The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1918-12-26
LETTER FROM GRANDSON
IN SERVICE IN FRANCE.
John Tomlinson of Mena Has -Four
GrandsOns "Over There" and
Three in Service In IL s.

John Tomiinson of Mena has seven
grandsons in service with the fight
ing forces of their country. Of these
four are in France, and Mr.. Tomlin-
son is very proud of every one. Fol
lowing is an interesting letter he re-
received a few days ago:
A. E. F. France, Nov. &c, 1918.
Dear Grandpa;
Your welcome letter received to-
day. You were certainly right, that
all letters are welcome to US, as we
date time by the arrival Of the mails
from home. Am surely glad that you
are we'll In my other letter, | could
not on account of the censorship re-
gulations then prevailing, mention
much that / wanted to. On my way
over, it took us fourteen days on the
ocean, we landed in Liverpool, and
were encamped there, at camp Knot
ty Ash, two days. Then we took a
train to South Hampton where we
stayed overnight at 'The Commons"
Ia British camp, and then took boat
across the channel to La Havre,
France, where we stayed two nights.
Then we took French cattle train,
38 of us in each box car about one
half the size of U. S. box car, trav-
cling couple of days and landing
at Semur, France. We spent some
little time in training near there and
then took another box car trip to a
front line sector between Belfort and
Mulhouse in Asace. We were there
short time and then came up where
we are now, not far from Metz,
where we were at the time of the
declaration of the armistiee. It has
been very interesting experience
and we have been thru considerabis
hardship, tho they are not really,
hardships if one has the right point
of view We are used to sleeping in
our clothes and marching under
heavy packs in the mud and eating
might have looked hard to us year
or two ago.
But it's about over now and we are
just waiting for developments that
may take US home and back to life
of civilization again.
! had letter from Mrs. Mounsey,
No. New Houses, Oughterside
Bullgill. Carlisle. Cumberland, whom
you remember, asking me to come
and see them. l hope / may be able
to do so, but it is hard to tell where
our orders will take us.
have been over a lot of country
completely devastated by the Huns.
The towns here are built of stone.
and town after town is nothing but
piles of stone and plaster, not build
ing standing, and since the armistice
on several occasions / have witnessed
old men and women cleaning out the
debris of a former home, only the
shell, punctured with gaping holes
remaining. 1t is pitiful, indeed, and
between the towns the country,
mile on mile is pockmarked with
shell holes, dugouts, trenches and in
Vulnerable crosses, marking the
graves Of those who paid the su-
preme price of victory. 1t was surely
a strange silence that prevailed at II
o'clock on Nov. IL. All morning the
guns pounded away at the Germans,
a last chance to give them what they
deserve, and received. And minute
after eleven not a gun was to be
heard. 1t must have been a stranger
silence still to those people who have
listened to the sounds of war for
more than four long years. One has
to be over here to know what they
feel now that it is over and France
is safe. Released prisoners from
Germany have been coming thru
here in large punches. They are
dressed in all sorts of clothes and
many of them, especially the old
prisoners look more like huns than
allies as they wear mostly discarded
German clothing. They have some
pitiful tales to tell of treatment by
the Boche but for all that they are
happy and justly so.
We are keeping up a steady grind
of training even tho the war is over
Sure hope / can soon stick my knees
under mothers table again, and
crawl into bed where they have real
sheets and pillows can remember
betth W tile tiitE WuCu VIC uoCu "
have them.
/ don't know what I'll do when |
get back Probably go back to
Washington, tho I'd rather get into
a private corporation as ones oppor-
tunity in Washington is limited I'M
less he gets into politics and that is
an uncertain proposition. This war
ra thor knocked the props out from
under a lot of us, from the
standpoint of financial success. It's a
case Of beginning over, but at that
we have a lot of new and valuable
ideas-and an appreciation of the
value of hard work.
Well grandpa, I've just been ram
bling along with this letter and must
close. With best wishes,
Your Grandson,
Robert H. Bushman,
Regiment Message Center,
349th Inf, A. p. o. 795, A. E. f.
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