Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-07-08
OUR BOYS
in .--
OUR CQUN1RY'S SERVICE


boy writes to his parents, Mr. ana
Mrs. Charles Holway as follows;
June 5, 1918.
Dear mother and All:
Today is Just six months since We
left the three mile limit of the goou
old L. S A.. so l am entitled to wear
a service stripe for six months Tor
eign service. 1t hardly seems as
we had been away so Ions, yet, when
looking back over where we have
been and what we have all gone
through it seems as though We had
been over here a much longer time.
The old German planes have been
flying over our town every night ami
dropping all kinds of souvenirs TO-
US. They leave hole about six to
! 10 feet deep and about Is feet wide.
| They succeeded in hitting a house
about three nights ago and got
| French woman, a French major. two
1 American captains and colonel.
! Several other people were hurt and
partly buried in the ruins. 1t took
six to eight hours to dig out the
bodies of some of the unfortunate
ones. Since then we have been sleep
ing in the woods outside of the town.
1t was rather a pathetic sight to see
| @ woman with four or five small chill
dren and a blanket walking out to-
ward the woods after supper to es
cape the German bombs, which We
were showered with nearly every
night. / saw some women with babies
, al at n al
a hand bag with a bottle of milk. etc.
! Scarcely anyone was left in the town
for believe me- it is just like sitting
on the bulls-eye of target, and they
sure hit il sometimes.
| June I've have moved a very
short distance, just outside of a large
city that is quite often shelled. We
are at chateau. 1t is surrounded by
trees and our trucks are hid along
side of the roads in the chateau un-
der the large trees. Our kitchen is
hid among the trees also. 1t is just
like camping out up in the woods
The Huns fly over US every night and
sometimes during the day time, but
everything is concealed so they
don't know We are there There is
an aviation field about two kilometeis
from US and the Boche has a habit of
dropping bombs there quite often.
Then the French go up after them
and the anti-aircraft guns open up,
the searchlights are turned skywatd
and the machine guns begin to SPIT
lead and this is kept up about half
the night while am trying to sleep.
4 Quite often squadron of Germans
fly over al night and the leader called
the ace, will give signals with ms
machine gun. 1t sure is some sound.
One can always tell a German ma
chine by the sound Of the motor.
This is the way it sounds, especially
at night when right over your hea1,
who'll do, who'll do, you'll do, youll
do"
Some fellows get out Of bed and
run in the field or to the Kitchen.
trying to dodge them, hut they are
just as apt TO run right into it. There
arc others who suddenly have a de-
sire to fix something underneath thei.
cannon. while others sleep under their
canton all night. | don't mind them
very much, in fact last night | SLEPT
right through the whole performance.
An alrplane just flew over where |
am, about two hundred feet in the
, air. We are so near the field where
they start and stop that they fly very
low here. | was over there one ever
ing to the airdrome talking to IN
American flying with the French. The
next evening some of us went over
TO see him again and he and his
French observer We're in a small one
room house decorated with flowers
and covered with camouflage anI
painted seventeen different colors.
Why YOU people would think it quite
sight But after passing along
roads lined with shell holes and de-
struction of various kinds, it makes
, one feel glad that we are going TO
, squelch and subdue the Boche be-
fore he has time TO carry his crimes
across the water.
Am we'll and we are having fin.
weather.
! With love to all.
/ SGT OSCAR HOLWAY.