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My Dearest Mother: -
You remember how, in my last letter, I told you I had escaped the
"cuties”. Alas! It was not for long. They are here. I spent all afternoon
"reading" my clothes and had a total of thirty-six. I was sort of cocky
about my being free of the elusive louse and sort of giving my comrades
the merry ha! ha! I’ve been scratching some for the last few days and told
the sergeant that I thot it was hives. At the time he was engaged in our
chief pastime himself, that is, picking them off. He said "I'll bet you
five francs you got ‘em & don't even know it." Well I had just scrubbed up
and been given new underwear so I took him on. Of course I had to strip
and I lost, for right on the sleeve of my undershirt was #1. So now "I'll
never be lonely." Even our new clothes are infested with them. Well
such is war!
Now I am going to try and tell you before dark something of my life during
the great drive. We were promised the 4th off and prepared to sleep in. At
3:00 AM on that great day we were awakened by the "call to arms". It was
the first any of us had ever heard it in reality and we crawled out to
roll our packs in the cool starlight. In a few minutes our regiment was on
the move and at about dawn we were on the move and ready to help in
driving "Jerry" from (erased) & (erased)
[censored].
We were placed & then lay in wait for the supreme moment. I'll never
forget the night we came through that quaint old town. We had hiked all
day and most of the evening and were dead on our feet. We came to the
outskirts about 11:30 PM. It was bright moonlight and that added to making
the scene more grotesque. Not a house possessed a roof, and in the pale
light the shell torn walls stood out in bold relief. The streets were
still barricaded where the German machine guns had been placed and all
were badly littered with wreckage and debris. We were in a single file,
and wearing our gas masks because the Hun was still sending a few into the
town. The water mains were busted likewise the sewers, and this caused the
streets to be flooded. We were forced to "double" at certain places to get
by in time. It was here that I first smelled & saw real war. We had passed
thru the town and gained the hill before we rested. Of course we just
dropped as we do in our tracks. When the order came to go forward I had
been dozing and rousing myself I noticed another fellow leaning back
against the bank in full equipment asleep, seemingly. I reached out to
shake him and then I knew I was looking at a corpse. He was shot through
and had died instantly, evidently, in the position he was in when the
bullet from a Hun sniper had found him. He was not from our outfit and had
been there all day, I guess. Just looked as if he was asleep a cigarette
was sticking to his lip. I've seen much since but that first one I'll
never forget. The feeling was so queer, there before me was an American
boy who had been killed by Germans . Its different from reading about it.
That stuff might worry you though so I'll layoff. We marched on and I was
thinking of the stories old John Walters used to tell us. This was the
start of weeks of hard toil. The hardest I ever experienced. We slept in
the day time and moved at night after that and always from forest to
forest. These woods had been occupied by Germans just a few days before
and some of the quarters they had underground were wonderful. Huge dugouts
furnished in Queen Anne chairs, pianos, paintings, oriental rugs and every
thing they could pillage. They surely must have been living in style while
we battered at their trenches.
We came into a woods one A.M. just at dawn and it was sprinkling rain. I
was very tired so I just lay down and put my slicker over me to sleep.
While I slept someone pulled it off and when I woke up I was quiet (sic)
wet and out of a coat. I didn't get dry for two days. It started to rain
and it kept on raining. One night in particular we started out at dusk as
usual in a steady rain. My raincoat was gone so I just followed along in
the mud and took it, naturally. We hiked along until about one-thirty and
then trucks, ambulances, wagon trains etc all got mired and things
stopped. We stood there all night for there was no dry place to flop. I
don't think I was ever so miserable. It simply poured and was running off
my tin hat and down my back till it ran out the seat of my trousers. Mud
to the shoe tops, ambulances splashing mud all over you and everyone
chilled through. Got through O.K. without even a cold and the next day
things cleared up and I found myself another rain coat.
Oh! we have been there, and don't you doubt it! I could keep this up and
tell you all up to now but it is getting dark and after all my life is
just like all the rest are enjoying up here. If you want to know just
exactly how we live read "How to Live at the Front" . It's some
story and it's gospel too. I forget the authors name but he has been
through it.
I got your letter dated July 24 and I can't advance any theory why my mail
don't reach you. I write often, Mother, and there must be fifteen or
twenty letters on the way if they haven't gone down. It makes me feel a
trifle sore to write and wonder if the person to whom it is written will
receive it. As Jeff says tho "We ought to be glad we are living”. Hope you
are all real well and I keep thinking of you often and love you more each
day. Did you send me all your pictures? Give my old dad my best love and
he can pass the kisses around for me. Oceans of love mother dear, and same
to my sisters and all the rest.
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