Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-04-30

DoH Worry III you 10 not near from
me, as if anything happens to me,
you will be notified Immediately.
Lots of love to all of you, and l
hope this finds you all in good
health"
"Sd Aviation Instruction Center,
American Expeditionary Forces,
April s, 1918.
Dear Folks:
some days ago, and also letters from
Franklin and Norman. You asked if
there was anything you could send.
There is nothing better than a pair of
wool socks, but please don't take up
too much of your time knitting them
if you have none on hand, as l have
plenty of socks right now. The ones
you make are SO much better than
those l buy, and they are handy in the
work here, as / am out of doors a
lot and later l probably will be flying
at high attitudes, which is cold.
Franklin was saying that he would
like to send me some cigarettes.
Please thank him but tell him would
rather have little peanut candy, as
| smoke very little and furthermore
we can get all the tobacco we need
over here. Do not send anything un-
til you hear from me again, as | hear
that there is an order prohibiting the
sending of articles from America ex-
cept under certain conditions.
The weather has been bad for sew
eral weeks. Rainy and cold and l
have had my first cold since leav-
ing Berkeley last fall But by now
have it almost eradicated. OF course,
during this bad weather flying is
stopped and as yet 1 have not had a
ride. However, with a few days of
sunshine I shall get to flying soon
and will tell you about that then.
Last week we had a good show at
the Y. M. c. A. Elsie Janis was here
and sang some songs and told us
some clever stories. She sang a
parody to cover There" which is good,
and here it is:
"Over here, over here,
Send the word, send the word, we are
here;
And we all are working,
You bet we're working,
No one is Sinking over here.
Mother dear, dry that tear,
For your worries soon will disappear.
For were over, you bet we're over,
And we won't go back,
Till it's over, over here!"
haven't heard from Myron since
| landing here, but heard that he had
been moved and perhaps he is also
| on his way. l wrote him to his old
address and hope the letter reached
| him.
Franklin Pardee is over here, and
| am writing to learn where he is,
| so if possible, l can get to see him.
| He is a fine boy and l would enjoy
| seeing him again.
| am going to bed now, so will
write you again in few days. Best
Of wishes to all of you, and don't
worry as I am all right"
| The following is written to Lieuten-
| ant Johnson's brother, Franklin, in
| this city and is also of much interest.
April 3, 1918.
| Dear Franklin:
Your letter reached me today. and
was glad to hear from you. l do
smoke, but not very much, so please
| don't bother about sending any Gig
arettes. However, if you would like
| to send me something. / wauld appre-
ciate some chocolate or gum. These
| things are hard to get here and the
French variety is not nearly as good
as the American kind.
We are in France, but about the
only thing that makes me think / am
in the war, is the Identification disk
carry on my right wrist. We are
out in the country surrounded by
green fields. 1t almost makes you
think you are in southern Wisconsin.
because the land is rolling and has
trees scattered around. The roads
are macadam and well drained. Some
of these roads are hundreds of years
old, as we are in the historic part
of France.
This is tremendous field and is
only partially completed. A great
many American pilots will be trained
here. The machines are a little faster
than the ones we had at San Diego.
We learn straight flying and a few
stunts here and then go to an Aero
batic Field for more advanced work.
| am learning little French, but it
is slow. The pronunciation is very
hard and takes lots of practice. A
lady holds class here, which 1 at
tend and in that way get a few point
ers.
Last night / went into a small
town and had good dinner. 1t only
cost four francs (70c), and we had
eggs and beat steak They serve wine
with all meals, but don't care for il.
There is never any water unless you
ask for it. The coffee is too strong
for me. The dessert is most always
apples and nuts.
1t has been rainy here now for
almost two weeks. am hoping it will
get sunny, so we can get to flying
soon. We are attending ground clas-
ses now, and very much like going
to college.
Write me soon, and the best of luck
to you all"