TRANSCRIBED FROM THE POCAHONTAS STAR HERALD NOVEMBER 22, 1918 P. 3
Am. E. F., Oct. 6th.
Mr. N. P. Simmon,
Reyno, Ark.
Dear Brother:
I will try to write you a few lines, in answer to your letter which I received a short time ago. This leaves me O. K. and I hope you are the same.
I just got back from a trip down to Bordeaux and a few other places. I believe I wrote you before, that I am taking a machine gun course, and made high marks, at all three of the camps I was in, and had a lot of fun, too.
We are all anxiously awaiting our turn at the huns, but our chances seem very little at present. We have a very nice camp here, but we are all wanting to get to the front as soon as possible. I have talked with several of the boys, who have been at the front, and they say that our boys sure have got the metal in them, and that old Fritz is beginning to find it out, too. I don’t think we will need you older chaps over here to help us finish this job, which is progressing in fine order.
I was up in a balloon a few days ago and got a birds eye view of the country. It looks nice, too. The closest town to our camp, of any size, is Vabres. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. We get passes down their once in awhile. You can find it on the map, also Bordeaux, which is one of the largest towns in France, but it does not come up with the cities of the good old U. S. A. Do you know, I never did realize what a fine country, fine people, and fine everything the United States was until I came away from it.
There never was and never will be a country anywhere in the world, as good as the U. S. and I do not believe there is one American soldier in France, that would not gladly lay down his life for her. You can depend on we boys over here, to see this job through to a finish. And we know that you folks at home are standing behind us. We have the right representatives over here, and the proper backing at home, and old Fritz is realizing it very fast.
Your brother,
F. M. Simmon.
NOTES: Francis Marion Simmons was born at Albertha, Randolph County, Arkansas on July 8, 1894 and died in California on February 2, 1951. He is buried in the Woodlake District Cemetery Tulare County, California. His military headstone identifies him as a California Pvt. 44 Balloon Co., AS, WWI.
TRANSCRIBED BY LINDA MATTHEWS
Am. E. F., Oct. 6th.
Mr. N. P. Simmon,
Reyno, Ark.
Dear Brother:
I will try to write you a few lines, in answer to your letter which I received a short time ago. This leaves me O. K. and I hope you are the same.
I just got back from a trip down to Bordeaux and a few other places. I believe I wrote you before, that I am taking a machine gun course, and made high marks, at all three of the camps I was in, and had a lot of fun, too.
We are all anxiously awaiting our turn at the huns, but our chances seem very little at present. We have a very nice camp here, but we are all wanting to get to the front as soon as possible. I have talked with several of the boys, who have been at the front, and they say that our boys sure have got the metal in them, and that old Fritz is beginning to find it out, too. I don’t think we will need you older chaps over here to help us finish this job, which is progressing in fine order.
I was up in a balloon a few days ago and got a birds eye view of the country. It looks nice, too. The closest town to our camp, of any size, is Vabres. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. We get passes down their once in awhile. You can find it on the map, also Bordeaux, which is one of the largest towns in France, but it does not come up with the cities of the good old U. S. A. Do you know, I never did realize what a fine country, fine people, and fine everything the United States was until I came away from it.
There never was and never will be a country anywhere in the world, as good as the U. S. and I do not believe there is one American soldier in France, that would not gladly lay down his life for her. You can depend on we boys over here, to see this job through to a finish. And we know that you folks at home are standing behind us. We have the right representatives over here, and the proper backing at home, and old Fritz is realizing it very fast.
Your brother,
F. M. Simmon.
NOTES: Francis Marion Simmons was born at Albertha, Randolph County, Arkansas on July 8, 1894 and died in California on February 2, 1951. He is buried in the Woodlake District Cemetery Tulare County, California. His military headstone identifies him as a California Pvt. 44 Balloon Co., AS, WWI.
TRANSCRIBED BY LINDA MATTHEWS