Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1918-09-18
LETTERS FROM OUR KHAKA-CLAD WARRIORS

/ We came threagh Madison and Freeport East
Aohae, Rock Island, Davenport, Janesviiie.
4 4e,ot arc many other nee cites. A. JaHes-
vile and Beiejf the girls and men and women
{ were ont TO shake hands and bid good bye
GOD speed on cur way. ! s-iii close and write
more later. We have such a nice friendly
bunch of boys that We cannot get lonesome.
/ We had the Red Cross and y. Al. c. A. on
/ cur way.
! DESTRUCTION AND OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
THERE
/ ~ taptain c. F., Buffers. Field Hospital Sec
tion' leffh SANITARY Train, A. E. f., A. p o.
! 75f, August 1911
/ II ia warm. dry. dusty afternoon. wrote
you short pencil nete this morning frsra the
4 city ~e nave been ia ever since ~e moved to
I this sector until yesterday. Ii IS about twelve
Z miles down river from where We are now. Our
troops have eeen moving se fast mat eur hos
/ PitaB had % be moved closer 10 be Of use
/ and 50 ne came 20 whct was once charming
litie city on The hsahs 0f this much SPOKEN Of
/ stream. Here was q wonderful and mostly
modern chateau and 81 IS all HE resi-
saFtiy wrecked but fal bad bot that
naye been anle 70 c.caR r up and with inc
large grounds estab3lss q fine h0sDitas here
1 haze . Seod sized zoom anG line furniture
/ only She DedckEg cNccct The mattresses has al
9een reaoVed- spest yesterday morning
/ ga cleaning suy ruena g., g.oppiug il and HxiNg
3 % generaty. NEeu fes sheils hits thase
stone and cement ai.s ttey powder The ma
terlal an Ip Snd c. or eEfythiHg win LET
% that ga5 STAYS Ese tAe smell Of garlic Tor
a long hnie- The r1tn move 10 be careful in
/ digging 4fs4ns sssE holes a.. tine gas stays
there af.6 81 released .5ita tho digging and they
wII Ees more thaFs Ecea fes tiem. There
was e tl4.s shs'ea1 aut S9er roBm,
or r8ereF lw0 ol g,-c-f, bUtt large the
/ a lass, loss a. e -eisg cat glass and stained
I 81 -adGff eias'-- ~ sac Ssrts Is sic picture
I mate al Ltugges, 81 Scfc she hge china eeEles
/ from. j T. p.e,ure s1cat sen feet each
! Wy ems rounding me sop 2nd mace OF
snr2re a5es each G-- band psiE,ea ard haked
e. ae seuAe make plates. Il has been hit ay
sniasae- ems rom he '3as-S Of the pOfca the
/ glase tes smashed by champaign bottles The
{ owner WIS q champagne importer and has
under iais heagc big cellars fuli CT now empty
/ bottles although nave searched diligently.
/ The natives have come hack, and q do
mest5c, sent back b. the proprietor 0f tins
chateau, states hiatt there we're $3.50 francs
worth OF champagne in ttese cellars. At any
/ rate its all gene and it may have been OHe
I reason that the Roche were all driven cut
/ they doubt had oae big carOusai. Al Of
them have rot gene though by any means, a3
/ there are a few Of their graves in the garden
( down stairs from ahere ] an and lot moge
| graves oil over the town.
! Well went ia a city about ten miller out OF
! the region where the B0che live ard It
seemed coed to see houses and trees and roads
| all Kept up and without this horrible night
mare Of desoiatiou every hing. JUS
think, tins town without store open and
every house open 70 every body who wants 10
enter and ell the eiothing and bedding scat
tered eNcFyu here, and so fer hundreds Of cities
! Ake this end larger ala over France. The boys
are an down in ibc Yards clearing up the
rubbish, the broken trees and | in
the cemetery 2 little While last night and saw
two tcmbs al busted oDen ard let OF tomb
stones all smashed. We have GOOD water here
although the fine system Of waterw0rss that
vent ln the house haas been busted someM Stfe
/ by shells. The water is spring water as
are az the base Of bills and is fine.
by Dan Is. Carr. 32s supply Co.. Camp Hill.
New Port News, Virginia, August 2l.3
Dear Father and Mother Just q few lines
70 yoH IS have NOT mEch time 20 spend 10
@riting long ieiter- got your letter ai5o
hte rice box Of chocolate candy. Z divided il
/ S3tb the boys. / G-ess that wili be The last
I t.Wc y9n VIII have = sead NE anything on
this side Of the pend. We don't knew now
long going 20 be here out the heafeu-
/ ant said Just a very short time
We had nice trip from Florida here. We
1 started from jacksonville Thursday morning
! at $50, went from tf2re ia Savannah, Georgia.
1 and from there 70 Columbia. SoUth Carolina.
! From there on the scenery nicer, and the
country looked more !ike home and the weather
| was net hot. From Columbia went to
! Hamlet. North Carolina; from there to Ra-
leigh, North Caroline. Here VIC marched from
! the train and all Of Us tOulE shower baths in
big building buiit for that purpose by the Red
! Cross; then we yea : treated 10 candy, cante-
ioupes ard cigarettes. We passed through the
/ town and clos to the states prison that sure
is some large building We could see men and
| wGmen looking out through ire bars ct
| will bet they wished they we're ont of there.
! IL didn't look good 10 nae. We then went 20
| Petersburg. Virginia. and from there TO Rich
mOnd, Virginia. We went through the same
country both my graRdfathers did in the Civil
war. The land between Columbia, SOuht Car
DINA and Petersburg. Nirginia, is very smooth
! and level. II is Of very sandy soil, but ir
some places. they raise good crops. You can
| ride for miles and all you can see is little
| strip Of woods. then large Geld of corn or
cotton. The corn looks gGod in most places
! I sa " a cotton field in Virginia OF 80 acres.
! 1t surely did look very pretty; the blossoms
red. 1t must have taken time and
work TO plant it. and will take some work 10
pick it all. The tabaeco IS very poor in the
/ south this season. owing &c the hot weather.
I also fields of sweet potatoes. One of
| the boys who lives IN Louisiana told me how
they planted these potatoes. He said they cut
the vines up in pieces about inches long
and plough ridges in the ground and stick
these pieces in them.
Richmond Virginia is a pretty place. The
railroad station is down in the valley and ne
houses are built on the sides of the hill, and
Up on top of the hill. Overlooking the city
IS monument bVilt there in honor of General
! Lee.
We are situated here on the large river
| that runs into Chesapeake Bay, where
! Il is nine miles vide We are Just little
ways from New Port News. but of course are
/ under quarantine and can't get away from
I camp. We can see thousands Of mules and
horses in pens waiting 20 be shipped out. Also
/ We can see all kinds OF heavy guns, heavy
/ tillery. and thousands Of wagons, and 5-ton
mOteF trucks in the yards awaiting shipment.
! ] am in the upper floor o. the barracks where
/ can look cut over the river ] see one large
battleship and five conveys. waiting for some
thing. They are all csmOuiiage you can't
tell which is the front end which Is the
hack; this is SO the German submarine can't
tell where 10 shoot where they are going.
One can lock out most any time and see i've
| or six air ships at one time. Some OF the avI-
atoFs certainly can ay. They are here guard
ing The harbor.
While / was at Camp Johnston ! went TO
| St.AUgastiae twice; you know that is the oldest
city in the United States. There are some
! great sights there, not beautiful but wonder
I full, for il shows y0u what they did years and
years ago, and how they could build great
things then as well now. | drank two
1 glassfuls Of water from the Fountain of Youth
you have read much about IN history. This
fountain discovered by Juan Ponce de
Leon in 1913. II was different then than IT
! is row. The spring now is lower than the
curb and over It Is great cross about 10 ieet
( long and feet wide and foot thick,
which shows it is a Catholic foundation. The
| water COWS frcn this fountain once every
four hours for tea minutes 1his mas often
been tested. in the oldest house N the
United States IN stAuEustine ! saw beau
tifui hotel which is only opened fOur months
each year where millicnasres spend their va
cation eed nay St09 a day TO stag there.
I The streets are very marrow ard the porches
are built from tive upper rooms and extend oat
over the s.. rect From the city We went about
FIVE miles s,o1d to the beach. The ether
boys went "a he ocean swimming but did not.
hope some dag yoa folks can see some Of inc
sights have seen. -
when you get this letter ] suppose | will
be the Cclan sailing someW here. l am m
| hurry to get over there into the fray. Write
often rs ieEcsoneness strikes us pretty aRrd
some times.
SENDS CHpICE SOUVENIRS HOME
by Sergeaci Major Thomas Elmer Davis
Headquarters i2Sth Infantry, 2Gd Battalion,
Somewhere in France. July 22.i