March 15, 1918 – Full diary entry:

“Third innoculation for Typhoid. Formed new plattoons. Transferred to 2nd Leut. Cooper.

Very nice – Mason”

Finding other Masons becomes a minor theme in Robert’s 1918 diary. As mentioned previously, it was extremely important to him and his father.

First measles, now typhoid? As a reminder, Robert had only been at Camp Dodge for 17 days at this point. At least he was receiving vaccinations rather than being treated for symptoms of the disease.

A little background from a really interesting article in MinnPost:

Typhoid had been a medical disaster for the U.S. Army in the Spanish-American War (1898) and for the British army in the South African Boer War (1899-1902). Typhoid vaccines were available by World War I, and the U.S. Army made getting those shots mandatory for all its enlisted soldiers. The Army’s typhoid rate fell from 142 infections per 1,000 soldiers during the Spanish-American War to less than 1 per 1,000 soldiers during World War I. Typhoid vaccination “was thought to be a genuine medical success story” of the war.

Where was Robert today? See the timeline.