TRANSCRIBED FROM THE GRAND PRAIRIE NEWS FEBRUARY 13, 1919 P. 7
Dear Father:
Will write and tell you just what we are doing and all about the Twentieth Engineers. This regiment is the largest in the world, has 145 companies, and most of them are composed of mill men from the United States.
On November 25th, 1917, the first board was cut by the A.E.F. on a little old French mill in the Jura mountains, and at the same time another detachment was getting out 50-ft. piling and drawing them on wagons by hand.
The total cut during December, 1917, was 321,000 board feet of lumber and 12,000 railroad ties. When the armistice was signed on the 11th of November, 1918, the Twentieth Engineers were operating 81 American sawmills and producing 2,000,000 feet of lumber every working day.
Up to December 1st we have cut a total of 272,500,000 feet of lumber, including 2,728,000 railroad ties, 38,000 pieces of piling and 2,739,000 poles of all sizes, together with 892,000 steres of fuel wood. These figures are all official, because I take them off the bulletin board which we have, and the figures are sent to us from regimental headquarters.
The timber we have here is all pine, and very small. It runs about 11 inches, what we call bull-pine in America. There is lots of lumber in France, but they will use it all to rebuild towns that have been torn away by the big guns. I have seen in the American lumber yards here as much as 10,000,000 feet of lumber and ties together in one place. Where we are now is in Southern France. A forest fire burned off several thousand acres of timber land, and the Americans are putting in mills to cut it out. It rains here every day and we are only about 12 inches above sea level. All the men who work in the woods wear hip boots and raincoats. I have gone through a lot of hardships since I came out here, but I am glad to have come over and fought for my country and made the world safe to live in.
I have been in about all the big cities in France, but have never found one like our cities in the United States.
We don’t know just when we will be coming home, but hope that the time will soon come, because the old home place is where I want to be now.
Well, father, I will close for this time, hoping to hear from you real soon. Lots of love to all.
I remain, your loving son,
Sergeant Elmer G. Douglass
Engrs. Troops Forestry, Pontenx-les-Forges-Landes, A.E.F., U.S.M.P.O. 705.
NOTES: Douglas was born in Dewitt, Arkansas on March 15, 1893 and died in Venice, California on May 17, 1955. He is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, California. He served in Co. A., 20th Engineers in France. He was writing to his father, P. A. Douglass of Dewitt.
TRANSCRIBED BY DAVID COLLINS
Dear Father:
Will write and tell you just what we are doing and all about the Twentieth Engineers. This regiment is the largest in the world, has 145 companies, and most of them are composed of mill men from the United States.
On November 25th, 1917, the first board was cut by the A.E.F. on a little old French mill in the Jura mountains, and at the same time another detachment was getting out 50-ft. piling and drawing them on wagons by hand.
The total cut during December, 1917, was 321,000 board feet of lumber and 12,000 railroad ties. When the armistice was signed on the 11th of November, 1918, the Twentieth Engineers were operating 81 American sawmills and producing 2,000,000 feet of lumber every working day.
Up to December 1st we have cut a total of 272,500,000 feet of lumber, including 2,728,000 railroad ties, 38,000 pieces of piling and 2,739,000 poles of all sizes, together with 892,000 steres of fuel wood. These figures are all official, because I take them off the bulletin board which we have, and the figures are sent to us from regimental headquarters.
The timber we have here is all pine, and very small. It runs about 11 inches, what we call bull-pine in America. There is lots of lumber in France, but they will use it all to rebuild towns that have been torn away by the big guns. I have seen in the American lumber yards here as much as 10,000,000 feet of lumber and ties together in one place. Where we are now is in Southern France. A forest fire burned off several thousand acres of timber land, and the Americans are putting in mills to cut it out. It rains here every day and we are only about 12 inches above sea level. All the men who work in the woods wear hip boots and raincoats. I have gone through a lot of hardships since I came out here, but I am glad to have come over and fought for my country and made the world safe to live in.
I have been in about all the big cities in France, but have never found one like our cities in the United States.
We don’t know just when we will be coming home, but hope that the time will soon come, because the old home place is where I want to be now.
Well, father, I will close for this time, hoping to hear from you real soon. Lots of love to all.
I remain, your loving son,
Sergeant Elmer G. Douglass
Engrs. Troops Forestry, Pontenx-les-Forges-Landes, A.E.F., U.S.M.P.O. 705.
NOTES: Douglas was born in Dewitt, Arkansas on March 15, 1893 and died in Venice, California on May 17, 1955. He is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, California. He served in Co. A., 20th Engineers in France. He was writing to his father, P. A. Douglass of Dewitt.
TRANSCRIBED BY DAVID COLLINS