New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1918-08-28
SOLDIERS LETTERS

to be kept to ourselves and we pass them
along that the friends OF the boys and
other readers of the Review may have
the pleasure of reading them.
The first letters are two from Herbert
Dittbenner who wrote from France
on July IS, and again on Aug. 1. Both
letters are addressed to Herbert's mother,
Mrs. Frederick Dittbenner, OF this
citv. The first letter says, II am well
and feeling fine since we're on land again.
Surely was seasick, except few days;
a person certainly gets tired OF seeing
water all the time. But we're here safe
and weren't bothered much with sub
marines. Of course, we were well pro-
tected.
"Well, how is every little thing in the
II. s? Hope crops and all look good.
Here some grain is about ready to cut.
It seems funny in these old countries.
Thew still wear a lot of wooden shoes,
and mornings you see all the women
driving to market with one horse and
a two-wheeled cart. Wherever they
think there is a chance to sell some
thing YOU find women selling nuts, figs,
and candies. Nuts are cheap, but figs
and candy are dear. Wood IS awful
high. Twelve dollars per cord OF cord
wood. Then they have brush tied in
small bundles, ten cents a bundle. They
are very careful about private property.
If YOU spoil the least little thing the
fine is very high. In one case 1t COST
a man four dollars for one potato hill.
One never sees any young men except
in uniform. The women and children
and old men do all the work and they
are always busy at something. This
morning while was on guard a woman
drove by to market. She had her lines
around her body and was knitting. II
she could have found some job for her
feet l would say she was 100 percent
efficient.
eve got here night beforelast and are
living in our shelter tents now. Well
get rest at camp I think so we can
straighten out the kinks we got IN our
bones on the ship. 1t started to rain
the night we got here and is still raining.
It's the first rain they have had for
quite while and they say they needed
it. The soil is mixture Of sand and
brown loan, and has a clay subsoil.
1t looks like pretty good ground.
"We're a long, long way from the
fighting. Don't know where the rest
of our regiment is, but l suppose we'll
join them.'' 4
The August 1st letter says, 1--WE have
moved from the camp where l wrote
YOU on the 18th. We had little box
car ride thru France and saw some pretty
good country. They have some good
farming country and the civilians seem
to be better-to-do than they were in the
last place. We are living in barracks
now. That beats dog tents 1t means
we have dry place to sleep after days
work. We've got more bunk room than
we had in camp in the States. We
started working Monday morning. Have
had fine weather but pretty hot IN the
afternoons. Fine weather to raise
big appetite At least could 60 back
and eat another meal twice as big as the
supper we had fifteen minutes ago.
The food IS we'll cooked, but not much
of it. We've got good working hours
though: start at 700 and quit at 11:5O
and from 100 to 4:50. Our job is
system new to all of US and it takes
while to get acquainted with it. Every
thing our gang did the first day was
wasted. but since we've been getting
along fine.
''Well, I suppose you are wondering.
how far we are from the front. We are
from forty to sixty miles away. Hard
telling lust where the front IS. They
are moving it all the time. The best OF
it is, it's going the other way. l guess
maybe the Kaiser will wake up pretty
soon. Pershing's slogan now is, Hell,
Heaven or Hoboken by Christmas.
Hope he is right. I got my first mail
from the U. S. last night. Got two
letters. Elenore wrote before l left
Camp Devens. She said in one letter
that she sent a box of candy to me.
By gosh, can just taste it 1900 miles
away, but you can bet it would taste
better right here on the bunk. I've got
a kind of a taste for "Kaffee Kuchen"
tonight, but guess We'll have to wait
a while.
"Crops here look fair and some are
fine. Hope the crops at home are good,
too. The plums ought to be ripe by now.
How do they taste? Have you heard
anything from Ben Rolwes? Is he in
the army by this time? / suppose
Francis is gone by this time. [ heard
he enlisted in the Marines. I suppose
Joe Pint will be coming over soon, too