Conscript 2989: Experiences of a Drafted Man — John Shaqi
Conscript 2989: Experiences of a Drafted ManCrump, Irving
History
Conscript 2989: Experiences of a Drafted Man
Crump, Irving
Military training camps -- United States; United States. Army -- Military life; World War, 1914-1918
[Illustration: An alarm clock went off at 4 A.M.]
I, for one, was disappointed, and so were most of the rest of us. But
there were a few who didn’t give themselves a chance to be disappointed.
They promptly fainted: not because of the injection but because of the
state of their nerves which they all admitted afterward. There were a
few things about the examination calculated to scare a man to death such
as the question: “In case you are shot and killed to whom do you wish
six months’ pay to be sent?” Many of us stammered a bit before
answering.
[Illustration: Jabbed at the iodine mark and pulled the trigger]
After that we stripped, lined up and started on our way. Then measured,
marked and finger-printed, we arrived before a physician who stamped a
quarter section under the left shoulder blade with a sponge covered with
iodine, while another one scratched the skin on our upper arm to mark
the acreage to be covered by a vaccination. We moved on to two more
physicians, and while one dug a hunk out of our arm and inserted vaccine
in place of the skin removed, the other man, with a villainously long
hypodermic, jabbed at the iodine mark and pulled the trigger. And now,
by George, if any one else around here tries to kid me into worrying
about anything at all, I’m going to talk back proper. They sure had me
scared stiff and I’ll admit it. Why, hang it, I would rather have had
typhoid than face that “needle” before I really knew what it amounted
to. But here I am, with germs variously estimated at from 15,000 to
250,000 circulating around inside of me, due to said “needle,” and aside
from a little wooziness in the head, and a sore shoulder, I’m quite
contented and ready to turn in. Good-night.
Saturday:
The serum injections of yesterday produced some queer, and in one case
unfortunate, results. Last night after taps were sounded and lights were
out, I lay awake a long time in spite of the fact I was very tired.
Couldn’t understand it, and my arm and back were as sore as could be.
Hour after hour wore on, and I couldn’t get to sleep. Some did, however,
and I had a regular frog’s chorus of snores to keep me company. I became
a veritable specialist in snores and wheezes and grunts. Every time I
heard a new variety I formed mental pictures of the men who probably
made them.
Then the chorus was interrupted by some one not far from me who called
out mournfully: “Oh, my back, my back! The needle!” Then in sharper
tones: “Count off. 1-2-3-4.” I wondered what horrors his overwrought
nerves were causing him to dream of.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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