New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1918-12-28
XMAS LETTER FROM
GRANGE.
Bonnetable Savety, France.
December I'd. 1918


a. December I'd, 1918.
Mr. }. NJ Perry, New Iberia, La :
Dear fzther-Well, you better
get a French map from Jules
Dreyfus and get busy, for i am
gong to tell you about nv travels
we are back South in the Amer.
lean sector after three days'
trip IN trucks and motor cycles
ana the censorship is lifted to a
certain extent. We are down
s1 on the first leg of our trip
ne. sweet home" We dom t
KNOW Just when We sail but we
mink IT will be in the next few
weeks,
We left Camp Merit. New Jer-
sey ON Jan. 10th and took train
Tor New York: we were put on
a ferry boat and taken directly
to the dock. and then on the
good ship Olympia of the
White Star line; she is a sister
ship of the "Titanic'' and is the
third largest af1oSt. There was
oVU OF us on board, we sailed at
TOUR p. m., January 18th and came
BY ourselves. She was such a
fast ship and did not 90 with a
convoy. We made the run across
In seven days. Got off the ship
at Liverpool, England on the 10Th
OF January and went to rest
camp IN the southern part of Eng
land. Stayed there one week and
then took boat at Southampton
Tor Havre. French, landing there
on the 2Sth of January, stayed for
a few days there where | saw
young De Generes, then we had
two days train ride for an Amer
lean camp in Central France,
landed there on the End of Feb
ruary. STAYED a few days and then
took another trip farther north,
close to Dion in the Cote Dor,
the famous wine country that
tie you about and that Jules
(4eFns said was near Bordeaux.
We were building ten wire lead
for the armv from st. Nayai, on
the coast to Chaumont on the
American front, well we worked
all down the Loin river to NeverS
in the Nieverne where we finished
our work. that was early in April, |
when Fritz was making his big
drive for the Channel ports and i
threatening Amiens. We were
sent north to help ont the British,
we went up to Fruees in the Pas
de Calais, we worked all around
st. Omer Montreal. ,Arras. Haze
brock and Bethune. On June 80
we moved to Rouen and stayed |,
there all the month of July, that
was the big city I told you I was
close too. l snent the 4th Of
July there. On July 31st we
went to Oisimont. about twent7--
five miles from Amiens. we built
lines all around there maFinr
preparations for the big British
drive Of Al~ust Sth when the big
show started. we moved up and
that is where all our fun and hot
times started. we were With the
English fourth army unde~ Gen
eral Rawilson, it had mostly Ca
nadians and Australians in it:
that's when / began to see what
war really was. Those British.
Canadians and Aust ans sure
gave old Fritz he'll. When we
had pushed him hack about ten
mi|nn we moved back of Albert.
th0 swhere l lost all days and
datessfor we worked from dav-
light to dark. Sundays end all the
time. Well they rot Fritz on the
run again at Albert and we
stayed with the drive all the way,
va were with the Australians
when thev took Peronne. we then
vent to Tenrourt and worked to-
words the Hindenburg line that's
where / had several close calls.
! stone wall was all that saved
ne at Roisee. Fritz was Smelling
The road and myself and several
others took shelter in a hole back
- ~Ac~o all ho 6rOrnoC one (