Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-09-07
JACK CARPENTER, Co.
c MEMBER, SUFFERS
broken EAR DRUM
CLARENCE GAGEL WRITES PAL Is
IN HOSPITAL NONE OTHERS
or COMPANY INJURED WHEN
LETTER WAS WRITTEN.

A letter from Clarence Gagel a
member of Company c., now stationed
in France, which was mailed on Aug
10Th, reports that at that time all the
Ottawa boys were we'll. and no one in
the Company from Ottawa or vicinity
had been In. .ured This word VIII be
received with great relief by the hun
dreds of relatives Of The boys making
up "Ottawas Own" who have been
anxiously awaiting for news from the
front
1t takes three days for letters to
make the trip from the front line
trenches to the pos. office, where they
are mailed and started on their home
ward voyage. so this letter was pro-
badly written on the evening of Aug
i6, The letter tells of John j. Car
penter, former we'll known Marselles
boy. suffering an accident which re-
allllaa in a broken ear drum. Young
Adt DEutttt NuO 10 lil VI pHhh wy anu
was raised on a farm near Marseilles
will be able to return to his Company
again The manner In which young
Carpenter received his injury was not
mentioned in the letter.
Somewhere in France
Mrs l.. Gagel, Ottawa, H.,
Dear Mother:
was just reading an Ottawa paper
dated June l1th, and some of the
new boys had something Il say about
the camp. In one piece Ed, Kelly said
he was doing quite a bit of travelling
and he liked it, I'll bet hes tickled
when he arrives in France. Old Co.
C., has the map of France on their
feet now, and Wen soon have the map
of Germany with it.
Some of the boys received papers,
and it said Germany was winning and
was gaining ground. but We have some
thing to say about that. The old Kat.
ser has sure struck stump. and he
can't get over it. The prisoners say
that they are toll the Kaiser has cap.
tured New York and was marching in
Philadelphia, some bunk All the Ger.
mans think they are winning. and we
have been knocking ------------ out of
Them all along the line.
am still in the snipe and scout
section, and we were put in Battery
H.Q. When wrote to you last | said
the Big Guns were keeping us awake.
Now wouldn't think of going to
sleep without them Jack Carpenter
went to the hospital with a broken
ear drum. That breaks our quartet
up for a while, and we sure have one
of the best in the regiment
can't tell you anything about the
war because 1t won't go thru the cen.
sor ! can tell you that the people are
moving back in their homes, those
that are still standing.
Talk about your. hard boiled gang
/ 'Du oh'hlu oCC IT, we are sIttplHe
tonight in weed and in a foot OF
mud Charley Sprague and I are
bunking together tonight and the best
part of it is mud or no mud, we sleep
and never say word
| just shook hands with Mike Loon
ey, the first time have seen him
since ] arrived in France. It won't be
long before we have our service
straps.
Howard Hampson was reading 4
piece In the paper about a tablet with
our names on It. We are talkine
about the times when we stood ant
read the names on that tablet in the
park and haa good laugh.
We had a few accidents in the Bat
only two in the Co, and no one II
Ottawa knew them, they are gettnl
along fine.
We have been telling each other al
a Joke to have our folks get gu
clothes cleaned for the New Year
ball. That's another of spragues IA
nous croaks
Well that's all | can say for thi
time. Hoping you get along alright.
am,
Your loving son,