The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1918-07-18
SOLDIER WRITES OF
HIS EXPERIENCES


several letters written by James A.
Burke. who is serving the United
| States army in France, to his wife,
! who resides in this city:
28th Eng, Co. A, A. K. F.,
May q, 1918.
1t is just sundown and / am sitting
under some pine trees on the hillside.
Will try to tell you what l can see
| and hear from here Below me is a
| ball game and also regimental band
| having a concert. To the left is
very pretty valley. If one could close
their ears to the noise of the big guns
one would never know there was
war. The valley is all cultivated
each family having about an acre of
| ground. There are no fences. In
each plot there is from one to three
women working. They dress in black
and wear large white sunbonnets.
| Everything is green and growing fine
| A little farther to the right is the road
/ that leads to the front line trenches
| 1t is filled with a wonderful assort-
ment of traffic, artillery, infantry.
wagon trains, army trucks, farfl
wagons drawn by oxen, sometimes a
horse and cow hitched up tandem,
mounted guns and continual stream
| of Sammies passing in and out.
| Through all this the messenger boys
| from the front line trenches, on mo-
toreycles, are tearing along at speed
| that would make your hair rise. AS
soon as it is dark, though, it will be
changed-the flashes and illumina-
tions in the trenches will begin to
show and the barrage fire is fright
You can just barely hear the machine
! guns and artillery under it. | can't
| describe it. 1t is like being a kid and
! sitting on the outside of circus tent
! you can hear things, but you can't
see the performers. But it is all very
| interesting.
There is Y. NJ c. A. here, also
X. of c. and Salvation Army hut. In
| the town square is a boxing ring,
| where you can see most any kind of
battle every Wednesday night, and
! also hear lots of band concerts.
Have plenty of good food. but much
the same thing. so for Heavens sake
don't forget how to cook.
! Well, it is getting dark and chilly,
ehe fireworks" are beginning, so I'll
/ sit here and watch them awhile before
going down TO the barracks.
June 2, 1918
A few lines to let you know l am
feeling fine and am twenty pounds
heavier than when / enlisted last No
vember Had a real good supper of
roast beef, brown potatoes with gravy.
tomatoes, hot BISCUIT and rice pud-
ding. and as usual l did my bit
have never failing appetite, but be-
/ lieve me we work. l never expected
1 to work so hard when we came over.
/ Can't tell you what we are doing, ex-
cept that it isn't railroading. Comes
I under construction" Thirty of us
/ are working in one place where we
/ have to take our lunch. The army
| ratiOns are good, but we improve on
them by chipping in together and buy
! ing fresh eggs and jam, make hot
/ coffee, and in that way we do fine
Eggs were four francs, but are now
/ six. | keep some on hand, so l have
! two for breakfast usually.
1t has rained most of the time-only
footed if ii keeps up. We have been
wet many times. but we haven't had
to sleep out yet. Well, the rain
doesn't stop the war, so guess it won't
| stop the work sure.
June s, 1918.
This is a fine day, but sure hot.
| Last night bunch of us went into
the town for supper We buy the
steak or ham and eggs and a few
other things and have made the ac-
quaintance of an old French lady who
cooks it for us, on a fireplace. and
believe me it sure tastes good. Then
we went to see the boxing and wrest-
ling. Some French kids were in the
ring and they sure do battle. / don't
wonder their daddies stopped the
boches at the battle of the Marne.
Then some niggers had a wrestling
match. After that young private
from - infantry recited a poem he
had himself composed while in one of
our fiercest battles on the front He
was in the front lines. l wish you
could have heard it, Susan, as it was
really wonderful. He took us right
into the front line trenches with him
through barrage fire. into No Mans
land and the return. He said he
would write it for me. If so / will
send ii to you. Some days ago | sent
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