TRANSCRIBED FROM THE JONESBORO EVENING SUN MARCH 20, 1919 P. 2
Ervy, France,
Feb. 24, 1919.
Mrs. N. H. Momany,
My Dear Mother:
Received your letter Friday night and sure was glad to hear from you.
Letters are few and far between for some unknown reason.
Well it is still raining, we can hardly get around for the mud and water.
It rained 330 days in Brest last year, so you see about what we have to put up with over here, the U. S. Government kept a record of the days it rained.
I took a trip to my old training camp Saturday, it is about 75 kilometers from Ervy, I went to Bar-Sur-Aube to a football game and was about 2 miles from our old home so a bunch of us went over as we had a few hours to will. We sure had a good time, we are the only soldiers that have ever stayed there and they think lots of us. They say we seem like their boys. Four of us took supper with one family we know there, they sure gave us some supper. I don’t make very much headway with these people as I don’t try to learn their lingo, I can speak a little French – just what I have to know to get by, and don’t try to learn any more, of course I pick up a little now or then that I don’t forget.
I stayed all night in a large city named Troyes, and came back to Ervy yesterday morning, went on guard last night, so am feeling pretty shaky tonight, haven’t slept but very little since Thursday night.
Sure was glad to hear of Mrs. Cowart finding Jeff. I was afraid she never would hear from him, as the infantry lost lots of men.
There was lots of engineers killed but for some reason we were in luck, as we only lost one man from shell fire, we had a few wounded, but none very serious.
I had several awful close calls myself, but came out without a scratch. I was about 10 feet of the man killed when he was hit, that was the first of November.
Well, the A. E. F. Headquarters has issued a list of the divisions going home up to the 1st of July and we are not in the list. I hate to think about it, but it looks now like we are going to be here for a year, the best we can do.
I expect to get a 14 day pass real soon and see a little of France. They are issuing passes now and paying all the expenses, and I think I will get to go on the next one.
It don’t cost hardly anything to ride on the trains over here if you have a uniform on. I went from here to Bar-Sun-Aube and back and only paid out 19 c for fair, only bought one ticket and that was from here to Troyes, they don’t have any conductors on the trains, they take up tickets at a gate when you get off the train, and there is so many American soldiers around the depot all the time that they don’t pay any attention to them, and we never buy tickets.
Tell Ollie I got her letter all O. K. and if she had sent me her address I would have answered it.
Tell her she has got the wrong impression about the engineers, of course we were not in actual battle but were shelled by big guns every day and every night the whole time we were on the front, and many times they had us guessing one minute whether we would be there the next or not. I had mud, rocks and dirt thrown all over me several times, a big shell would explode so close to me.
Well mother, I must close and get to bed, as I have to work tomorrow, so hoping to hear from you real soon, I remain.
Your loving son OSCAR.
Mother, leave off the via New York on my letters and put A. O. P. 796 instead.
I had a letter from Beulah some time ago saying she was down with the “flu” and have not heard from her since. If you have any news let me know.
Love,
O. S. M.
NOTES: Oscar Momany was born April 5, 1891. He died December 11, 1963 and is buried at Oakland Cemetery, Jonesboro. His military headstone identifies him as a Pfc. U. S. Army.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT
Ervy, France,
Feb. 24, 1919.
Mrs. N. H. Momany,
My Dear Mother:
Received your letter Friday night and sure was glad to hear from you.
Letters are few and far between for some unknown reason.
Well it is still raining, we can hardly get around for the mud and water.
It rained 330 days in Brest last year, so you see about what we have to put up with over here, the U. S. Government kept a record of the days it rained.
I took a trip to my old training camp Saturday, it is about 75 kilometers from Ervy, I went to Bar-Sur-Aube to a football game and was about 2 miles from our old home so a bunch of us went over as we had a few hours to will. We sure had a good time, we are the only soldiers that have ever stayed there and they think lots of us. They say we seem like their boys. Four of us took supper with one family we know there, they sure gave us some supper. I don’t make very much headway with these people as I don’t try to learn their lingo, I can speak a little French – just what I have to know to get by, and don’t try to learn any more, of course I pick up a little now or then that I don’t forget.
I stayed all night in a large city named Troyes, and came back to Ervy yesterday morning, went on guard last night, so am feeling pretty shaky tonight, haven’t slept but very little since Thursday night.
Sure was glad to hear of Mrs. Cowart finding Jeff. I was afraid she never would hear from him, as the infantry lost lots of men.
There was lots of engineers killed but for some reason we were in luck, as we only lost one man from shell fire, we had a few wounded, but none very serious.
I had several awful close calls myself, but came out without a scratch. I was about 10 feet of the man killed when he was hit, that was the first of November.
Well, the A. E. F. Headquarters has issued a list of the divisions going home up to the 1st of July and we are not in the list. I hate to think about it, but it looks now like we are going to be here for a year, the best we can do.
I expect to get a 14 day pass real soon and see a little of France. They are issuing passes now and paying all the expenses, and I think I will get to go on the next one.
It don’t cost hardly anything to ride on the trains over here if you have a uniform on. I went from here to Bar-Sun-Aube and back and only paid out 19 c for fair, only bought one ticket and that was from here to Troyes, they don’t have any conductors on the trains, they take up tickets at a gate when you get off the train, and there is so many American soldiers around the depot all the time that they don’t pay any attention to them, and we never buy tickets.
Tell Ollie I got her letter all O. K. and if she had sent me her address I would have answered it.
Tell her she has got the wrong impression about the engineers, of course we were not in actual battle but were shelled by big guns every day and every night the whole time we were on the front, and many times they had us guessing one minute whether we would be there the next or not. I had mud, rocks and dirt thrown all over me several times, a big shell would explode so close to me.
Well mother, I must close and get to bed, as I have to work tomorrow, so hoping to hear from you real soon, I remain.
Your loving son OSCAR.
Mother, leave off the via New York on my letters and put A. O. P. 796 instead.
I had a letter from Beulah some time ago saying she was down with the “flu” and have not heard from her since. If you have any news let me know.
Love,
O. S. M.
NOTES: Oscar Momany was born April 5, 1891. He died December 11, 1963 and is buried at Oakland Cemetery, Jonesboro. His military headstone identifies him as a Pfc. U. S. Army.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT