Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-12
Camp Meade. Md, June IL.

lamp Meauc. Mu., June H..
nEAR BETTY-There Is a grist of
II news and gossip that | can send you
tonight, Sis, but before turning the light
on our doinEs | want to take you on a
trip to Franc and introduce you to
Joseph Nolney Wilson, Camp Meade's
ace.
We call him our ace because his daddy
is a secretary in one of our Y huts. You
will recall ! mentioned his brother Gil
In previous letters. Gill. too. is a nler,
but hasn't enjoyed the thrills of Brother
Joe.
So I shall introduce you to this chap,
who. by the way, vas a divinity student
before the war. In the letter which he
writes you can obtain n better under
standing concerning the work of the
Hers than by reading the accounts of
war correspondence. But here is the
letter. for it Is time for me to give
Aviator Wilson a chance to tell his
story:
Dear Folks--Hcy. who started this
war? Never saw such a bunch in all
my life. Lord, what a mess. You'd darn
well tnink these Dutchmen had to do
this to make known to the world that
they are ugly people. No place for a
parson or a parsons SON. Doggonc their
hides. they make me right sore. The
'Nii' 'hS : dlb II was pei itNiIg
I went over their lines on a fine cNpe-
dition. namely, to drop bombs on some
reserve troops. Well, | was jumped by
every plane the Huns could draft.
Guess you imagine that your dear boy
stayed and fought the gang. Well. rest
easy. He didn't do anything of the
kind-not by a devil of a sight.
Such conduct on my part would not
have aided the cause. and besides that
r.A 80 49,, s, 49, - 4. l. Aa IF
to commit suicide. My engine, supposed
to turn 1900 revolutions "A minute. was
going well at 100 and my plane, sup
posed to make 100 kiloneters an hour,
slid right along a over 200. My bombs
stayed in Germany. but home looked
good TO me. We Gods! What a war. Not
such bad fun. though. ard If II has
Il sense of humor he can appreciate most
any situation and get IA laugh out Of it
We are in this thing to our necks, oi
course. but everything is going fine ant
we have old Fritz stopped dead.
Early this morning we made a tril
across ard | went along with anothe,
American. George Kyle, as the boml
dropper and machine I'M Terrihl,
exciting life for sure. No Huns in thu
air. butt the truth is we were Sc higl
that nobody could see us. Ny, but
was some cold in that altitude of 5aO'
| meters-thirty-nine inches to the metej
So figure ii out yourself. Coming bacl
we ran into a lot of clouds and ever!
one came out a different place. kyl'
and your dear one didn't know wher'
they were and la a sweet time fndini
out. My hands were all but useles
in the cold, so working the maps wa
a tough job. But we steered a southerl!
course and beat it along until we go
our right bearings. our objective wa
covered by clouds in behind the line
SO a convoy of trucks offered the mex
best mark. Poor devils. but how the.
did hustle for holes when the bomb
began to hit them.
But ! must bring this letter to a close
However,, | ought to mention that you
lear boy fell into "A bit IF luck the othe
day. Got approximately 500 for takinI
a minor part in getting a Hun plane
And 1t came in very handy. Got me al
officers coat. paid off n few small bill
and the rest, boylike, was spent on
two-day trip to Paris.
went to the big town in a plane
and what a delightful trip! rance
wide and straight roads, lined on bot
sides with tall trees, surely present
beautiful picture as you glide along !
a plane. The women and old men ar
out in the fields with the oxen. toilinI
away to keep the life blood of the coun
try flowing truly and strongly. Thes
quaint and simple old peasant womel
please me, and the girls who smile AM
throw kisses occupy real places in on
affection for this gallant country. Tn
comradeship of these French people !
almost inconceivable in its simplicity
and lovablencss. Associate with thu
French for a while and your entire view
of life changes. They ave faults, bu
they are surface faults and one grow
to like them more as he learns to know
them. But | must close.
Heaps of love. Your owing JOE.
That is one of Joe's letters. We &c
one every week or two and they ar
read by scores of men. Just watch tn
papers, for this chap will figure in bil
news one of these days. He has the rea
spirit and will get there.
And now | must say IA word concern
ing Little Penn. AS this is the opel
season for lawns and hedges, l shall
swing on to that subject and tell you
Sis. that our prettiest lawn has bee
created by Machine Shop Truck Uni
337. On the north side Of the barrack