TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ROGERS DEMOCRAT DECEMBER 19. 1918 P. 1
Nov 2nd
Dear Sister and Family:
Received your letter of Sept. 29th and it sure made me homesick to read of so many good things to eat.
You said that George’s nephew was in the sandy and timber part of France. I don’t know where he could be for I haven’t seen any sand since I’ve been over here. I know that there is plenty of mud and rain and lots of timber which we are trying so hard to drive the Boches out of. Last summer we had lots of dust.
I think winter is here now: plenty of rain and it is sure some cold at night, but I sleep rather warm: have four blankets and put up the curtains on my car and sleep in the back end. The only thing that I don’t like is for the Boche aviators to come over and drop his bombs. Every clear night several of them come over but they haven’t done any damage to amount to anything. It is sure some job to get out of my hole when I once get in and get warm but one night they got me out, and I wasn’t very long at it, either. One bomb lit on one side and one on the other and I wasn’t by myself: some of the boys didn’t take time to dress. In one day the Boche came over and brought down four of our balloons. It creates some excitement for one to come over and see the observers jump out in their parachutes and come down. Then the Boche shoots the tracer bullets which sets the balloons on fire and leaves nothing but a cloud of black smoke; then he makes his get-away. Sometimes our planes get him and sometimes they don’t.
I do quite a bit of driving and some of it at night. I don’t like to drive at night because it is so dark and when it is clear the aviators turn their machine guns on the roads and it is forbidden to use lights and the traffic is something fierce and cold as a well digger in Montana.
This country is certainly destroyed and nothing standing but the trunks of trees and a few old walls. Our engineers use the stone to repair roads and we find protection in some of the old cellars where the walls have fallen on top of it which makes a good dugout and most of them are full of cooties. I was full of the dirty pests but have taken a good bath, put on clean cloths thruout and sprinkled my blankets with gasoline and washed my clothes in gasoline and I feel a hundred per cent better. Anyone that hasn’t had cooties is not a real soldier. The first ones I got was from sleeping in an old cellar where the Germans had stayed and believe me, they are hard to get along with: gas won’t hardly kill them.
Papa and mama sent me a fountain pen and it is a dandy, too. I am using it now. France is a hard place to get anything. As soon as they see an American soldier they raise the price double. They charge me 2 2/3 francs for a small bottle of ink while it is 50 cents, and an ordinary wool sweater for 50 francs for which I never did pay over $2.50 in the States, but I suppose the U.S. would be the same way after four years of hard war.
I saw nearly 500 prisoners pass here yesterday; they had came over and gave up. I can’t see how the war can last much longer.
Have been in and thru Chateau Thierry many times. It is a large place but is torn up considerably. All the bridges are blown up. The “Crossing the Marne” was one of our hottest battles. Went swimming in the Marne river. It is very pretty with mountains and hills on both sides.
It is nearing dinner time so must quit and get my slum and coffee.
Ever your brother,
Corp. Fred A. Hurd
NOTES: Fred A. Hurd was writing to his sister Mrs. George Williams of Garfield, Arkansas. He was serving as the private chauffer of the 42nd Rainbow Division officer, Major Charles T. Menoher
TRANSCRIBED BY MCKENZIE MOORE
Nov 2nd
Dear Sister and Family:
Received your letter of Sept. 29th and it sure made me homesick to read of so many good things to eat.
You said that George’s nephew was in the sandy and timber part of France. I don’t know where he could be for I haven’t seen any sand since I’ve been over here. I know that there is plenty of mud and rain and lots of timber which we are trying so hard to drive the Boches out of. Last summer we had lots of dust.
I think winter is here now: plenty of rain and it is sure some cold at night, but I sleep rather warm: have four blankets and put up the curtains on my car and sleep in the back end. The only thing that I don’t like is for the Boche aviators to come over and drop his bombs. Every clear night several of them come over but they haven’t done any damage to amount to anything. It is sure some job to get out of my hole when I once get in and get warm but one night they got me out, and I wasn’t very long at it, either. One bomb lit on one side and one on the other and I wasn’t by myself: some of the boys didn’t take time to dress. In one day the Boche came over and brought down four of our balloons. It creates some excitement for one to come over and see the observers jump out in their parachutes and come down. Then the Boche shoots the tracer bullets which sets the balloons on fire and leaves nothing but a cloud of black smoke; then he makes his get-away. Sometimes our planes get him and sometimes they don’t.
I do quite a bit of driving and some of it at night. I don’t like to drive at night because it is so dark and when it is clear the aviators turn their machine guns on the roads and it is forbidden to use lights and the traffic is something fierce and cold as a well digger in Montana.
This country is certainly destroyed and nothing standing but the trunks of trees and a few old walls. Our engineers use the stone to repair roads and we find protection in some of the old cellars where the walls have fallen on top of it which makes a good dugout and most of them are full of cooties. I was full of the dirty pests but have taken a good bath, put on clean cloths thruout and sprinkled my blankets with gasoline and washed my clothes in gasoline and I feel a hundred per cent better. Anyone that hasn’t had cooties is not a real soldier. The first ones I got was from sleeping in an old cellar where the Germans had stayed and believe me, they are hard to get along with: gas won’t hardly kill them.
Papa and mama sent me a fountain pen and it is a dandy, too. I am using it now. France is a hard place to get anything. As soon as they see an American soldier they raise the price double. They charge me 2 2/3 francs for a small bottle of ink while it is 50 cents, and an ordinary wool sweater for 50 francs for which I never did pay over $2.50 in the States, but I suppose the U.S. would be the same way after four years of hard war.
I saw nearly 500 prisoners pass here yesterday; they had came over and gave up. I can’t see how the war can last much longer.
Have been in and thru Chateau Thierry many times. It is a large place but is torn up considerably. All the bridges are blown up. The “Crossing the Marne” was one of our hottest battles. Went swimming in the Marne river. It is very pretty with mountains and hills on both sides.
It is nearing dinner time so must quit and get my slum and coffee.
Ever your brother,
Corp. Fred A. Hurd
NOTES: Fred A. Hurd was writing to his sister Mrs. George Williams of Garfield, Arkansas. He was serving as the private chauffer of the 42nd Rainbow Division officer, Major Charles T. Menoher
TRANSCRIBED BY MCKENZIE MOORE