ABSTRACT
Sim Goddard left Pierre, South Dakota on May 11, 1898, a hearty young man eager for adventure abroad. When he reported to the Sioux Falls recruiting station for his physical examination, he was so afraid of being rejected as overweight, he fasted for the next twenty-four hours, spending most of the time in a steam bath to lose seven pounds and pass the examination. A week later, Private Sim Goddard, Troop E, Third U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, boarded a train to Camp George H. Thomas in North Georgia, to begin his training as a soldier. 1
