The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1918-12-04
AVIATOR SMITH
WRITES HOME
Nancy, France, Oct. Z7. 1918

Nancy, rance, Oct. II, 1918.
Dear D&d:
AS you can see by the above ad-
oress am now IN Nancy, about twcn-
tY miles from .hc front. | have been
assigned to tha 85th Aero Suuardon.
rut as it is moving up to its st,tion
we nave permission to wait here until
it arrives. | don't know exactly where
1t will be and doubt if 1 could tell YOU
| did. We keep in touch with head
Tiarters by phone a"I they will let
us know when to report. supposc
we VIII have to leave in day or so.
This town has never been shellcd.
but has been plcntifully bombed. M,
mcrous wrecks bear evidence of the
i'oche, all over the place, but particu-
iarly around the station. The build
ING Just out of my window has been
completely demolished, only small
part OF the walls standing. Then about
a hundred feet away two other houses
nave been wrecked. 1t has been misty
ever since | have been here, so that
SO tar 1 haven't been in any lombard
ncnts, A lot Of cellars have been dug
and covered with masonry. but iudm
ing by the interiors | would rather
take my chance with the bombs than
DC herded up with lot Of chatterinp
Frenchmen
The country around here is a cross
between rolling and hilly The valleys
and hills with the trees covering them
ii their autumn colorings are bcauti-
tul. There is one particular hill with
beautiful chateau on top that is ex
Qulslte. 1t is hard to believe that on
~ about twenty miles away is ruin
and desolation. The Huns never got
ms far in this immediate section, but
II TINS is an example of what he de.
stroyed, no punishment is too severe
for him.
Wilson has put it Up to Germany
IN such way that there is no alter
native, except complete surrender or
the exit of the Kaiser and his bunch.
don't know what the Germans will
do at the present, but in the end they
will be beat to FRAGILE. Everybody
IS happy over it.
IL mas been year ago today since
| left the States. 1t took me lone
time to get here, but | am here at
last. 1T was mistake in sending men
over here to train, but at the time
the government thought they were do
tng the fellows a favor and only sent
the honor graduates. But anyway, |
am glad am here, and it will be on
~ a matter of days, | suppose, when
l VIII be gong over. i pilot and his
observer were here yesterday who
had forced landing near here. They
were returning from Il bombing raid
ard the gas gave out. 1t was lucky
it was this side of the lines. Nothing
was broken, though.
Did tell you about the show which
scmc squadron men put on down a.
gunncry school. The chaplain wrote
ne play and staged it. tt was called
Pink Stockings. The chorus girls were
very much prctticr than the average.
and the acting was fine. The cos
tunes were beautiful, and were made
ny TWO ScamStrcSScS who were
brought down from Paris. One Of the
IcutcnantS on the field wrote song,
words and music, ana it was very
beautiful. Something appealing in il
and nothing at all like the raptimc
stuff. The chaplain is going to get it
copyrighted for him. The show ran
tor three nights at camp and is goin.g
/" town to the \. f.. +. The last night
was for the officers and some Amcri-
can Red Cross and telephone girls.
After y big dinner Of which lobster
and turkey were the main items on
the bill OF fare, the show came on.
Everything went big. The next after
noon the HGjutant gave us a party.
The same girls, besides a few more.
were there. 1t was a large and howl,
'ns' success Tbs next day we left for
the front.
we spent nearly two days IN Paris. !
'.he place is crowded more than | ever
saw it The number Of tayicabs is
arna!irnG, ana the reckless r.,v = ,
Nhlch t,y len would lead one - &C. /
li2Vc tha1 at nast Il nundnpd pc0piC /
would be injured But it is said III; I
It anybody is run It is the pcrs ~ r,.n I
ever and rot l!.c driver wh2 pay> /
damages. Anywi y. people watcn thcr
step more tnan in the States, and | .
have never heard of anybody being
hurt. The town is pretty gay now,
I"O.
On the Place de la Concordc, there
are on cxhabition hundreds of guns
pf all sizes and descriptions, and piles
1n piles of steel helmets, all captured
from the Bochc in the recent battles.
\ Biz percentage Of the helmets had
lolcs in them, and it is easy to mag
me the way in which the original !