Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-12

we just couldn't help thinking that If
our division hadn't been one of the
hrst over and hadn't made such
great REGARD for itself--of course, we
believe it the best division not only in
the American ARM, but in the world.
and we never did give a hang for the
German guards and tho "stormtrup-
pen'--we might be embarkng for
nome today i'll southern France or
living around some winter resort, in
stead of being out here going to-
ward the Rhine. They say it is the
greatest thonor they can give us,
but
And here comes Christmas. It's
only the first days of December but
christmas is in our heads, deep.
Everybody is sending home some
boche souvenir Some Of the fellows
round a lot of spiked helmets. These
articles were mighty scarce because
the hoche never used them at the
front. There were thousands in the
garrison towns of Alsace and Lor-
Taine, and we just lifted them.
iron crosses are for sale-20 francs
for the first-class with silver lining
they needed it-and second class ones
for about five, That beats taking
them off prisoners at 100. IuXenl-
burg has no souvenirs peculiar TO
itself. being half German and half
stores has been bought and is on
its way over to make your Christmas
happier
i: i
We're all writing letters to Dad.
The censor. thank heaven, has been
administered a gentle narcotic and
has been put to sleep officially. We
can tell GU everything now--all the
names OF the towns in the Luneville
and Baccarat sectors. the Menil-la
Tour front from the days of the LIST
took part in the Scissors Chateau
Thierry fight, not forgetting the
9TH Division which came in mighty
green from the states and fought
like the best of them, and a
make good reading. We tried to hint
at all these secrets, to get them by
the censor You remember we limited
at towns famous for certain historical
events, and we limited. at noun tains
and ATTITUDES and longitude5 and dis
tances from Paris. and we limited at
maps that lung in our private room
at home. and certain pages to look up
in certain OF our favorite books.
Sometimes YOU caught on. as your
next letters showed. More times you
must have thought we. were crazy or
shell shocked or something.
OF course we each expect our
Christmas box. and the poor devil
who don't get one will be sure out
of luck We expect one and we will
be tickled with it, but we hope YOU
haven't sent the things you sent last
year-neckties and pajamas and
jewclfy and other civilized things we
have learned to do without. The
commssary sells candy, but nine
times out of ten the supply is ex-
hauSted in an hour and most of us
get left Many of the fellows wrote
Dad to send candy only, All the
other things he could think of were
purchaSable here.
If your Christmas boxes come on
time they will make our holiday hap
pier than was Thanksgiving. Above
all else they viii give us something
to talk about, Cor ever since the big
show ended things have been mighty
dun with us. | suppose you viii be
discussing our presents for days and
weeks just as we-did in that halcyon
period between the ages of four and
ten, that golden age when we were
always present at, or ourselves the
focus of. all that mattered and OK
cited.
Coblenz will have lost It's excite
ment by Christmas day. That is, if
things run true to form. When we
got into Tricr. on the LIST 1t was a big
day for us. We had just CROSSED over
from Luxembourg. which was tec',n-
ca1ly neutral, and the people In fact
were cordial. We didn't know what
the Germans might do Into Trier we
went four abreast and the Ahand play
Ing and we had all our flags, the ma :.