The Hickman courier., 1918-07-11
SOLDIERS LETTER.
Written ~ Marvin Luier Before lie
Was Killed
April . 191s

which came coupie 81 days ago yerv|
welcome 90 WAS and glad young J NJ
has the lung power you say Doe has
Sorry De- keeps yon up So much. how
ever Ia like 20 hear the wall of an
infant just now. especially Of my lit
tie name sake nephew Here's more
CONGRATULATIONS ON top Of those I've
sent in other letters before this upon
his arrival notwithstanding the fact
that hc may he old enough himself 10
read this by the time IL comes 20 YOU
Don't worry. Hop. about mo marry
ing "a French girl nix. not while there
are any left in the L. : and the car
stiil runs that way from here after the
war o. finished I don't believe I'd
marry one of 'cm any way unless She
WINS agreeable aud had couple
hundred million franks Whiting for
her when her old man died and him
about ready 20 cash I'm then / might
give her my telephone number. At
present my telephone IS not in working
order. somebody stepped on the wire.
ia like 10 know Of your luck chang
ing soon dear boy. ] know you've had
what they used % call "a hard row Of
sfump- but cheer up. 70 might De worse
aud yuu know eve dog has bis dag
and I'm sure you and I never hnp-
poucd uron our particular -lay- when
we were pups as Mr Self remarked
to nee once when De- got bitten by his
false teeth when be- sat down on 'em
Now. as for my part. ! ann having
"a gicc-orious time No quiet or lone
somencss for little Willie Perhaps
you'd listen % eulogisfic and evolu-
tionary discourse upon the why's
whercfores and tho nature Of certain
Kind Of souvenir friend Fritzie delights
in presenting 90 us az times-all times
called shells" and sometimes for
dessert touch of "eas shells" Of
course these are only IN reply 90 those
sent over % him hv our guuners. They
reply merely 20 uphold the boasts Of
their gods not because they want 10,
for they're afraid 10 and have none
too many 90 spare az that The she'll
II comes singing a song Of hate. cab
umny. poison and corruption. Il whines
as a cur about to take bite at. an
unsuspecting calf of some ones 49,
whistles as I used 10 imagine the great
dragons Of the fairy books did when
snorting fire When IL sits down and
explodes il is like some huge giant set
ting his foot down suddenly and force
fully jarring the earth round about.
When they come fast it reminds you
Of lot of bass drums beaten NJ ran
dom but steadily. When you're in a
dug-out that you know isn't rooted
strong enough 10 turn a thrown brick
and they're dropping shells and shrap-
mel all around you and you're sure
always that the next one will land on
your roof You az first think Of all the
mean things you've ever done even to'
stealing the jam on the pantry shelf
and as one SamIuie put IL. you wish
you'd learned to pray. Then you be-
gin to hope they'll run ont OF af1mLni-
tion. When u seems that they wont
you half way wish one would come i'm
and PUT YOU ont of your misery. It.
don't for the BOche are very bad
marbsmen. Then you get 20 thinking
and shrapnel that YOU must just sit
and give battle 10 stream of shell
and shrapnel that yuo must just sit
and wait ana hope--at the viii Of fate
and you know your knees are shaky
and You're .rvous but you're mad ana
would gladly 20 out with your trtIsty
automatic or rifle and bayOnet (Which
of course can't help you "A particle
during "a bombarlmentl ard aghf "A
whole passel of the hun devils. Then
some times when they finish of or
put In between with few snarling
shells that YOU know means nothing
but gas. poison as the Kaiser's blood
and wcu'd KIN the most pnisonors
snake and you have 10 gently but
firmly insert your map into tight
fitting sas mask 81 friends we have
for offsetting the blues. gas and other
little Inconvenience. best ffieuds ne 4
20 the letters from home Then when
81 : an over you pinch yourself TO see
if you are still there. and you 20 ont
side and duck around the shell holes
in front Of your bungalow" and start
in 10 working your little part Of the
machinery that must eventually crush
the Kaiser. dodging occasionally by
embracing friendly trench wall. n
shrapnel or she'll l was going along
"a trench one day and they sent few
shrapnel my way--I suppose they fig
ured there was more than one Of me
or something. and I hugged the side
Of the trench. Oh : what loving EN-
brace that was. ling. blooey, an
other and another and Of course
thought every one was my last one 10
bother about but finally after alou.
century they ceased. extrieated
myself. piece by piece from said