ArtifactInterestMeter: WE STINK Verse 1944

Confabulations by M.A.Tucker, Winter 2026

Artifacts can tell stories. A fragment of a 1944 letter from a mother working for the U.S. War Dept. in Washington, D.C. to her son, a Marine training at Parris Island, S.C. provides a glimpse of the attitude & spirit of the women supporting the war effort against both Nazi Germany & the Imperial Japanese military. The closing verse by an unknown poet expresses sentiment unlikely to be found in history books.

Fragment of letter from a mother in the U.S. War Dept. to her Marine son, 1944.

B.O. War Dept. employees have been

told about smelly stuff in a pamphlet

from the health office, “We all have

a characteristic scent, “ the employees

were told “which when allowed to

accumulate becomes exceedingly

unpleasant.” The employees are

advised to use plenty of soap

and water. Well, anyway, this

anti-B.O. circular was the final

blow to one employee and it

inspired her to verse. Here it is:

They have told us when to go to bed

They drag us out at dawn,

They work us till our tongues hang out

And all our pep is gone,

They tell us where & what to eat

But this is the end, I think,

There is nothing left to tell us,

So they tell us that WE STINK.

Faced with grave adversity, Dear Reader, would you take flight in poetic verse?