TRANSCRIBED FROM THE COLUMBIA BANNER JANUARY 29, 1919 P. 3
Gurey, C. Chateon.
Dec. 11, 1918.
Mr. L. S. Brummett:
Waldo, Ark.
U. S. A.
Dear friend:
Your nice letter came to me a few days ago. And was read with much pleasure. I am always glad to hear from any of the Waldo people and am especially glad to get a newsy letter like yours.
It is a great pleasure to me to know that my town did so nobly in in the Fourth Liberty Loan campaign, but it is no more then I expected as she has never stopped with merely doing her part.
One more drive to get us home again and you can begin to spend your dollars again for joy-riding and other luxuries.
Jim Moody came over on a different boat from me and I have not seen or heard from him since we came to France. Have not seen Aubry Stokes either.
One fact, I am among strangers now, none of the others are with me.
Several of us were together but were scattered after we got here.
I am in a Regular Army division myself, the Sixth Division.
I entered active service in front line trenches in Alsace-Lorraine, Vosges sector, on the fourth day of October, and there learned the music of whistling shells, living shrapnels, and machine guns, with a hand grenade, or French mortar thrown in once and awhile for good measure.
The last of the month we moved to the Argonne Forest region and on the 3rd of Nov. took up the big drive at Grand Pre. Moving forward six to or eight miles a day. Was in an air raid the night of the 4th of Nov., after that we were in no danger as we could not catch the Dutchmen, but were getting pretty close, when that never to be forgotten 11th hr. of the 11th day of Nov. brought to an end the heaviest barrage I had ever heard, and I heard several heavy ones, and also ended the war.
I wish I could picture to you the scene of shell torn towns and villages that I saw. I never imaged that shell fire could be so terrific. I can’t understand how any one lived throu it at all. The Dutch simply had to run. There was no chance to live and face that awful shell fire. So you see I had pretty good taste of active service after all.
Every thing is pretty nice now. We are eating to make up for quite a bunch of eats we were not getting a few weeks ago. And instead of skirmish lines we are now doing squads “East of West” and we have something more than the blue sky for a shelter and muddy ground for a bed.
You can’t imagine how nice it is to sleep in or on a real bunk with straw in it, unless you had slept in shell holes with only two blankets and every thing frozen hard and fast. That is all over now tho’ and I am none the worse for the experience.
Hope to hear from you again in the near future. Don’t wait for me to write. There were five weeks one time on a stretch that I didn’t even get to write to my wife. But I can write every day most now and I am making up for lost time.
Your friend.
Pvt. Harvy W. Kennedy.
Co. F. 51st Infantry,
A.E. F.
A.P. O. No. 777.
NOTES: Pvt. Harvey William Kennedy was born on September 30, 1890, in Columbia County, Arkansas and died on February 27, 1975. He is buried in the Shiloh Cemetery. Lamartine, Columbia County, Arkansas He was described as being of medium height and weight with blue eyes and red hair. His first name was spelled Harvy in the newspaper.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT
Gurey, C. Chateon.
Dec. 11, 1918.
Mr. L. S. Brummett:
Waldo, Ark.
U. S. A.
Dear friend:
Your nice letter came to me a few days ago. And was read with much pleasure. I am always glad to hear from any of the Waldo people and am especially glad to get a newsy letter like yours.
It is a great pleasure to me to know that my town did so nobly in in the Fourth Liberty Loan campaign, but it is no more then I expected as she has never stopped with merely doing her part.
One more drive to get us home again and you can begin to spend your dollars again for joy-riding and other luxuries.
Jim Moody came over on a different boat from me and I have not seen or heard from him since we came to France. Have not seen Aubry Stokes either.
One fact, I am among strangers now, none of the others are with me.
Several of us were together but were scattered after we got here.
I am in a Regular Army division myself, the Sixth Division.
I entered active service in front line trenches in Alsace-Lorraine, Vosges sector, on the fourth day of October, and there learned the music of whistling shells, living shrapnels, and machine guns, with a hand grenade, or French mortar thrown in once and awhile for good measure.
The last of the month we moved to the Argonne Forest region and on the 3rd of Nov. took up the big drive at Grand Pre. Moving forward six to or eight miles a day. Was in an air raid the night of the 4th of Nov., after that we were in no danger as we could not catch the Dutchmen, but were getting pretty close, when that never to be forgotten 11th hr. of the 11th day of Nov. brought to an end the heaviest barrage I had ever heard, and I heard several heavy ones, and also ended the war.
I wish I could picture to you the scene of shell torn towns and villages that I saw. I never imaged that shell fire could be so terrific. I can’t understand how any one lived throu it at all. The Dutch simply had to run. There was no chance to live and face that awful shell fire. So you see I had pretty good taste of active service after all.
Every thing is pretty nice now. We are eating to make up for quite a bunch of eats we were not getting a few weeks ago. And instead of skirmish lines we are now doing squads “East of West” and we have something more than the blue sky for a shelter and muddy ground for a bed.
You can’t imagine how nice it is to sleep in or on a real bunk with straw in it, unless you had slept in shell holes with only two blankets and every thing frozen hard and fast. That is all over now tho’ and I am none the worse for the experience.
Hope to hear from you again in the near future. Don’t wait for me to write. There were five weeks one time on a stretch that I didn’t even get to write to my wife. But I can write every day most now and I am making up for lost time.
Your friend.
Pvt. Harvy W. Kennedy.
Co. F. 51st Infantry,
A.E. F.
A.P. O. No. 777.
NOTES: Pvt. Harvey William Kennedy was born on September 30, 1890, in Columbia County, Arkansas and died on February 27, 1975. He is buried in the Shiloh Cemetery. Lamartine, Columbia County, Arkansas He was described as being of medium height and weight with blue eyes and red hair. His first name was spelled Harvy in the newspaper.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT