The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1918-09-18

Sergt. Wilbur f. Smith writes the
following from where he is located
in France. Sergt. Smith was one of
the first local men tc enlist and soon
came back here recruiting men for
the army:
Bon Joour, Mon Chere Ami: or
Hello My Dear Friends:
Everyone has ideas regarding the
great European war. Mine are, that
WAR is hell" If you were here, you
would readily agree with me. / am
glad to think as | do, although / am
by no means a "Peace barometer"
/ am bound to think this war will
end in less than IL months. We
have the huns on the run on all sides.
He was a long time preparing this
war, and now he is completely swamp
ed, and / think maybe his people are
getting a little hungry and uneasy.
1t certainly seems like they would be.
Our American soldiers are Just SIM
ply wonderful and there is not an
army that has anything on US. i
know by what / have seen and the
huns know it, too. They would like
to quit now, but the kaiser says, fight
on, and they dare not disobey him,
and so the war goes on.
The kaiser has an awful scrape to
get out of after this war, / think of
only one way out for him, and that is
by death and that will be SO easy on
him. He should be made to suffer
daily and hourly for 40 years. / think
it must have taken him that long to
get ready for this war.
The people back home cannot do too
much for these boys over here. 1t
is just simply wonderful the way the
Americans have conducted them
selves, against the. huns. The huns
a few months ago laughed and made
fun Of us, today they make ceetain,
that they out-number US before the
fight US. II it is even numbers, they
either run or kill as many of us as
they can, and then exclaim s'Kamerad"
and kamerad is the word for US to
cut loose at them.
l would love to tell you a whole
lot more but we are net allowed to,
SO you must wait and be patient until
after the war, then we can tell you
dear ones at home all about it, and
lot of things about it which will cause
you to ask us to please stop.
You do not know what the hun has
done here in France. In the beau
tiful and peaceful little villages and
beautiful cities, they, have laid them
flat, and laid the country waste, and
still they say "God is With Them,
and they fight on.
If / am not mistaken the time is
not far off when they will see how far
apart they and God are. But then,
it will be too late for them to save
Themselves, Germany is doomed.P
and honestly believe they now realize
It.. If not the Yanks will bring the
realization to them soon.
The boys from around home are all
o. X. / see Lyle Madden, Lee Hol-
comb, Clellie Van Horn, Floyd Pier
son, Mike Morgan and William Hugh
es most every day, they are in my
company.
If can help anyone at home to To-
cate relative or friends over here,
would be glad to do so. And If they
at home want to help their dear and
loved ones over here, just write and
write often. A letter from home is
far dearer than money; we have not
much use for money unless it is to
buy souvenirs with.
Now ! think / have said e-nuff for
this time so here is love and good luck
to yov dear ones ut home and hell to
the kaiser over here.
Sergeant Wilbur E. Smith.
Other letters handed in are from
Ralph and Elton Derry Gerard,
grandsons Of John Reynolds Of this
city. They are as follows:
August 8, 1918.
Dear Mother:
Igot your letter last night and was
surprised to get any mail at all here
as we have been giving the huns one
Of the hardest runs they have had
since Verdun. suppose you have
got the particulars from the papers
before this. We got Detroit paper
last night and there was an item in IL
about the 3nd division being on Ger