosiastick, that's me eh? Some of these bum jokers has got their marks Ed, along with a lotta sirnpathy from their teacher. The teacher is very Enthoosiastick when he marks the paper an simpathetic when .he tells you how bum you are. Well chere up Ed, he won't have to tell-you, he can see it if his eyes ain't bum. Well Ed, what with monograms an all I'm pretty busy. I gotta do some Work for the guy who helps the Commandment Ed. The fellas call him the Vyking which don't sound sensible to me, Ed. Anyhow he's pretty important around here an he wants me to do some extra work for him Wed. afternoon next. I hate to give up my afternoon off Ed, but I gess I'll have to akomodate him-you kno rne Ed, obligin eh? I gess he'd 'never knon I was here if he hadn't of spied me strollin into class only one half hour late. He seen what a good man I was and tole me I was to make a study of the animule transportation of this Post. Well Ed, thatls a stiff one I gess. I ain't seen any animules being transported yet unless you count in some of them wearing Sam Brouns. fpretty good, ehj Well I gotta lot to do so I'll say so long now. ' Yours Enthoosiastickaly, Bill. Q L Y 1 'v I J 2 J J 1:1 5 - if l i 'i 'g f ,fu 5 ' Q. 4 ' .E '59 ,171 l-is-Q ' 4 l C lvl!