TRANSCRIBED FROM THE HOME NEWS AUGUST 30, 1918 P. 5
“Somewhere in France”
July 30, 1918
Mrs. J.L. Bronte,
McCrory, Ark.,
Dear Sister and all:
My fountain pens are both dry, so will just write a letter with a pencil before it grows dark.
Had quite an interesting day in the front line. Am enclosing some fern leaves for Alma which I picked up from the edge of a trench in sight of the Germans and only about 200 yards from his trenches.
The sector is in a thick forest, or what was once a thick forest, but along the front, most of the trees are shot down by large shells. Those not shot down are literally riddled with rifle bullets. It looks like some giant animal had gone through and bitten great trees off at all heights from the ground, some being topped while others have been pulled up by the roots. There is not a tree, however, in some parts but what has been struck.
The man who was with me had been in the sector sometime and he showed us the certain places where the boche had a habit of picking off lieutenants The other lieutenant who was with me promptly removed his bars from his shoulders. I told them I did not believe he could shoot mine off, at least he would have it to do. Guess the boche thought I was too insignificant to bother with as not a shot was fired.
Yesterday a man was standing in front of his dug out shaving and had his mirror hanging in the sun. A boche spied it and the mirror is of no more use. A thousand and one things like this I might mention.
Hope all is well with you. I never fared better in my life, plenty to eat and a good feather bed upon which to sleep. Some of the dug outs have electric lights. When I got to one of the dug outs one of the Captain’s, he was amusing himself with his 45 automatic, shooting rats that he thought was trying to encroach upon his rights in the dug out. Write whenever you have time, As ever,
Walter B. Huff
14th Machine Gun Bat.
NOTES:
TRANSCRIBED BY TAYLOR AHART
“Somewhere in France”
July 30, 1918
Mrs. J.L. Bronte,
McCrory, Ark.,
Dear Sister and all:
My fountain pens are both dry, so will just write a letter with a pencil before it grows dark.
Had quite an interesting day in the front line. Am enclosing some fern leaves for Alma which I picked up from the edge of a trench in sight of the Germans and only about 200 yards from his trenches.
The sector is in a thick forest, or what was once a thick forest, but along the front, most of the trees are shot down by large shells. Those not shot down are literally riddled with rifle bullets. It looks like some giant animal had gone through and bitten great trees off at all heights from the ground, some being topped while others have been pulled up by the roots. There is not a tree, however, in some parts but what has been struck.
The man who was with me had been in the sector sometime and he showed us the certain places where the boche had a habit of picking off lieutenants The other lieutenant who was with me promptly removed his bars from his shoulders. I told them I did not believe he could shoot mine off, at least he would have it to do. Guess the boche thought I was too insignificant to bother with as not a shot was fired.
Yesterday a man was standing in front of his dug out shaving and had his mirror hanging in the sun. A boche spied it and the mirror is of no more use. A thousand and one things like this I might mention.
Hope all is well with you. I never fared better in my life, plenty to eat and a good feather bed upon which to sleep. Some of the dug outs have electric lights. When I got to one of the dug outs one of the Captain’s, he was amusing himself with his 45 automatic, shooting rats that he thought was trying to encroach upon his rights in the dug out. Write whenever you have time, As ever,
Walter B. Huff
14th Machine Gun Bat.
NOTES:
TRANSCRIBED BY TAYLOR AHART