The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1918-11-07
SOLDIERS LETTERS
Letter From Private Geo. +. Kendall
10 His Aunt, Mrs. Mabel +. Herrick
OF North Dorset.
Dear Amt Mabel.


Of North Dorset.
Dear Aunt Mabel:
A disconnected soldier is net apt L
write anything suited for publication
in the home papers. II Is for thos,
who have been allowed to do some
/ thing over here to write letters worth
reading. | try to write from time e
time to let you know that am alive
Have been in no danger at all except
in March and April during the Ger.
man drive from st. Quentin tc
Amiens. The only thing that can get
me now is disease and that is unlikely
We can't even hear the cannons roar
any longer although as ! am writing
! can hear some bombs dropping
/ about five or ten miles away. Fritzy
is pulling night raid somewhere.
am lying in naval hammock holding
a candle in one hand and writing with
the other. We used to be attached tc
an English naval air squadron and got
some hammocks from them
The weather and the country here
are both very much like that of New
England. In the building only is there
difference. Here they are usually
of mud and stones. | used to think
that there was good deal to criticize
about American villages but they are
heavenly compared to those of France
Americans make comparison and al
ways they say in their hearts and to
each other, "Home is best That the
L. S. is the best country in the world
is not only sentimental conviction
but cold, scientific fact Paris,
however, is ineomparable-it is 4 very
beautiful city.
have also seen many towns and
villages in ruins. Germany hope will
be forced to pay for them. There are
a few German cities which have been
pretty well smashed up. There will
be more later on.
We get a good many cold days now
and most of us have put on winter
underwear and have thick wooden
socks-the kind that are always warm
and dry no matter how cold and wet
they are.
| have been up to the front lines a
couple of times. Have been through
Verdun-what there is left Of it.
Never see any fellows ! know except
those I've known since enlistment. |
have not had ride in an airplane
since last May. But the Liberties are
getting pretty thick around France
now and they are two-seaters. | will
be transferred intothe aviation section
if the war lasts long enough. ] am
running a Ford now. Have seen quite
a lot of the vicinities where Fate has
from time to time deposited me.
Have Of course seen hangers and
planes by the thousands, almost,
There really is nothing to write. I'm
catching on to French at a great rate
Can parley-vous now with consider
able yolunbility. The French always
seem to be impressed whenever !
tackle them in their mother tongue.
! translate many letters that Frcrch
girls write tothe fellows ana some
times write answers for them. Many
times where two words are pronounc-
ed the same but are very different in
meaning and spelling these Frcrcl
girls write in the wrong word. lcI
example: je mai pas, means "I have
not, and jc NEST pas, means = ID moi
which is wrong in French just as in
English but IN French the pronounce +
alton Is the same: and again moi me
and mos- month. One girl wrote e
moi FOR the month. There arc number
less mistakes like that 1t would ap
pear that the boys do not correspond
very much with the upper classes
over here.
With lots Of love to all,
ptfr, f-Gpf,t, = rrus-p.Ir 4