The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-11-01
LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIER
BOYS

Somewhere in France, Sept -, 1918
Dear Folks at Home
| will try and write YOU few lines
this afternoon, as | have a few idle
moments to myself.
| haven't been feeling any to well
the last four or five days, but am feel
ing pretty good at present, 50 | guess
it isn't anything serisus.
I've certainly been pleased with the
mail received the last week or SO.
got three letters from you, :wo from
Mable and one from Irene, although
| was surprised to hear from her, but
was glad to hear from her at that.
So now I'll surprise her 10y writeing
one. | also received five Pioneers,
makes seven | got altogether | hope
III continue to get them, for it seems
pretty nice TO get the home paper
over here in France.
! suppose you have seen in the pa
pers where the Americans made a
irive on the Germans. That was my
first time over the top, and it is a day
i'll never forget. We captured sever
al thousand prisoners. The section
| was in captured sixteen prisoners.
We started in the morning and that
evening we had gone about ten miles,
and never was SO tired in my life,
for | carried machine gun all day
up hill and down hill and through
the woods. At present we are camp
ed in a side hill wherever we stop we
dig ourselves in, we got small dug
outs big enough for one or two to
sleep in, they look lot like that
chicken coop | built, only that would
be parlor TO what these are, it re,
minds me Of a bunch of prairie dogs.
The Germans are dropping shells al
around us, but we don't mind it near
as much as we did, but at that
rattle be where the shells don't drop
Say there is few guys around Wood
I'd like to see here for about tifteI n
minutes. A shell just landed, a few
Of the boys got hit. It's been sin
weeks since I've had my clothes of
and it was ten days that | didn't take
my shoes Off. / can sleep anywhere,
in damp dug outs, wet trenches OF
under barrage, and never be dis
turbed, only too glad to get the
chance to sleep 1t is a hard old life,
but still we don't complain. The al
lies put up with it for four years, So
there isn't a reason why we can't.
If get through this | wouldn't
take million dollars for my eXper-
pecience, but ten million dollars
wouldn't put me through another
combat like this. It's a great life
and don't mind it as long as | don,
get bumped off. But | feel as tlou, h
IIu going to be lucky, and get through
.. X.
Yes we get fed pretty good, we get
all we want to eat, but it is the same
ching from one day to the next, of
course we don't get home made bread
and butter, nor COWS milk and eggs.
aud we don't get hot cakes and honey
for breakfast.
You want to be sure and prepare a
good Christmas dinner for me ha. ha.
for the way feel | can eat a whole
goose 10y myself. wish l was home
to enjoy some Of those spring frys.
roasting ears and other good things
you mentioned. You made me home
sick. A lot of these gays that came
over here never realized what a home
meant to them, me, for one. but be-
ieve me they'll realize what it means
10 them If they ever get back again,
md there's lot of things they'll re.
diize that they didn't think Of before
I'm sending you some French mon
ey, a five frame note and one franc.
One franc is equal to about poe in
American money, and five franc note
is equal to about ST.. Must close, give
everybody my best regards. With
love TO all EDWARD HELLEKsoN,
Co. & 342 M. G.. Brigade
A. Il. F. France A. =. O. 76l