The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1919-03-12
LEO HAMMOND
WRITES A VERY
INTERESTING LETTER
OTHER LOCAL BOYS ALSO WRITE
TELLING or HAPPENINGS IN
LAND OF TROUBLES.

LAND OF TROUBLES.
Leo Hammond, local boy who
gave promise throughout his life In
this city as being good timber for
most anything else other than hight
er. writes the following interesting
letter to his mother, Mrs. VIM. Evans.
! Leo was always one of the quiet boys
of the city, but evidently rough SOL
der stuff and war tactics have made
him just about as lively as any Of the
Oct. %, 1918.
Dear Mother:
Once again take my pencil in hand
to write to you This has been an
ideal day and tonight is a starry
night. hope the old moon doesn't
come up. Why? Because the
Dutch planes like to come over too
well. In fact nearly every moon
light night they come over and drop
their tail gate we call it. One night
he dropped bombs within a hundred
yards of me. | sure have no love
fer bombs.
/ forgot to tell you that shells have
come that close too. | really don't
think Germans would shell or bomb
hospital on purpose. They sure
have had lots of chances to get ours.
/ am in another dugout now. 1t
sure is some place. 1t is about the
size of our sitting room in Belding.
There are eight of us sleeping in it.
In the middle of the floor is a trap
door. Underneath there are steps
leading down about 80 feet then a
passage leads away back under the
hill. | feel pretty safe away under
there.
Oh, say, just had chance to try>
that hole. Old Fritz just came over
and tripped his tail gate. Well this
is to be another pleasant night. /
think we will keep that trap door
hot. We sure are brave bunch.
Well, | just did my washing todav.
The clothes look good too. / put the
clothes in boiling hot water. Then
wash with a rigging made of a can.
We took tin can and punched lot
of holes in the bottom then we nailed
handle on the can. That makes
good washing machine.
i | am some tailor, too. just hem
med up my raincoat and put belt
across the back. | also hemmed the
overcoat up too.
Say / am a proud possessor Of
gold service stripe. One more is all
/ want. We get one every six months
we are over here. Let me tell you
year is enough here for me. I
would like to be home on my birthday.
/ Oh, say, one of the boys wanted
me to tell you about Mr.. Joy. He
is quite brave so he thinks when
Fritz comes over. Well a little
while ago we thought we heard Fritz
SC Joy says II must go out and see."
Well. he just got outside when Fritz
cut loose with several bombs. Mr.
JOY ran in almost breathless and said
BOYS, let's go down in the hole as
quick as we can" Well we did but
it was so funny because he was so
brave at first and he was the second
man down the hole. He sure was
scared. | can't describe how it is but
when it's pitch dark and you hear the
hum Of Fritz right over you while
bombs are dropping all around you
can't help being scared. Shells are
bad but bombs are awful. You can
almost tell where the next shell is
going to land but in the dark you new
er can tell where bomb will light.
| An aerial torpedo makes a hole
something like 80 feet wide and 1S
feet deep. Another thing to fear is
the machine guns on the planes and
the anti-aircraft guns. The anti-air-
crafts shoot at the enemy planes. You
see the shells burst in the air and the
| pieces fall all over the ground. One
night we go TO patient with a piece
of shrapnel through his head. His
brains were running out. No, he
didn't live over half an hour. That
| is why | like TO be under cover.
Well / have told you enough of the
! horrors of war. | am real well and
uglv as ever.
| Mother you remember once asked
you if you could tell on the map
where | was? Well ! was at Cha
teau-Thierry. Believe me |, am a
long ways away from there now.
Mother, can you imagine what our
government is going to do for us?
Well, as soon as we can go we can
have a seven day furlough. The
seven days don't start till we get to
the rest camp and our railroad fare
plus board bills are paid. We also
are given money for tips. / thi~'
it's dollar day. Isn't that great?
/ can hardly wait till we get time to
go.
Our sick cook and mess sergeant
hasn't returned vet. We have an
acting cook and mess sergeant. The
sergeant is sure great.
Well, old Fritz is coming back so
| am going to close Tell me if this
letter is cut up any when you get it.
Write soon to your loving son,
Cook Leo w. Hammond.
125th Field Hospital, 107th Sanitary
Train, A. f. F., France.
| y, Swell. it's morning and I am
still here. I have just mended a
fatigue suit, shaved and taken bath,
Frank Crystler, of good old Irish
Continued on page four)