Mrs. William B. Gould Letters

Hannah (Mrs. William B.) Gould lived with her husband in Readville, Massachusetts in 1927. They had 4 children: William B. 3rd, Ernest, Marjorie, and Robert E. who was born around 1911. In the summer of 1927 Robert attended the Citizens' Military Training Camp at Fort McKinley on Great Diamond Island in Portland, Maine.

The authorization for the Citizens' Military Training Camps was signed into law by Pres. Woodrow Wilson on June 4, 1920 and they were suspended in the summer of 1941.The primary aim of the Citizens' Military Training Camps (CMTC) was to promote good citizenship, through health, physical, mental and moral values. Instruction was given in a sequence of four years. The courses were the Basic, the Red, the White and the Blue. Each course lasted approximately one month and was held during the summer. Young men were admitted to the beginning course between the ages of 17 and 24, "provided they be of good character, intelligence and physical condition." The government paid for all expenses, including transportation, uniforms, food, quarters and medical care. There was no service obligation. The camp schedule called for elementary infantry drill in the beginning and later for special training in the different branches of the service. A large part of the training day was devoted to physical training and athletic sports. Army Chaplains saw to the religious needs of the trainees. Many who enrolled in the CMTC were inclined thereafter to join the National Guard or Organized Reserve.