The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1918-07-08
Your letter Of April Goth arrived I

few days ago, the first news | have
had from home in a long time. /
am ashamed of myself for not writing
more often but | am sure you will
all forgive men when you know that
my section has been in the big drive.
There hasn't been much time for
writing in the last month and when
there was time | just couldn't get in
to the mood for writing
There is so much to tell you, SO
much that | would like to write that
is forbidden. We have worked for II
days in the worst sector on the west
ern front. There was hardly an hour
Of those twelve days that we were
not under she'll fire. lie was a real
hell of gas-shells, high explosives
shells. shrapnel and bombs. 1t seems
like a horrible dream now that we
are out of it for a few days. ] have
worn my gas mask for hours in places
where if hadn't worn it | wouldn't
be writing TO you now; we couldn't
escape it entirely. The German mus
card gas smells like horse radish chlo-
rine, has sickening odor. | know
from experience.
/ Think have seen every kind of
shell made BURST sometimes they fall
20 close they throw dirt and mud on
me, but | wasn't even scratched. I've
crouched behind parapet of sand
bags for hours with shells coming ov-
CT 20 fast that the scrcech of one
wouldn't die out before another would
arrive. We learned that there isn't
much danger in shell if it goes over
your head and bursts beyond you.
Have had hundreds of them to do
that and sometimes they fell less than
fifty feet beyond.
But the worst thing of all was the
shrapnel at night. There is some
thing peculiarly terrifying about it.
40 see shell burst over the ROAD
ahead of you and hear the zoom of
the shrapnel balls and then realize
that you have got to go on. To see
silells falling at corner that you have
got to go around and realize that you
may never get around it. 1t takes
nerve to drive an ambulance through
a place like that. We had one corner
about hundred yards from poste
de secour that was never safe We
never knew whether we would get
around it or not. The road was in
plain view of the boche balloons and
observation posts and you probably
know how much respect the Huns
have for the Red Cross. Sometimes
after one of our regiments had been
over the top we would have wounded
Boches in the ambulance, but Of
course the Germans didn't know, and
wouldn't have cared anyhow
| have seen lot of Germans lately.
Perhaps you would like to know how
they look to me. | have seen few
that looked intelligent and even kind
but the majority of them have a stu
pid expression and brutal face that
you won't find on any of the Allied
soldiers. Usually they are strong,
hard-looking men but I've seen some
that were very young; couldn't have
been over sixteen and looked younger.
Even they had the dull, stupid ex-
preston and the brutal look If the
face of man is the mirror of his
soul can't help thinking that the
world will be better when such men
as that are dead. God only knows
when this war will be over. | hate
it as much as any one but | don't
want it to stop until the Germans are
crushed. | can't imagine peace with
out complete destruction of the
power that has made the German peo-
pie what they are. And if the char
acter of the people doesn't change the
world won't be safe until they are
destroyed. There was time when
didn't believe what read of the Ger.
man soldiers, but now | know it is
true. I've talked with men who have
seen their comrades crucihed anc
their wounded tortured to death by
the Huns. have talked with refugees
who have lost their all; mother.
whose children were killed and whose
daughters were carried away to worse
than death. Oh, there is no use writ
ing of those kind of things, you have
heard them before; wish could for.
get it all.
We are having beautiful weather
now and can appreciate it after SC
much that was bad / received pack
age of Chesterhelds from Uncle Ed
not long ago. Thank him for me
they helped a lot. I'm hoping per-
mission for week if we stay out OF
the lines long enough I've never had
one since coming to France. Tell
everybody hello for ME and say that
] am getting along fine and hope to
see you all again before my hair is
gray. / will write Nv often as | can
huf that may NOT he very otto, W.