Christmas Greetings From Camp Funston (1917)

After watching a story on the news this morning about 10,000 Sweet Martha's chocolate-chip cookies being baked for the overseas troops, I thought I would research "Christmas for the troops." After looking at what was written on the back of this postcard, however, my research went in a different direction.

This postcard is an example of a used card that is more interesting than an unused one. The message on the back is:

From A.R. K.
Dec.
25,1917
Camp Funston, Co. C. 340 M.G.Bn.,
Kansas

The name Funston seemed an odd name for a military camp, one more suited for a comic strip than a real camp.

I decided to google "Camp Funston" and was surprised at the amount of interesting information I found.

The basic facts are:

• Camp Funston was built in 1917 with a capacity of over 50,000
• It was the largest of sixteen divisional cantonment training camps constructed during World War One
• The camp was named in honor of Major General Frederick Funston
• It was built on the Fort Riley government reservation, near the Kansas River
• Camp Funston still exists and is temporary housing for military personnel undergoing special training for duty in Iraq
• Camp Funston was the source of the flu pandemic of 1918

The most interesting and surprising thing I found was a letter from a soldier written on December 26, 1917 that described the Christmas activities at Camp Funston where the weather was clear and cold with no snow:

• 6:45—reveille
• 8:00—marched to the arena about a mile from the barracks for stunts and races mingled with music; had a wild west show by the enlisted men with bronco busting, a tug of war, fancy roping and steer bulldogging
• 12:00—letters and Christmas boxes from home were distributed
• 1:00—filed to the mess for a menu of oyster soup, olives, turkey with dressing and gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread and butter, cranberry sauce, pies, cakes, fruits, candy, cigars, coffee and sweet cider
• 2:00—rescued a wagon train laden with Christmas presents donated by the Red Cross and other societies that was attacked by Indian braves from the ranks
• 5:00—ate the leavings, smoked, and lounged
• 7:00—big fireworks display