Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1918-05-07
Letter From A Soldier Boy In France.

the government Dy tnaI udte.
The Banks of Jefferson County.
Letter From A Soldier Boy In France.
The following letter is from Ser
geant George L. Haines, of the Ameri-
can Expeditionary. Forces in France.
Sergeant Haines is nephew of Mayor
Clayton L. Haines, and grandson OF
Mrs. Lewis Diehl, of Charles Town.
France, April Is, 1918.
Dear Folks
1t is about o'clock and the sun IS
lust going over the hills, but tonight
it is not at all pretty because the day
has been a very dismal one. 1t has
been rainy now for several weeks and
today it has been rael "raw'' as papa
calls it. But we do have beautiful
sunsets here. The red glow III the
windows of the old Cathedrals and
weather-beaten chateaus on the hull
sides is sight which cannot be de-
scribed. Frank tells me that in mid
summer the sun goes down about 10
o'clock. We will get up after daylight
and go to bed before shutdown. But
in winter-oh, | hate to think of get
ting up bfeore sun up. However, |
consider that simply part OF the
days work.
am a happy bird today notwith-
standing the dismal character OF the
outside world. | just received three
of your letters (and fine ones too
the kind | like to get) dated the 21st,
18th, and Both of March, one from
aunt Amelia and another from a girl
friend of mine in Baltimore. just
think of it-fve in one day. 1t is just
grand and glorious feeling and | am
going to write here tonight until it is
time to run over to my barracks and
jump in bed. | would stay longer but
the guard would stop me at the gate
Il | couldn't produce a pass, which
have not tonight.
Guess what? l got letter from
Elvans yesterday, dated the 9th OF
March. He said he had an enjoyable
trip across and was then in rest
camp He did not say where he was
but | know from the number of the
post-office which was on the post
mark. l believe it would be i'm
proper for me to tell you. However
| hope to see him before long. In fac
/ have been looking carefully owe
every bunch of casuals that blows II
here.
Papa there is one thing which GER
tainly is characteristic of Americans
They are baseball fiends. Whereve
there are Americans in the world, ye
the whole world, there are base bal
games going on. / have seen them il
every part of France. | honestly be
lieve that if | saw, or anybody els'
saw bunch of naked men playing
base ball, we would just know withou
looking through their clothes to Sc
where they came from, that they wer
Americans. But the Frenchmen ar
learning too. | saw a French buncl
!, playing American baseball last Sun
| day. But their favorite is la crosse.
Oh yes, when l told you about tn
peculiar railroads and street cars be
lieve failed to say that everything !
run by women here. There are WON
en- conductors and ticket agents on tn
; "chemins des ferres," and women con
ductors and motormen on the "train
ways" You no doubt have seen pic
lures in the magazines in the state
showing how the soldiers travel i
France-in little box cars marked a."
chavaux, 40 hommes." | was one o
40 hommes on several occasions, an
the censored pictures showing typica
scenes on the transports are true t
life too, but | have seen none whic
show how it feels to be attacked b
u boat. | wish you could see on
because you would then realize hoy
| once felt a little over a month age
will never forget it.
came over on one of the old Kai
ser's old boats and it must have bee
a dream in its day but it is built 0
rather reconstructed for just one pur
pose now, and that is to carry troop
and that it does. That trip and tn
many discomforts connected with
; will always remain on my mind
don't believe | had one comfortabl
minute while l was on the ship, that is
comfort of the body-physical comfort
AS far as U boats were concerned
their presence forced the thought o
them upon us. But the U. S. and tn
Allies have them under hand and GU
troops who have yet to go through
that ordeal need not fear for thei
personal safety.
went with Frank to the theatr,
Saturday night. We enjoyed it i'm
mensely. In the first place the build
ing itself was quite odd. 1t was ar
ranged somewhat like our own the
aires only the seats are all elevated
so that one can see we'll from any sea
in the house. The boxes are separate
compartments similar to the ones they
have on their trains and they entel
from a back door. The seats are
cushioned benches and they are so mar
row that it is like sitting on a stick
Only the Americans are polite enough
to take off their hats and men anC
women alike smoke in the theatre
they look like Grecian soldiers with
their polished brass helmets on.
The performance was very interest
ing. 1t was mostly acrobatics anC
consequently, not much talking, so we
understood. What little French was
said, we managed through our small
understanding of the language, to gel
the drift of. | saw one acrobatic was
contortionist-an American named
Fletcher-whom / have seen al
Kettles in Washington several times
And the orchestra PLAYED the High
School cadet march of Sousa which ]
have marched to so much in the states
1t sure sounded good to me.
The are many very beautiful women
here And the styles are something
exquisite. The @spring hats are out
and they look nice.
| saw a lot of young Frenchmer
who were just drafted on the last
draft, leaving in their civilian clothes
with full equipment for training for
service. That is a familiar sight, and
| am so sick of seeing soldiers of all
nations. including Russians and Ger