Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-10-11

Somewhere in France.
Sept. 7th, 1918.
Dear Mother:
| VIII write you few lines today to
| let you know that am we'll and hope
when this letter reaches you it will
find you all the same. 1t is a fine
| day today. sunny and warm but it
gets very cold nights. 1t will soon be
! winter. ! hope it won't be as cold as
| it was last winter. / lost all Of the
| things that have been sent me from
the States, sweater and all. All |
| had left was wha- had in my pock-
cts. l did not lose my pictures and /
| was some glad of that. ! would not
| part with them for anything. Lost
i all up on the last front we We're on.
| We lost some of the Fairfield boys
| too. Both OF the Kick boys are we'll.
l am sitting in a big mule wagon
while l am writing and Albert is here
with me. He is Sergeant now.
| have been in the hospital about a
| month for gas nut am all right now
and feeling fine. We are doing some
! hiking now SO we can not carry
sary. All l cart around on my back
now is my rifle, round about pack,
! bayonet, shelter half, blanket, mess
kit, cup. canteen. helmet and gas
mask and most of the time we have
| 100 rounds of ammunition. I tell you
that is enough to lug Ground when
you have to hike very far. ] just re-
| c.ived three letters from you today.
One from Faye and Hazel, one from
friend of mine"
Faye writes me that she is in Dow
er, N. H., spending her vacation with
Hazel. l have been out blackberrying
today. got my cup full and my he'll
met most full. They were dandy
ones. l wish you had some. Has
Alfred got done haying yet and did he
have good luck with his crops? /
hope so. The wheat fields looked
beautiful over here a short time ago,
but now they are about all harvested.
There are a great many grape vines
| around here but the grapes are not
ripe yet. They make wine out Of the
most Of them. The Frenchmen sure
Iy like their red wine.
Well l guess l have written about
all I can think of this time. Give my
love to Gram. Tell her got letter
from her few days ago. Give my
| regards to Val and George when you
see them. Take good care of your
! self and write often. l will write
again soon. Will close with love to
all.
RAY w. GOODWIN,
100 U. S. Inf, Co H.. A. Z. +.
The following letter from Corp. AL,
! ton Johnson has just been received
| by his parents, Mr.. and Mrs. w. A.
| Johnson Of Bay View street, Belfast.
| Corp. Johnson was in the first contin-
gent of drafted men to leave Belfast
; last fall and received nearly years
| training at Camp Devens before CO.
| ing overseas.
With 103d Field Artillery,
Sept. 1, 1918.
Dear FoIks:-
1t has been two weeks since wrote
| you SO I guess had better get busy
today. When we were back at camp
it was hard enough to find things to
write about and it is worse here. As
! wrote you before. we are billited in
small towns. two batteries to town
and about the only thing to do nights
is to go to bed. That is what we do
beween 7.30 and 3 o'clock.
Since writing you last have trav-
eled nearly the whole way across
France to attend a Machine Gun
school. Each battery has two ma
chine guns and now We are going to
use the long range and have no more
B. c. detail. The machine guns we
have are some guns, will fire $50 shot
a minute and all one has to do is pull
tn, trigger just once. They are for
aeroplane protection. We had two
weeks instruction in special school,
and it was very interesting work.
Well l have a nice little wash be-
fore me to do today. Believe me
am some washer, but if the things
don't come clean about as soon as
they should l call them clean enough.
This country would be pretty decent
hut for the bees. The place is alive
with them no matter where you go.
Well t is afternoon now and have
finished my washing. i would like to
send you a few plums for they raise
a pile o. them here and they are fine
too il they are only picked before the