“ Permission of the author and the Independent, Kansas City
Why didn't I wait to be drafted
And led to the train with a band,
And put in a claim for exemption,
Oh, why didn't I hold up my hand?
Why didn't I wait for a banquet,
Why didn't I wait for a cheer;
Why didn't I wait to be drafted
Instead of a volunteer?
And nobody gave me a banquet,
Nobody said a kind word;
The puff of the engine,
The grind of the wheels,
Was the only good-by I heard,
Then off to the camp I hustled
To be trained for the next half year,
And in the shuffle forgotten;
I was only a volunteer. ”