TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ARKANSAS GAZETTE AUGUST 10, 1918 P. 2
July 14:
Have seen a big portion of France already and the rattle of the war machinery against the enemy is the order of the day. General Sherman was right, when he said war is hell, but we have come to whip the boche and we are learning in a short time what it took him 40 years to learn. When you see the deplorable conditions which these devils, called Germans, have brought about in France, it makes your blood boil and your nerves tingle for revenge against these murderous brutes.
The French people are not a fighting, but a home-loving people; but they have fought and died bravely for their nation’s honor. America is French’s only salvation and we are going to square the debt because it is our duty and we are the boys who can do it. Not all of us will be left to tell the story of how we helped in the struggle. But perhaps every boy longs for that blissful moment, when he can fall into his mother’s arms and say, ‘Mother, I fought a clean fight. I have tried to be a manly man.’
The French women deserve great credit for the noble work they have done and are doing. Many whose husbands have been killed at the front have taken their places at the anvil, making shoes for the horses and doing many other things which we would consider a man’s job. France is doing all she can and we are going to help her do it well. Every foot of land, practically speaking, is in cultivation. The hilltops are dotted with vineyards and the valleys glisten with the ripening grain and the lilies bloom down in the meadow.
I understand the women boss over here in the home. The girl even buys the engagement ring for the man, instead of the man buying it for the girl.
NOTES: This partial letter was written by Thomas Nathan Bragg of Russellville, Arkansas to Dr. A. J. Caison. Bragg was working as a marble cutter when he volunteered for the American engineers. He was born July 27, 1885 and died October 28, 1977. He is buried in the Oakland Cemetery in Pope County, Arkansas.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT
July 14:
Have seen a big portion of France already and the rattle of the war machinery against the enemy is the order of the day. General Sherman was right, when he said war is hell, but we have come to whip the boche and we are learning in a short time what it took him 40 years to learn. When you see the deplorable conditions which these devils, called Germans, have brought about in France, it makes your blood boil and your nerves tingle for revenge against these murderous brutes.
The French people are not a fighting, but a home-loving people; but they have fought and died bravely for their nation’s honor. America is French’s only salvation and we are going to square the debt because it is our duty and we are the boys who can do it. Not all of us will be left to tell the story of how we helped in the struggle. But perhaps every boy longs for that blissful moment, when he can fall into his mother’s arms and say, ‘Mother, I fought a clean fight. I have tried to be a manly man.’
The French women deserve great credit for the noble work they have done and are doing. Many whose husbands have been killed at the front have taken their places at the anvil, making shoes for the horses and doing many other things which we would consider a man’s job. France is doing all she can and we are going to help her do it well. Every foot of land, practically speaking, is in cultivation. The hilltops are dotted with vineyards and the valleys glisten with the ripening grain and the lilies bloom down in the meadow.
I understand the women boss over here in the home. The girl even buys the engagement ring for the man, instead of the man buying it for the girl.
NOTES: This partial letter was written by Thomas Nathan Bragg of Russellville, Arkansas to Dr. A. J. Caison. Bragg was working as a marble cutter when he volunteered for the American engineers. He was born July 27, 1885 and died October 28, 1977. He is buried in the Oakland Cemetery in Pope County, Arkansas.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT