The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-11-01
ATTENTION, CLEANERS
Be sure and remember next
meeting night, and come, on
Wednesday night, Nov. ID.
LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIER
BOYS.
France, October 10, l9le

Td1Cc, OClODcI 10, lUlc
Dear Fred
l suppose you have noticed l have
been a bit irregular In my cores
pondences since arriving In France
so l need not call attention to the
fact. / am setting at a small table
and In a home made French chair In
In a small French town In France, but
l have spread out before me n OF
the biggest newspapers l ever saw.
maybe 1 had better tell you 1t Is the
Pioneer Of August End, which has
just arrived. l read ads date line
and all. 1t Is a strange thing how
the Pioneer can follow a person away
over here. Sometimes / have felt a
long ways from the sight Of Rattle
snake Butte and one Of the times
was when we was were crossing, and
another was when we made camp and
had just gotten beds urolled when
orders came to move In 30 minutes
but today ] feel close to home, and
that Is no bull either.
Suppose you think that / can tell
you by this time when the war will be
over ETC., but you know as much IS
we do and there Is no let up In our
preparations for moving up, and
things 60 on in camp just about the
same as they did back In the states
only a little more SO. We slug the
same songs and 1t seems TO me that
when we hear the men singing In their
billets after supper that they put a
put a little more ''stuff" on 1t when
they sing Of home yet there isa plenty
OF gass there too.
If I could set around the Club over
there I could entertain you with stor-
les that would make you pull hard at
your pipe and some that would make
you sad.
You see we are a long ways back OF
the lines and II the dough boys keep
advancing 1t will be a longer ways tol
catch up, and they have done wonders
So far the only guns l have heard has
been the roar of our own, but we are
inxiously awaiting our turn up there
Tor it seems as II everyone has lost all
thought of anything else or OF going
nome until we have gone right on
through. We are well fed, clothed
md we'll equipped. The people at
1ome are treating IA better than an
army was ever treated, and / al tell
we have a wonderful morale here.
We heve some sickness, but taking 1t
Is a whole we are doing 6ne, and
rave an awful craving for a chancet
get at them, We are mighty glad
10 see what they are doing to the
back In the states. This Is a
lime for a man who can't be here to
nave q Liberty Bond and to help out
It home, for after the val 1t will be
lard to laugh of when then the talk
i known / have never re-
,retted for a. minute that / Joined
he army, only wish l had done SO
ooner.
The French people a-e very kind to
is but the boys don't sand on cere-
money, break down all of the old
'nstoms, evade the best places, and
round the village when they r at
work. or play, yoI can hear such stun
s "attea boy" ''gangway," "get the
le)l outer here.' Band playing Dixie
mixed In with a good many French
which they have picked up,
uch as Oy Lara" and SO on.
or course re don't know how long
10 will be here but will stay as long
8 President Wilson says to. and when
re- get home We will have such : cels
as the world never saw. IL
think would like tc see
he world before I come back, but the