May 30, 1918

This is Decoration Day: they are supposed to put flowers on the graves of departed soldiers of the Blue and the Gray. It doesn’t do me much good. I have no grave and don’t intend to get one. I’m a soldier more or less, but still no sign of departing. I’m blue and the day’s gray. Hell!

Wild doings today, I suppose; things began last night. In the first place Jones, after tender farewells to Waddles, walked up the dock with Eldridge and me and opened and read a letter from his wife. Great disappointment – no money in it.

Then they announced a ball game for 2:30 today between the sundodgers and the rain makers – the only people left on the island. Too bad it rained.

Then they had it fixed up to pull all the Worrie’s blankets off, after he got to sleep, jerk them into the next tent and hide them. They tried hard, but something slipped and they only managed to wake him. To this minute he believes Huston, next to him, did it in a dream.

This morning everyone got up for reveille, except Sulzer and me; then there wasn’t any, and we had the laugh on them.

Decoration Day is the earlier name for Memorial Day. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day