Norwich bulletin., 1918-06-05
Gave Fritz an Awful Kick.


 @- Miss Mary T. Butler of 7s Lafayette street has received the following let ter from Corporal Gerald P. Crean, one of the Company I boys of New Britain, who was here- on guard duty last spring:
 :sz Somewhere, April 1s. 1918. < Dear Friend:-ofl all the pleasant surprises I've had since I've been in Trance the arrival of your second let ter was surely 9 eouree of pleasure. Letters come in to ma in punches, but Eof course consideration for an old tfriend is premier to any other. senti- ment except blood relation
 A great deal has taken place sincs Fl last wrote to you and we've coveres3 ourselves with glory in this var. fNe're up hare now at tie lipe where | the big shells screeeh overhead and the bang of them as. they explode shakes the ground like an earthquake. We haven't done any great big fight ing yet. but, judging from the little l that we did do we will cope with any thing that comes along. We licked the ] Roche at avery turn and I guess we will he able to repeat if necessary. 1 This is April 90. have been in the hospital for over week with gas but 1 am feeling quite like myself now i We had big battle the 21st of April and Tge came Out fine. About lSo0 picked German troops cania over at Us and tried to make a drive on our lines. They succeeded fer time in l bending lis back. but We came back strong and drove them back right and hasn't been much doing beca use ' guess Fritz received an awful kick tfrom the Tanks
 They call us the smiling regiment and we are rightly named We have a wonderful colonel, Col Parker, and 1 he told us all to grin and we all grin with all our might. You must have read of us in the papers and guess we are the real Tanks of old times. We are the ------- Division which is called the Yankee Division and we are the best of them all.
 ] No, I have never received any pack age from John Drew and if he has written I have never received the let ter Pve been waiting to hear from him and Frank Mcintyre and Bill Me -Manus but somehow no letters have come from Norwich except yours and they, I can assure you. are most well come. l am going to visit Norwich when l get home and hope to sec you there.
 You tell Nour dad that we are all
 putting in a kick for him 'fever here and every time we down the Germans 1 we down one for him and tell him that when I come to Norwich am go- ing to invite myself up to your home for supper Tell your mother that il
 is toe bad that she hasn't boy to bt a soldier, because when I see how
 poor. poor France has been despoilec
 by the Huns. the beautiful churches
 left a giant heap of debris and imag-
 fife my own dear home torn asundel by the way SC many homes have beer
 wrecked by them here in France, I set why l came to fight. Oh, I'm so happy
 in the thought that we came over her,
 to fight these beasts of huma nity, tha
 we are fighting here in France rather
 than on our own soil Some of U.
 have died. some have fallen, but where !, they have gone down there will b, . many to take their places, to aveng,
 their sacrifice and they hay enot fallel
 in vain. America is going to win thi
 war because she has the boys who cal , whip the Germans to a standstill ant thus far. the 102nd. the smiling regi ) ment. has proved that she can It's ) pretty hard thing to see your owl
 comrades, your own friends, strucl
 dead by the hands of 8 dirty. low
 down German Hun but every one tha
 is gone I assure you that there vii
 be ten German sent before their Ma
 ker.
 ' Give my regards to all the folks know in Norwich and give my love t your mother and tell her that we'll b
 back soon to tell her what we've don over here. Tell your pa to give m, 1 regards to all the H. x A. guards am to ask John Drew to write. I'll surel l answer your letters every time yo write, so you want to write more of ' ten. must hurry and write anothe letter now. so I'll close, with bes wishes and hopes for your own self. : From
 GERRY CREAN. Co I 1n2nd IL S Inc American E. [