Mount Vernon signal. (Mt. Vernon, Ky.) 18??-current, 1918-08-09
FRED McFERRON
IN FRANCE
Somewhere in France,
July s, 1o1S.
Dear Mother and Father:

" aoO 1SSOlfSN WV iSSNOA -
one from YOU and Georgia and
one from Georgia alone. Ger
talnly glad to get them and to
know you all are getting along so
nicely. It is getting summer
over here, the weather not very
hot yet. France is much like
the states tho the buildings are
all stone or brick. We are at
the front doing our bit as We
have a chance, tho I am stationed
back of the line little now, but
not so far but what the shells
find their way still behind US, tho
we don't mind a stray shell once
and while. l sure had a fine
trip over and 1 guess passed be.
tween home and heaven, Scot
land and Ireland. We could see
both coasts all day and they both
looked beautiful to me naturally.
for / had not seen any land for
quite a while. The water was
still as a mill pond and looked
harmless. Every eye was open
looking for a Sub, tho none ap.
pesred. 1 saw quite a few things
in England of note and 1 only
wish l could tell you more, bot
I will tell you soon for 1 am
planning on being home soon.
You ask me about the Red
Cross ard Y. M. G. A, and 1 am
in good shape to tell you about
them both for I have just come
from the two places and I feel
much better now for 1 first had a
bath and then a new clean outfit
of clothes at the Red Cross, then
| went to the Y. and got a glass
of lemonade and some cakes,
lemonade still S cts a glass.
The Red Cross is our home
over here for US boys are like
school boys and tear and rip our
clothes and lose our buttons
quite often for at one minute you
will be resting fine and the next
minute you will be going at
breakneck speed for a dugout try
ing to get your gas mask and
helmet on at the same time and
if there is some barbed wire
arou nd and it happens to get in
your way you will need a new
pair of trousers sure, and maybe
a shirt too. Just a little hap
pening that happened to one of
our men. He decided he would
find a better place to sleep so it
happened to be easy found, tho
a bit out of the way, tho he did
not mind the distance and passed
several peaceful nights in his
new home before he was dis
turbed by the Boches gun fire
of eight inch shells shrapnel.
About eleven O'Clock when Jerry
decided to give US a few, and
naturally we were all asleep,
but we were all soon awake and
the fellow that had gone to the
other place to sleep also woke up
in a scramble for his gas mask
and clothes so he could get to
a dugout where we were. Being
in the dark and excited, he got
all tangled up and put his shoes
on wrong, Igot his helmet and
mask and made a record run for
our dugout, but the race was all
off when he hubed a door facing
and caught his trousers on a
nail and when he did get in his
pants were badly torn and his
pulse sure was a going. He got
a trip to the Red Cross and got
a new pair of trousers.
They have stations close to the
front lines and you ought to see
how glad the boys are when they
come from the front line. They
take good hot bath and get a
full suit of clothes out and out.
and when they walk out of the
Red Cross station they feel fine
and look like they were built
new again. Then they are ready
for few days rest in some
French town where there are
some amuse ments to take thei,
mind off the game of war and
give a tired soldier a real life
again. yet he is still in the neigh
borhood of a Red Cross station
that is ready to give their aid il
anyway that will make soldier,
life happy. We get plenty t.
eat and plenty of tobacco ant