The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-07-06
German Prisoner on Being
Released Brings In His
Brother
WEST DUMMERSTON
BOY WRITES HOME
Private Phillips Tells Of Capture of
$50 Germans Out of 800 Who Came
over Top-Has Been at Front About
Five Months.

Among the most interesting letters
that have come from France to this sec
tion since the United States entered the
war are two recently received by Mrs.
James A. Phillips of West Dummerston
from her son, Private Walter j, Phillips
of the l0lst L. s. engineer train. Pri-
yate Phillips and his younger brother,
whom he speaks of in his letters as Dick,
latter's granite quarry in West Dunn
merston. He also worked for time in
the Grant quarry in Vernon, The two
brothers went to Lowell, Mass, became
members of the Massachusetts National
Guard, were employed by the United
States Cartridge Co. and enlisted from
Lowell in the National army. The
younger brother is in the l0lst infantry,
and the two see each other occasionally.
The two last letters from Private Walter
j. Phillips follow:
Dear Mother:
Received letter from you last night. |
wrote TO you few days ago and told
you about seeing Dick. He was down
al Oht blNtihobHs anu was Abphihk
fine. Well we have lot to do up ON
this front, We get a good paper over
here, telling MS all about the war, and
that is all il does tell us 1t is only
printed for the soldiers.
get some papers from Lowell, Mass,
and they quite often tell about fights we
have with the Huns. There was one fight
in particular in which the Lowell paper
stated we got the best of the Huns, but
that was wrong. as we did not The pa
per state lots of things like that, but
we did get the best of them the other
night. We had caught a Hun spy, and
lac told us that the Germans were coming
over the top the next night.
Every man was on his job, and sure
enough they came. The instant they fired
the first shot our barrage was there be.
fore they had time to let the second one
go. Eight hundred of them came over
and only $50 of them went back On this
front, our caspaltesbaFa mgst4o1Yqpndef
men.
There was a terrible barrage last night
but not on the front where Dick is. They
are firing right now at Hun plane over
head, but he is so high we can only see
him once in a while. Day before yester
day there were nine Hun planes brought
down, and week ago, on a Sunday and
Monday. 81 Hun planes were brought
down inside of 4S hours.
They say the Germans have lot of new
iliers, but they are not very good, that
rs how we get so many of them But the
Germans have new plane now, and one
OF our tliers came in contact with it. Our
captain fired 300 rounds, then fell. An.
other of our fiiers tried it and fired as
many shells as the first one, but it made
no impression on the Hun plane We
will get something to fix them yet.
The Germans are coming right along
They are in the same place as we were
in up at the other front They made the
drive just as we left, but this is bac
front, too. 1t was quiet for a few days
but night before last and last night they
put over big barrage, and the old thin
is going on yet. / just wish you could
see the ground when it is going on, anC
after it is over
We had 30 go through one the othe
night IL was on both sides of the roaC
we were travelling on. and oyer our heads
There were lot of big guns out in
field, that was what the Germans wer,
after.
| don't think / will ever like thi
country, it is too far behind the u. S. il
all ways. Everything is done by hand
All the people are out in the fields work
ing but they are all women, no men AN
less old men, and the women have t,
work hard. 1 would like TO see some o
our American girls out in the fields like
the French are over here. suppose the!
would do il il they bad to, but they dom
have to yet
There is a Salvation Army here will
MS. and there are three American girl
with them. They are five miles benin,
the lines. hope You are all well at home
Love 10 all from
WALTER