TRANSCRIBED FROM THE LAMAR DEMOCRAT APRIL 18, 1918 P. 6
Frank Buxlitner:
Dear Friend:
I will now take time and pleasure to write you a few lines to let you know I am still alive and feeling fine. I will start by saying it is nice and warm over here. I have been here ten days, has been fine weather ever since we landed. Had a few rainy days, but the mud dries up in a few hours. The grass is about six inches long here. The days are warm, but get chilly enough at night to sleep well. They have garden truck the year round in some places in France. You tell the boys over there I would not trade places with them. They feed us much better than I expected. Suppose it is sure some job to get stuff over here. Well, old boy, I sure could tell you lots of things if I were allowed to write them, but of course if we could write anything we wanted to you know some of the boys don’t know there is a war going on. They would write a lot home that would cause trouble, that is the kind that their mother has to put to bed at night. They might write something that would be valuable to some spy.
I wish you could see the railroad system over here. They have small cars. The way they couple them would give a brakey the R. R. Blues. They have three different chains to hook and have to duck the bumpers at the same time, but I guess I can do that. They haven’t put any of our boys to work yet but I guess they will before long. Oh! yes, the engineers are left handed pots here. They run the trains without air. The last one we were on ran about 50 miles per hour.
We are in one of Napoleons camps now. There are quite a few of them. We have been in two already. Quite a few of the people wear wooden shoes here. I hear they have a Catholic Cathedral here thirteen centuries old. I am going to see it Sunday. I would send you some souvenirs of France, but I can’t because the Government would have a time to handle all the boys would send. They say they have some booze here that sure will knock a fellow’s props from under him, but I will lay off from that as I think war and booze don’t agree.
I will close for this time. Give everybody my best regards and hello for me.
Your friend,
Patrick H. Patton,
Co. K 12th Ry. Engineers Refl
Detachment, A. E. F. care New York
NOTES:
TRANSCRIBED BY MATTHEW HOLETZ AND JACOB GREEN
Frank Buxlitner:
Dear Friend:
I will now take time and pleasure to write you a few lines to let you know I am still alive and feeling fine. I will start by saying it is nice and warm over here. I have been here ten days, has been fine weather ever since we landed. Had a few rainy days, but the mud dries up in a few hours. The grass is about six inches long here. The days are warm, but get chilly enough at night to sleep well. They have garden truck the year round in some places in France. You tell the boys over there I would not trade places with them. They feed us much better than I expected. Suppose it is sure some job to get stuff over here. Well, old boy, I sure could tell you lots of things if I were allowed to write them, but of course if we could write anything we wanted to you know some of the boys don’t know there is a war going on. They would write a lot home that would cause trouble, that is the kind that their mother has to put to bed at night. They might write something that would be valuable to some spy.
I wish you could see the railroad system over here. They have small cars. The way they couple them would give a brakey the R. R. Blues. They have three different chains to hook and have to duck the bumpers at the same time, but I guess I can do that. They haven’t put any of our boys to work yet but I guess they will before long. Oh! yes, the engineers are left handed pots here. They run the trains without air. The last one we were on ran about 50 miles per hour.
We are in one of Napoleons camps now. There are quite a few of them. We have been in two already. Quite a few of the people wear wooden shoes here. I hear they have a Catholic Cathedral here thirteen centuries old. I am going to see it Sunday. I would send you some souvenirs of France, but I can’t because the Government would have a time to handle all the boys would send. They say they have some booze here that sure will knock a fellow’s props from under him, but I will lay off from that as I think war and booze don’t agree.
I will close for this time. Give everybody my best regards and hello for me.
Your friend,
Patrick H. Patton,
Co. K 12th Ry. Engineers Refl
Detachment, A. E. F. care New York
NOTES:
TRANSCRIBED BY MATTHEW HOLETZ AND JACOB GREEN