The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1918-11-15
FROM The
BOYS IN army CAMP


Griffith gives much detail regarding
life in France. The letter follows:
Somewhere in France, September
%. 1918.
left with a roof on it, and not many
everything is o. X. We are up at
the front again and ready for the
big drive. Night before last l eX-
perienced the first shell fire by the
Dear Folks: | am feeling fine ana
times that there was not a building
village that had been shelled so many
enemy. We came through a small
whole walls left standing. We adj
yanced outside the village short
distance and started getting our gun
positions ready for the large guns,
when Fritz started firing gas and
shrapnel at us. 1t got too hot for
us so beat it for some dug outs near
bv. Fritz finally stopped firing so
we went to work again. He shelled
us again next morning, but no dam
age done either time. He has been
rather quiet last night and today and
only sends few shells over now anu
+ then TO let us know that he was
! still over on the hill. | am writing
this sitting on the truck beneath a
large tree under cover from enemy
aeroplanes. Fritz just sent over
couple of shells which burst near by.
October |: We are now out on
what you would call No-man's Land
in firing position, where there Ism
any civilization whatever, but as
! soon as we get to place where our
mail can be censored, | will SEND all
of mine in. You wrote that you were
getting ready for your boys when
they come home. and the way IL looks
now it will not be long before owen
and I will be home to get some rea'
oats once more. It certainly sounds
good to hear the fellows and the
officers also around here say thai
the war will be over some time the
latter part of the month, and does
not look improbable to me. Let Us
hone and pray that it may beso.
From YOUR letter / take II tha'
Pierce had started across lot thi'
side. No. | have not run across any
one I knew since coming to Batter!
F hut the other day when we were
on the move to some new gun posi
ton we passed the 43rd Artiliery
where all the old Battery G men are
and il seemed like meeting some oh'
from home to see them again. The!
are in the Railroad Artillery. and
wish was with them as they nav
their nermenant hunks fixed up nm
in box cars. and in that way the!
> move around by rail all the time
am not hoping to be sent to any bas
bospital during this war, but II
should land in No. %. l will ask 10
lIieutenant H. K. Hardy, Mrs. DaVl
Norgan's brother in law. You men
: toned the extremely hot weather yo
were having, but when l was reau
r ing your letter / was all punoieu
= TO keep ~varna. and aloe h"d To paw
. my big chauffer's mitts ON W NJ
nv hands warm. After readins you
letter a couple Of times this mornihs
and looking over the pictures apo.
n dozen times, | walked along Vi
=, trench which ran through part
:. No. Mans Land, where the nghtih
); had been very severe on both sloe
- After walking along the trench IL
- ahout two miles, l crawled out on u
" to take a look around, and or all u
"A desolate places | have seen this VIZ
II certainly the worse. There was IN
M living tree within radius Oh 'hi'
2 or four miles, and all / could see WI
tstumps running from three TO ten lie
high where they had been shot o
There were large shell holes oil Wv.
Il one adjoining the other, ana .he
was not a bit of ground tnat hau II
been shelled at some time OF oth
during this war. Then the trench
and barbed wire entanglements we
X running in all directions, making {
scene most gruesome. In the trenc
cd there were many large dug GU
some nearly fifty feet deep. 1t W
not he long before I can be able
teu YOU all about everything IN dets
~, the way things are gong over ne
DO not worry if you do not near 1rt
me for long time, but trust IN U
by as 7 do. If we put our trust In ii
he we will have no cause TO worry
-, everything will turn out for the be
NV trust is in Him. and 1eei u
Els nv faith is well founded, ana II
n is His will that I should meet dea
led I have nothing 10 lear.
,ott October 4: The first chance l
TO see our chaplain, / will give h
Up nv letters and he will send tn
are out for me- I am now writing I
IN sitting on bunk which my bun
TO and fixed up in large trench. [
will big guns around here make so mi
Urn noise and jar the ground so that
in pen Jumps on the paper. making
hard to write. We do not mind
out guns though as long as they are sci
wo ing the shells toward Germany, bu
18th is those shells coming from Germ;
his that we have to look out for.
ken have been in three big drives t
will rr~ and each one of them brings
,lu- closer to the German border.
were in that drive on the st. Mil
ate sector, which I guess you have
II. about. Upon arriving at our
er- positions the other night, the Germ
DRY shells were bursting quite close
ave us, some within a hundred yards.
and I decided not to sleep in my truck
tial T have been doing most of the II
S. but my bunkie and I fixed up a 6
her bunking place down in trench.
ing laid some boards on the bolt
Rod crosswise of the trench, found 81
that bav which we placed over the boa
EN- then piece of canvas over the