TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ARKANSAS GAZETTE AUGUST 26, 1918 P. 5.
The big shells are terrible. You can’t tell where they are going to land, but can hear them whistling through the air. We ran the Germans way back and captured lots of them, and I hope the good Lord will give our boys strength to keep up the good work so we can get home some time soon.
All these towns are alike and the people don’t seem to worry about the war but are glad to see the Americans. They say we are good fighters. Some of our men relieved the French at a certain place and they told our men they had enough ammunition to last all day. Our men used it up in one hour. They had to get more right away and were kept on a move bringing ammunition. Our men charged and found Germans in dugouts and every where else to get out of danger. When our men came up the Germans didn’t know what to do they were so scared. They asked who our men were and they told them it was Uncle Sam, so they surrendered and said they hoped the Americans would keep on coming and end the war. They were tired of it.
We are now sleeping in the woods close to the firing line. We have good mattresses. We take picks and soften the ground, but by morning it is hard again. The mosquitoes are very friendly. They light on you and all you have to do is strike them gently and they fall off dead. There is no life in them, like our mosquitoes. It must be the gas. We slept with our gas masks on last night. But this is a great life if you don’t weaken Everybody likes it all right.
NOTES: This is a partial letter from David P. Harris, of Little Rock to his brother, Lieut. R. P. Harris, of the U. S. public health services. In 1910 David P Harris age 22 and Robert P. Harris age 24 was living with their mother Maggie Harris in Little Rock.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT
The big shells are terrible. You can’t tell where they are going to land, but can hear them whistling through the air. We ran the Germans way back and captured lots of them, and I hope the good Lord will give our boys strength to keep up the good work so we can get home some time soon.
All these towns are alike and the people don’t seem to worry about the war but are glad to see the Americans. They say we are good fighters. Some of our men relieved the French at a certain place and they told our men they had enough ammunition to last all day. Our men used it up in one hour. They had to get more right away and were kept on a move bringing ammunition. Our men charged and found Germans in dugouts and every where else to get out of danger. When our men came up the Germans didn’t know what to do they were so scared. They asked who our men were and they told them it was Uncle Sam, so they surrendered and said they hoped the Americans would keep on coming and end the war. They were tired of it.
We are now sleeping in the woods close to the firing line. We have good mattresses. We take picks and soften the ground, but by morning it is hard again. The mosquitoes are very friendly. They light on you and all you have to do is strike them gently and they fall off dead. There is no life in them, like our mosquitoes. It must be the gas. We slept with our gas masks on last night. But this is a great life if you don’t weaken Everybody likes it all right.
NOTES: This is a partial letter from David P. Harris, of Little Rock to his brother, Lieut. R. P. Harris, of the U. S. public health services. In 1910 David P Harris age 22 and Robert P. Harris age 24 was living with their mother Maggie Harris in Little Rock.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT