TRANSCRIBED FROM THE BENTON COURIER MAY 22, 1919 P. 2
Nantes, France, April 25, 19.
Benton Courier:
As I am an American soldier and from Arkansas, I want to ask if you will be so kind as to publish this letter of mine in your paper.
I am sure my friends, as well as myself, will be obliged to you.
On leaving New York on that wonderful steamship Kyber was the beginning of woe to me.
On the first day out we all got sea sick. It was great. I thought I would die, but no, I lived through it all right. About the 8th or 9th day out we came along with some Huns in one of their little subs. They were off the coast of Ireland when they attacked us. They only got one of our ships, and it was not long until one of our little sub chasers told us that all was well. The sub was sunk never to rise again.
Well four days after that we landed at London, England. From there we went to a rest camp (some camp.) As we were all very tired, we lost no time in getting to bed, such as they were. When everything was quiet at about two o'clock in the morning who came along but Fritz in the airplane. He did us no harm only a scare, as he dropped three or four of his little bombs right near us. Lucky they were not too near or I could not be telling of it. Well, the next day we were on the move again. It took us all that day to go and get aboard a ship to cross the English Channel over to France. There we got to another swell rest camp. The next day it was the same thing over again. We traveled two days in these little freight cars to a little city or town by the name of Pous. We stayed there five days and then took another ride in these nice little cars, this time for thirty-six hours to a city named Nantes. There we stayed. We built a hospital where they have today over 6,000 American soldiers encamped.
Over here in France just now we soldiers have things pretty nice and lots of good eats, but eight or nine months ago it was not so nice. As for myself, I ate so much hard tack that I have no more teeth.
You know some times us bucks get to town and look sweet (French). We get to drinking Vin Blanch (white wine). Well then is when the fun starts. But it does not last very long for as soon as we leave the cafe, who is there? None other than one of the onderful K.P's. The result is thirty days in the brig.
Since we Americans are over here in France these French people have picked up the English language wonderfully. The other day while my bedmate and I were on our way to town, having a little fun as we went along, we heard a little Frenchman about six or seven years old say to his mother in English, "Ma don't you think those Yanks are full of bull?" Now I was so surprised I hardly knew what to think, but as I am quite a Frenchman now I sometimes have some fun with them in saying things to them in French.
Now France is a very pretty country and all you fellows who did not get over sure did miss something.
I like it very much over here for Uncle Sam can never get me back to the old U. S. A. to soon.
Thanking you in advance for the favor of publishing this in your paper, I remain,
Pvt. Eddie Hubanks,
U.S.Army Ambulance Co. No 240
312 Sanitary Train, France.
NOTES: Hubanks was born on June 1, 1893 in Sevier County, Arkansas and died in 1948. He is buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He departed on August 26, 1918 from New York onboard the Khyber. He was serving as a Pvt. in Ambulance Co. No. 346, 312th Sanitary Train 87th Division. He departed St. Nazaire, France on July 5, 1919 onboard the Matzonia. He was serving as a Pvt. in USA Base Hospital No. 216.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD
Nantes, France, April 25, 19.
Benton Courier:
As I am an American soldier and from Arkansas, I want to ask if you will be so kind as to publish this letter of mine in your paper.
I am sure my friends, as well as myself, will be obliged to you.
On leaving New York on that wonderful steamship Kyber was the beginning of woe to me.
On the first day out we all got sea sick. It was great. I thought I would die, but no, I lived through it all right. About the 8th or 9th day out we came along with some Huns in one of their little subs. They were off the coast of Ireland when they attacked us. They only got one of our ships, and it was not long until one of our little sub chasers told us that all was well. The sub was sunk never to rise again.
Well four days after that we landed at London, England. From there we went to a rest camp (some camp.) As we were all very tired, we lost no time in getting to bed, such as they were. When everything was quiet at about two o'clock in the morning who came along but Fritz in the airplane. He did us no harm only a scare, as he dropped three or four of his little bombs right near us. Lucky they were not too near or I could not be telling of it. Well, the next day we were on the move again. It took us all that day to go and get aboard a ship to cross the English Channel over to France. There we got to another swell rest camp. The next day it was the same thing over again. We traveled two days in these little freight cars to a little city or town by the name of Pous. We stayed there five days and then took another ride in these nice little cars, this time for thirty-six hours to a city named Nantes. There we stayed. We built a hospital where they have today over 6,000 American soldiers encamped.
Over here in France just now we soldiers have things pretty nice and lots of good eats, but eight or nine months ago it was not so nice. As for myself, I ate so much hard tack that I have no more teeth.
You know some times us bucks get to town and look sweet (French). We get to drinking Vin Blanch (white wine). Well then is when the fun starts. But it does not last very long for as soon as we leave the cafe, who is there? None other than one of the onderful K.P's. The result is thirty days in the brig.
Since we Americans are over here in France these French people have picked up the English language wonderfully. The other day while my bedmate and I were on our way to town, having a little fun as we went along, we heard a little Frenchman about six or seven years old say to his mother in English, "Ma don't you think those Yanks are full of bull?" Now I was so surprised I hardly knew what to think, but as I am quite a Frenchman now I sometimes have some fun with them in saying things to them in French.
Now France is a very pretty country and all you fellows who did not get over sure did miss something.
I like it very much over here for Uncle Sam can never get me back to the old U. S. A. to soon.
Thanking you in advance for the favor of publishing this in your paper, I remain,
Pvt. Eddie Hubanks,
U.S.Army Ambulance Co. No 240
312 Sanitary Train, France.
NOTES: Hubanks was born on June 1, 1893 in Sevier County, Arkansas and died in 1948. He is buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He departed on August 26, 1918 from New York onboard the Khyber. He was serving as a Pvt. in Ambulance Co. No. 346, 312th Sanitary Train 87th Division. He departed St. Nazaire, France on July 5, 1919 onboard the Matzonia. He was serving as a Pvt. in USA Base Hospital No. 216.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD