TRANSCRIBED FROM THE PINE BLUFF GRAPHIC NOVEMBER 6, 1918 P. 3
October 3, 1918
Dear mother and all:
Well I got some mail at last, 16 bags came in for the battallion today, and I got six, and Ralph only got one. They were dated from August the 25th to Sept. 9th. Four were from you and the other were from E—and A--, you can’t imagine how glad I was to get them. I haven’t got the papers you sent yet. Guess I will get them and the letters you wrote during June and July some time soon. Did you get the letter I wrote while in England and I also sent you a picture of the --- on which I came over on. I haven’t heard from --- since I come over. Guess she is married by this time. Gee! They are having an air battle overhead. Now Ralph is trying to make me move over so he can get down in the trench too. I am lying in the trench writing. “MY! This is a great life.” If you don’t “weaken.” The big guns keep the ground quivering all the time. They almost give me earache. Gee! didn’t you hear that big shell burst. It fell close to the kitchen, you can always tell when it is about chow time. Fritz always sends over a few big shells. Well two planes have fallen during the air battle but don’t know which they are. But think they were Boche. Well I will stop for a while and run up to the kitchen and get my chow and will finish after supper.
Well, have had supper and will finish this letter. Fritz is rather lively tonight. He dropped several shells between our “palace” and the kitchen while I was at supper, you ought to see us do the “dugout glide” when the shells began to pop around us. We have lots of fun laughing at one another ducking. Several batteries of our big guns are right behind us and they shoot about 40 times to Fritz’s one so you can imagine how noisy it is. The aviators had a big battle overhead yesterday eve—There was 50 planes engaged in it and air craft guns, machine guns on the ground were popping away at them too and of all the noise we had it. But the most thrilling think took place this afternoon when a Boche came over and shot down one of our balloons. The observers jumped out and came down in a parachute and the balloon burned up. Then the son of a gun turned the machine gun on us and here he come right over our heads. Oh! boys, business picked up when those bullets began to pepper around us. We turned air craft guns machine guns, pistols, and rifles all loose on then and brought him down. He fell about a kilometer from us and we made a break for him and by the time I got there I guess there were ten thousand French and American soldiers there. They had to take him off to keep the Yanks from making souvenirs out of him. They tore the plane near up for souvenirs before they could get them away, so you see that is how crazy we are. Well it is too dark to write any more so I will finish in the a.m.
October 11th,
Well I said I’d finish in the a.m. but when morning came I was fighting like H---and have been ever since yesterday we got released for a few days, I guess we were in the biggest battle that has been fought yet. All of the home boys come through all O. K. except Marvin Reed. He got wounded. You will excuse this paper as its all I can get. I got two more letters from E--- and G--- was sure proud to get them. Well I guess I had better close. Tell everybody hello, and all of you write often for you do not know how we appreciate letetrs.
Your son,
DAVID H. KENDALL.
Co. B. 8th M. G. Br. A. E. F.
Censored by R. C. Watts, Lt. 8th M. G. Br.
NOTES: David H. Kendall of Rison, Arkansas is writing from France to his mother, Mary K. Kendall. Kendall was born on February 1, 1899 and died on March 19, 1982. He enlisted on June 28, 1918. After serving in France he departed for the United States on August 12, 1919 onboard the Pretoria and arrived in Brooklyn, NY on August 25, 1919. He was discharged on September 9, 1919. He was serving in Co. B, 8th Machine Gun Battalion. This exact same letter was published in the Cleveland County Herald on November11, 1918, p. 4.
TRANSCRIBED BY STEPHANE LECONTE
October 3, 1918
Dear mother and all:
Well I got some mail at last, 16 bags came in for the battallion today, and I got six, and Ralph only got one. They were dated from August the 25th to Sept. 9th. Four were from you and the other were from E—and A--, you can’t imagine how glad I was to get them. I haven’t got the papers you sent yet. Guess I will get them and the letters you wrote during June and July some time soon. Did you get the letter I wrote while in England and I also sent you a picture of the --- on which I came over on. I haven’t heard from --- since I come over. Guess she is married by this time. Gee! They are having an air battle overhead. Now Ralph is trying to make me move over so he can get down in the trench too. I am lying in the trench writing. “MY! This is a great life.” If you don’t “weaken.” The big guns keep the ground quivering all the time. They almost give me earache. Gee! didn’t you hear that big shell burst. It fell close to the kitchen, you can always tell when it is about chow time. Fritz always sends over a few big shells. Well two planes have fallen during the air battle but don’t know which they are. But think they were Boche. Well I will stop for a while and run up to the kitchen and get my chow and will finish after supper.
Well, have had supper and will finish this letter. Fritz is rather lively tonight. He dropped several shells between our “palace” and the kitchen while I was at supper, you ought to see us do the “dugout glide” when the shells began to pop around us. We have lots of fun laughing at one another ducking. Several batteries of our big guns are right behind us and they shoot about 40 times to Fritz’s one so you can imagine how noisy it is. The aviators had a big battle overhead yesterday eve—There was 50 planes engaged in it and air craft guns, machine guns on the ground were popping away at them too and of all the noise we had it. But the most thrilling think took place this afternoon when a Boche came over and shot down one of our balloons. The observers jumped out and came down in a parachute and the balloon burned up. Then the son of a gun turned the machine gun on us and here he come right over our heads. Oh! boys, business picked up when those bullets began to pepper around us. We turned air craft guns machine guns, pistols, and rifles all loose on then and brought him down. He fell about a kilometer from us and we made a break for him and by the time I got there I guess there were ten thousand French and American soldiers there. They had to take him off to keep the Yanks from making souvenirs out of him. They tore the plane near up for souvenirs before they could get them away, so you see that is how crazy we are. Well it is too dark to write any more so I will finish in the a.m.
October 11th,
Well I said I’d finish in the a.m. but when morning came I was fighting like H---and have been ever since yesterday we got released for a few days, I guess we were in the biggest battle that has been fought yet. All of the home boys come through all O. K. except Marvin Reed. He got wounded. You will excuse this paper as its all I can get. I got two more letters from E--- and G--- was sure proud to get them. Well I guess I had better close. Tell everybody hello, and all of you write often for you do not know how we appreciate letetrs.
Your son,
DAVID H. KENDALL.
Co. B. 8th M. G. Br. A. E. F.
Censored by R. C. Watts, Lt. 8th M. G. Br.
NOTES: David H. Kendall of Rison, Arkansas is writing from France to his mother, Mary K. Kendall. Kendall was born on February 1, 1899 and died on March 19, 1982. He enlisted on June 28, 1918. After serving in France he departed for the United States on August 12, 1919 onboard the Pretoria and arrived in Brooklyn, NY on August 25, 1919. He was discharged on September 9, 1919. He was serving in Co. B, 8th Machine Gun Battalion. This exact same letter was published in the Cleveland County Herald on November11, 1918, p. 4.
TRANSCRIBED BY STEPHANE LECONTE