Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1918-08-30
LETTERS FROM SOLDIER BOYS
Letters fOOm Lieutenant Lang
and Pvt. Clarence Farmer
Somewhere in France
July 80, 1918.

Just line this afternoon TO let
you know that the "Boshes" haven't t
succeeded in getting me as yet and |
don't intend that they will if | can
help it.
thought few nights ago that
they were going to but | guess |
must be lucky, as the shell that
would have gotten me had it ex-
ployded was ''Dud" as we call
them. | was coming down from
the line and | heard her whistle and
dropped on the ground as usual and
she landed just about fifteen feet
from me and didn't explode, some
luck, what doyou say?
A First Lieutenant that was
wounded told me that one landed in
his compay couple of nights ago
and killed 27 and wounded AZ, this
for one shell, so you can imagine
what they are like.
Oh, yes | have some more good
news to tell you, ,on June 3, Is | was
given First Lieutenant's commits
sion as | have written you before,
and on july 18th ! was commits
stoned a Captain, what do you
think sof that for "kid" of twenty
three? | am working pretty hard
though and | have the most res
ponsible position of any Captain of
the Train, and | am also the
youngest by at least II years so |
think | am getting along pretty
good. Since | was called out this
trip year ago the second of last
April, l have been promoted from a
Corporal to a Captain, serving in
all of the intermediate grades ex-
cept First Sergeant, and | have
never attended a Military School of
any kind.
Have you heard anything more
about being called, and if so when
do you think it will be ? You want to
hustle up a bit or it will be all over
before you get here, as one of the
famous sayings of one of our Infan-
try Regiments is: we'll be in
II, Heaven or Hoboken, by
Christmas" and | guess by the way
they are going now that they mean
it.
| had a very nice letter from
Pauline few day ago and she said
that she was just getting ready fol
graduation. tShe also sent me 6
snapshot of herself, and how she
has grown since | saw her last E
year ago last February.
Have you seen the girls since
their schools finished, and are they
going to stay at home this summer
| sure would like to see them again.
l have their pictures but that ISM
much like the real thing. 1t has
been nearly year since | have
seen any of you people and don't
suppose | would know your little
girls.
From what | hear, the baby is a
wonder and how | would love to see
her, but cheer up | will be back
sometime at that and then for the
grand old times, eh I?
Have you had any Beet Greens
this summer | haven't but | sure
would like some once more more
just to see whether or not | have
lost my taste.
am quite sure | haven't lost my
sense of smell, for was up the line
this morning and the smell is some
thing terrible, the Boshe retreated
so fast that they couldn't bury their
dead, and our engineers are doing
it now. There are dead men and
horses everywhere and in one place
l saw six horse team just as it had
been struck by a shell, the horses
were still in the harness just as
they were killed.
At first those things bothered me
but | have gotten accustomed to it
now and never think of it. / often
wonder if | will ever be fit to live
with civilized people when l gel
home.
One of my old Pals from. Lyndon
Vile, Sergeant Carter has gone
home as an instructor, so probably
the people at Lyndonville will see
him, and if they do he can tell then