So I've been working on re-typing the letters my granddad wrote to his family during WWII. I also have several pictures that I've scanned and will retouch. The pic below is a scan of a journal type thing that he kept from when he enlisted, bounced around from camp to camp, and then eventually over to Europe. Anyways, my best interpretation for "lost 3 lbs" below is he crapped his pants (as would I). Do y'all read it the same way?

Either that or could it have been hot and he sweated that much because of the strenuous, hot, and stressful ordeal? He later mentions crawling through a course at night but only mentions stars and no moon.....no weight loss. It was cooler at night, perhaps. Nonetheless, you have some priceless material there.

I have an autograph book I found in an old house I bought from the same time period and the handwriting is almost identical. Funny how people seemed to write more similar back then than they do now.

Yes, This sounds like basic training courses at Ft. Bragg and Again at Camp Shelby In MS. They still have the same type courses for the infantry.

Yeah, good point. It was June so it would have been hot. He mentioned elsewhere about how much he lost on a 25 mile walk. That said, it could go either way based on some of the humor he's had in some of his letters.

Or he could have thrown up.

3 pounds is less than a half gallon of water (sweat)...June, Ft Benning GA...You damn right he sweated that out...