The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1918-05-23
NEWS OF OUR SOLDIER
BOYS
Interesting Letters from Our
Boys at Home Camps
and Abroad.

April 23-We have spent the las
few days moving into the new hospita
across the river and are gradually
getting things in running order again
have half of a barracks to store my
clothes in. l have a big bunch Of
clothes piled on the floor, but am il
hopes that in a short time l will have
shelves built and then things will be
better. This hospital is not completed
yet. 1t will be several weeks before
we will have things more conveniently
arranged. When we came over here
about all there was were the build
ings. A big bunch of soldiers have
been busy building gravel walks and
roads; another bunch is at work put
ting down a we'll; others are installing
water tanks, pumping plant and wa
terworks sytem, In fact, when COM
pleted about the only thing we will
lack will be steam heat, but we have
stoves in each building, so that won't
Inconvenience US much.
We have been transferred out of
the 161st Field Hospital company and
are now in Camp Hospital No. 20,
First Army Corps-that is. all the
Emmett boys and also Major Clark,
with the exception of Jesse Meyer.
He remains with the old company. The
old company was divided in half, one
section going with the old company
and the other transferred to this COM
pany. l am still in charge of patients
clothing. John Gamage is now order
ly at the office and in charge of the
mail Harvey Parks is in charge OF
the hospital supplies, which are To-
Gated in the other half of the build
ing l am in. Howard Gaylord and
the two Burt boys are in the kitchen,
Dallas Burt as assistant cook. Those
are all of the Emmett boys who are
now with this company. L received a
letter from Homer C. (Doc) Darrah
the other day Che is from New Ply
MOUTH He is now a first lieutenant
in the dental corps. | guess l forgot
to include Floy Clark in the above. He
is in charge of motor transportation
for the hospital.
| read in The Index little squib
which stated that a soldier said the
thing he wanted most was to hear
full grown locomotive whistle, so l
will have to tell you about the French
engines About the only resemblance
between an American railroad and
the French system is that string OF |
cars is drawn by steam over two |
tracks, but there the resemblance ends.
The French engines and cars are much |
smaller and | think cruder than ours;
in fact, they look like toys beside an
American train. Near US are the track
and switch yards, yet it is impossible
to hear the noise that usually sur
rounds switchyard, for the railways
here are not good advertisers and do
not make a lot of noise to let the
people know they are doing business.
If the engines have bells on them l
never heard them and for whistle
they have little shrill squeaky affair
very much like whistle on traction
engine When the American engines
arrived at the front several months
ago they had real whistles on them,
but at the first blast the French peo-
pie thought it was a new kind of warn
ing of air raids or something else, and
they all hiked for their caves and
STAYED there until told all was safe.
So the whistles were taken off and l
think the bells were, too, and French
whistles substituted. So you can i'm I
agine our longing to hear full grown I
American whistle that we have been
accustomed to since childhood.
More mail has arrived and l have
received letters up to March 27 and
up until March IA, so we were
pretty lucky in the last mail also
received a fruit cake from a friend
and also box of cigars from Uncle
Henry in Kansas, so 1 am living in
style. Tonight Harvey and are go
ng to have big feed. We have can
If fruit that we bought at the army
,anteen, the fruit cake, and Howard :,
gaylord, who is now working nights !
n the hospital kitchen, has promised
is some good coffee, so you can see :
What hardships we soldiers must have.
April 2S-Today it has been nice
md bright, sunshiny and warm, so
nee again we have hopes that per-
laps they really do have spring and
ummer in this country. But we have Of
een fooled so often that it will take II
t least a month of good weather be- h,
ore we will admit that spring has te
ONE. We had good sign, yester- ir'
ay, however, to brighten our hopes. bt