TRANSCRIBED FROM THE PULASKIAN JUNE 20, 1919 PP. 1, 4
St. Aignan, France,
May 5, 1919.
Dear Mamma:
As I haven’t written you a letter in quite a while and haven’t heard from you in still a longer time, thought, since I was on telephone guard until 12 o’clock tonight, might as well write you just a short note.
Well how is everything with you and Papa? Guess old spring is making you both feel young again after such a mild winter, you had the pleasure of going through. I would certainly hate to have rheumatism over here in this damp climate. During the winter we breathed almost water, it was so foggy and rained so much, but there is a little sign of spring here now, yet much later than our southern springs open up.
Can’t see but few gardens started so far, but the wild flowers have started to blossom out in the fields. If it wasn’t for the weather getting warmer you couldn’t tell spring was here as the ground has been a carpet of green all winter. Can’t see for the world how these people live, as I can’t see a thing growing only grapes. That is their main industry in growing wine for the market, but still I don’t see where the market is as it seems like they all raise grapes and you can’t sell a man something that he has plenty of.
I know if a Frenchman had our farm he would be a millionaire in ten years, as we throw away more stuff in one month than they used to feed a family on in one year. Say, take the old peach orchard at home; well, that is considered a large farm over here. It is all in building up what they have to a high state of cultivation, still their ground doesn’t look any more fertile than our own, so I can’t figure it out unless the old saying stands good, that it isn’t what you make, but what you save.
Well, Mama, I think I can see my way at last where we are going to get home some day. Couldn’t up to a few weeks ago, but I think the SOS or in other words the service of supplies, which did all the feeding and clothing of the army that was doing the fighting during the war, has decided to try and get out, not later than the last of July, so am feeling much better now.
You see, we had an enormous amount of men between the SOS and the Army of Occupation which composed the Third army, an army that they were just getting ready to put in the lines against the Germans, if the armistice hadn’t been signed when it was. Well, it took from that date up to now to get them out beside the B. and C. casuals. That is, men that has been wounded, or disabled some way and they all came through this depot, but they are just about out now so our time is coming. They start moving the SOS real soon so I figure I will get home some time in July or here is hoping.
You can’t realize what the old U.S. accomplished in such a short time after we entered the war. If you could only see the trucks, touring cars, Fords, big railroad cars, real American engines, warehouses, road graders, in fact, everything in the world that it takes to carry on war in a winning manner, all this had to be brought three thousand miles across water, besides all we animals they called soldiers, but, we gave the Germans hell at that.
The French cars on their railroads look like wheel barrows beside our own. Think we taught them a lesson in several things. Their box cars have only four wheels under them, no double trucks at all and are small, but they have lots of them. After a person sees this country, he wonders how France held such a strong army as the Germans had so long. I know how she held them at Verdun, and that was in saying, “they shall not pass,” and they didn’t. if they had they could have overrun France in a very short time and the soldiers knew it.
Am going on a seven day leave the 10th of this month. First go to Bordeaux which is in the southern part of France, then asigned to one of our many leave areas. You are allowed seven days to go and come in, so by getting 14 days in all the time will soon fly for our going home time. There is a boy from Atlanta, Ga., going with me, and we are to come back by Paris for twenty-four hours if we can get the A.P.M to let us stop over, then we are to take one of the Y.M.C.A. trips out to Chateau Thierry, where the U.S. Marines and American doughboys had such a hard time last July stopping the Germans.
In Belleau Woods, just a short walk from Chateau Thierry, there are 5,000 boys of ours buried, so you can imagine how bad I was to see it. Am so tired of this town I don’t know what to do. Have been in one billet here ever since the 15th of October, so you can imagine how bad I do want a change. have had one three day pass to Paris in that time had a great time in those three days, and am longing to get back there. Am just a smuch at home in that big city as I am in in Little Rock as I didn’t care where I was just so I was in Paris.
Pvt. D. O. Thomas, Statistical Section Headquarters Detachment, 1st Replacement Depot, A.P.O. No. 727.
NOTES: This letter was written by D. O. Thomas of Alexander, Arkansas. He was writing to his mother Mrs. D. L. Thomas.
TRANSCRIBED BY MIKE POLSTON
St. Aignan, France,
May 5, 1919.
Dear Mamma:
As I haven’t written you a letter in quite a while and haven’t heard from you in still a longer time, thought, since I was on telephone guard until 12 o’clock tonight, might as well write you just a short note.
Well how is everything with you and Papa? Guess old spring is making you both feel young again after such a mild winter, you had the pleasure of going through. I would certainly hate to have rheumatism over here in this damp climate. During the winter we breathed almost water, it was so foggy and rained so much, but there is a little sign of spring here now, yet much later than our southern springs open up.
Can’t see but few gardens started so far, but the wild flowers have started to blossom out in the fields. If it wasn’t for the weather getting warmer you couldn’t tell spring was here as the ground has been a carpet of green all winter. Can’t see for the world how these people live, as I can’t see a thing growing only grapes. That is their main industry in growing wine for the market, but still I don’t see where the market is as it seems like they all raise grapes and you can’t sell a man something that he has plenty of.
I know if a Frenchman had our farm he would be a millionaire in ten years, as we throw away more stuff in one month than they used to feed a family on in one year. Say, take the old peach orchard at home; well, that is considered a large farm over here. It is all in building up what they have to a high state of cultivation, still their ground doesn’t look any more fertile than our own, so I can’t figure it out unless the old saying stands good, that it isn’t what you make, but what you save.
Well, Mama, I think I can see my way at last where we are going to get home some day. Couldn’t up to a few weeks ago, but I think the SOS or in other words the service of supplies, which did all the feeding and clothing of the army that was doing the fighting during the war, has decided to try and get out, not later than the last of July, so am feeling much better now.
You see, we had an enormous amount of men between the SOS and the Army of Occupation which composed the Third army, an army that they were just getting ready to put in the lines against the Germans, if the armistice hadn’t been signed when it was. Well, it took from that date up to now to get them out beside the B. and C. casuals. That is, men that has been wounded, or disabled some way and they all came through this depot, but they are just about out now so our time is coming. They start moving the SOS real soon so I figure I will get home some time in July or here is hoping.
You can’t realize what the old U.S. accomplished in such a short time after we entered the war. If you could only see the trucks, touring cars, Fords, big railroad cars, real American engines, warehouses, road graders, in fact, everything in the world that it takes to carry on war in a winning manner, all this had to be brought three thousand miles across water, besides all we animals they called soldiers, but, we gave the Germans hell at that.
The French cars on their railroads look like wheel barrows beside our own. Think we taught them a lesson in several things. Their box cars have only four wheels under them, no double trucks at all and are small, but they have lots of them. After a person sees this country, he wonders how France held such a strong army as the Germans had so long. I know how she held them at Verdun, and that was in saying, “they shall not pass,” and they didn’t. if they had they could have overrun France in a very short time and the soldiers knew it.
Am going on a seven day leave the 10th of this month. First go to Bordeaux which is in the southern part of France, then asigned to one of our many leave areas. You are allowed seven days to go and come in, so by getting 14 days in all the time will soon fly for our going home time. There is a boy from Atlanta, Ga., going with me, and we are to come back by Paris for twenty-four hours if we can get the A.P.M to let us stop over, then we are to take one of the Y.M.C.A. trips out to Chateau Thierry, where the U.S. Marines and American doughboys had such a hard time last July stopping the Germans.
In Belleau Woods, just a short walk from Chateau Thierry, there are 5,000 boys of ours buried, so you can imagine how bad I was to see it. Am so tired of this town I don’t know what to do. Have been in one billet here ever since the 15th of October, so you can imagine how bad I do want a change. have had one three day pass to Paris in that time had a great time in those three days, and am longing to get back there. Am just a smuch at home in that big city as I am in in Little Rock as I didn’t care where I was just so I was in Paris.
Pvt. D. O. Thomas, Statistical Section Headquarters Detachment, 1st Replacement Depot, A.P.O. No. 727.
NOTES: This letter was written by D. O. Thomas of Alexander, Arkansas. He was writing to his mother Mrs. D. L. Thomas.
TRANSCRIBED BY MIKE POLSTON