No Man's Land

George P. Bailey.
Port Hospital, Ellington Field, Houston, TX.
19 May, 1918.
To Prof. W.J. Bray, Kirksville, MO.

Dear Sir,
No doubt you will be surprised to hear from one of your former scholars who has remained so long silent.
I have now been stationed at this field five months and it rather seems that I shall put in my enlistment here. I enlisted you, no doubt, remember, last April (1917). Since then I have been stationed at four different places. Jefferson Barracks St Louis, Mo; Ft. Wayne, Detroit Mich; Wright Field, Dayton Ohio, and finally here.
I receive the ‘Index’ and certainly appreciate it very much. Am proud to know that K.S.N.S is so wide awake to the big movements in our country.
Mr. Bray, I would be very grateful to you for a statement concerning my character and habits during the time that you have known me. Thanking you for the name,
I remain,
Respectfully,
George P. Bailey

George P. Bailey.
Houston, TX.
28 May 1918.
To Prof. W. J. Bray, Kirksville, MO.

Dear Friend and Instructor:
I wish to acknowledge your letter of the 25th and thank you for the highly complimentary statement which it contained. Am hoping for advancement and no doubt your letter of recommendation will go far in my efforts to obtain it.
I receive the ‘Index’ regularly and am always eager to know how things are going in the ‘Old School’. Am proud to learn that ‘our’ service flag is growing so rapidly.
I have now been in the service thirteen months and have grown accustomed to this sort of life — but would not choose it in preference to civilian life back in ‘Old Missou’.
I have been connected with post hospitals during my entire enlistment so far — so am pretty well up on hospital work.
At present I have an outside job and a real (?). Texas is a favorite dwelling place of the mosquito — at last that part of it around this field. The work of combating them comes under the duties of the medical department.
I have charge of a detail and oil-truck, whose cutt is to search out and cover with crude oil all of the ponds and pools of water and such like breeding places of the mosquito, for several miles around the camps.
We ride over the plains all day long and get plenty of fresh air and sunshine with emphasis on the sunshine. We don’t mind that, however, for our long sojourn in Texas has toughened and tanned us like the rest of the natives.
Don’t think that army life is all work and no play indeed the government with the aid of the Y.M.C.A. is taking special pains to provide the soldiers with amusement and recreation.
We have a Y.M.C.A. and Enlisted Men’s Club which provide some sort of entertainment every night movies, lectures, local talent etc. The Y.M.C.A. has control of athletic contests also. At present the ‘National Game’ is causing many stiff battles between the sixteen base ball teams of the post — object post championship. The “pill-rollers’ have a team and are in the thick of it.
Will close and go ‘oiling’
Sincerely,
George P. Bailey

Msv1_B2. Violette Collection of WWI Soldiers’ Letters. Mudsp Collection  V1. Truman State University Special Collections.