Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1918-11-21


ceived by Mr. and Mrs. John Kier from
their son Wayland. in France:
October 9, 1918.
Dear Mother and All:
l sure have been getting lot OF
mail the last few days. Among them
were several letters from you, Shirley,
Christine and Marjorie. I don't be-
heve will ever get them all an
swered. / haven't received the paper
as yet, but am patiently waiting for
them.
l suppose you were glad to see
Dewey and Glen Anderson. I'll bet
they have grown some since / saw
them. Were they camping out to the
lake, or were they out there just for
the day? | received the postal cards
which Walter Kendall gave to you to
send me. | will write him a few lines
when l have time.
Yes, we have cream in our coffee
once in a while. The coffee is nothing
extra, though, on account Of making
SO much at one time. I sure will be
happy when l can get a cup of your
coffee once more.
So you haven't received the helmet
which | sent to you. Well, | will send
another one right away. That is
funny you didn't get it because ! sent
it the same time that | sent Maurine's
and she just wrote me that she re-
ceived hers / will try and send you
one of the Como ones.
| suppose you will be surprised
when l tell you this. Ha! Ha! l am
Liberty loan. All of us in our COM
pany took one out. / am going to
send a little home each month also.
| am paying it at the rate of $25 each
month, which is taken out of our pay.
Say, guess whom l ran across yester-
day. Chris Lee, who used to work
in the electric light Office. Gee! !
was surprised! He has been over here
about three months.
| am enclosing a Christmas pack
age coupon which was given to me.
Every soldier gets one, so that each
good Of the u. S. army to do that. [
thought they would have something
like that. What | want most is two
or three packages of Colgate's tooth
paste and a few chocolates. You
might also send me a pocket comb
and a trench mirror / had one, but
lost it somehow.
I was sent up near the front day
before yesterday to take care Of some
trucks for a day and a half which
were detailed up there. When | ar
rived up there why | found out that
there wasn't much for me to do, so |
spent most of my time going around
through the woods looking at some Of
the German guns which we captured
just lately, and the dugouts and
trenches which they had practically
lived in for four years. They had a
railroad marrow gage) running
through the woods. They certainly
had some excellent emplacements for
their large guns. The Germans occu-
pied all this country about two weeks
ago, so it was real interesting. There
is a place up there where they have
been fighting for four years which is
called 10 mans land, and they could
have never found a better name for
H. Well, you can imagine for your
self what the ground would look like
having these big shells bursting on it
for four years straight. 1t is certainly
the most desOlate place | ever saw.
There are a few towns up there, or
! mean there used to be, but you
Where the towns were there is moth
ing left but crumbled stone. They
just simply powdered them. | walked
up within five kilometers of the front
line and we were away up ahead of
the artillery. We could stand there
and the shells would go over US whis-
thing like the dickens. They certain
~ make a funny noise. We went up
and stood on very high hill and the
Germans were shooting over shells
and they were landing down in the
valley below us. Every time the fell
lows hear one of our shells go whis-
Ting over towards Germany they yell,
Kaiser, count your men," Ha! Ha!
Well, mother and all, | am going to
say goodbye for this time and close.
Hoping this finds you all we'll and
happy l am, Your Loving Son,
WAYLAND.