Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-07-20
OUR BOY 5
OUR CCUN7RY'S SERVICE

(
aunt. Mrs. ]. H. Wellnan of Chel-
sea:
Base Hospital. Camp Sewer.
Greenville S. c.. July z, 1918.
Dear Aunt Matte:
expect you must think have Tor
gotten all the folks but ain just
getting my letters caught up again.
As a rule | am not much Of writer,
especially as the weather is so not
and sleepy. This afternoon we mao
a thunder shower and as result the
air is very cool.
| have written Bernice, Grandma
and Uncle Mayhem during the last
couple of days. l know people think
it queer not to hear from me ottener
but | really don't have time to write
much.
In March we had medical unit OF
22S men from the University CT Nlr-
cjnia come here and they stayed I'M
til June IS. They were awhile at
Camp Mills but I imagine they are
| over in France by now. While they
were here we had cas- work and
got a day off every wee,z, besides half
day Sunday. On the goth Of June
| two more units came. The e4th Base
| Hospital and the 221 Evacuation
HOSPITAL from Fort Oglethorpe,
! Georgia. They expect to go to France
! this summer so are getting Burroughs
almost every day.
| We have ball games once in awhile.
| The Base Hospital team has played
| several games with the Engineers
1 and Sanitary teams but so ,ar we
haven't won a game in the series.
| heard lust a few minutes ago tnat
a soldier in the 321st Infantry had
been killed in this afternoons thun-
| der shower He was standing up IN
a wagon when The belt came Two
of us lust went down 10 the morgue
to look at him. He was covered with
a sheet and he lay on table with
his head on a block. His wife wrote
him yesterday telling nim how she
wished the war would end soon so he
. wouldn't have to go to France. How
badly she will feel whom she hears
that he was killed right here in
| camp. | was working at my desk
when the big crash came. The fell
low was of course killed instantly.
Above his right temple was a small
round hole about the size Of 2 bullet
where the bolt entered his head. His
neck was all burned and his leg and
ankle were torn mp pretty badly 1t
seems that the Iolt went clear
through his body His legs and arms
were all full of purple spots whore
the lightning had burned. We have
some terrible storms IN camp and
two or three men have at different
times been brought to the hospital
suffering from shock. One night he
lightning struck just below o"u mess
hall and one of my cnums US so
shocked while washing his mass Kit
that he would have fallen TO the
ground had not his friends grabbed
him and laid him down till he was
able to walk.
Do YOU ever hear from Harold now
I expect he may be Owe in England
somewhere. 1t seems as II the Doys
[ used to know are StreWn AL ever
the face of the earth. My ole com
pany are nearly all III France now.
Only a few of us are CT this side Of
the ocean.
[ feel pleased at the way the
Americans are scrapping over there.
The marines seem to be doing re-
markable work and if they had few
more Germany would feel it in good
shape. The papers say we have over
900 900 men in France and 100000
more are training on this side. by
} another year we can have the largest
army of any one fiShtirg nation.
l was awfully sorry to near that
Mr.. Reeves was dead Somehow
had hoped to see him again.
Tell Perley that if r., were here
now he could hear some fireworks
A regiment of infantry is on the rife
| range up in the trenches half mile
f away and they make some noise
, Sometimes the machine guns and
, heavy artillery open up and then we
have real noise. The cannonading
, makes the ground shake when they
have so much practise.
| Write when you can. Best wisHes
! from FRANK.
ut was from the second set OF
, trenches that Lieut.. Doane Of Mai
Southard's outfit started remark