Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-02-07

First Glass Private Lester E. Hig-
gins. Medical Department, Camp Hos
pital IS, writes as follows to his I'M
Gle, William H. Hunt, Route S. Angus
ia:
Hello Uncle Bill:
have intended to write you for
long, long time and as this is Dads
day, after writing Dad l thought you
We're due for the letter l should have
written grandpa if he was alive.
Times have changed since your day.
What must have been the biggest
battle Of the civil war might have
sounded like a raid in this war.
have heard for days the roll of artil-
lery fire like the rise and fall Of dis
tant thunder, while at night the sky
was lighted with constant glow
like a forest fire. and there were
times back here that if the game
would actually hurt, due think to
the thrush of air which had been
blasted back for days. 1t was great
to be part of it even if never did
get up front and when they tell you
that American boys can't stand things
l know better for never did men meet
so heavy fire or return so heavy n
one up to the 18th of July as did those
fellows. and here is the reason. They
are Tie cieanes, living, and best cared
for fellows in the world.
1t is hard TO believe but it is so
that bread and it was white at that
followed those fellows to the front
and even when they were some of
them cut off from the nne of supply
chocolate and canned peaches, also
cartridges from the air to these men.
I know this to be SO as an aviator
told me and some Of the men to re-
ceive food this way tell the same also
Of getting the newspapers the same
way and time.
One days work Of the S. o. S. looks
like a grand review Of all the motor
cars and trucks in the world and yet
we can see only bit back of the
longest battle front that the world
ever saw. Go to sleep and dream of
all you have read about the Yanks
and you cannot begin to know what
they did.
Now just a bit about France as
saw it out of the war zone. We will
take AK lie Balm for example, the best
Of Southern France. In the foothills
Of the Alps (by the wa. they are
only a little higher than the White
Mts. and much the same). the climate
is about like Maryland and the side
hills one mass of fruit at the time
was there in September. grapes, figs.
apples. peaches. etc. Later they
would have a big crop of chestnuts.
The houses of stone or brick and
some Of the public buildings are 600
or 700 years old. A garden Of the
Gods. Uncle Sam paid our hotel bill
and in peace times the same would
have cost $500 to $500 day. Pretty
good old Uncle Sam after all.
Paris, that spells a Real Town and
Say l bet that you would have
been surprised to see the different
kinds Of water ? drank in my
"a hours and yet my head was clear
all the time.
Now about myself. It may interest
you to know l have got one or two
steps up the line. First came Private
first class then I got surgical assis-
tant. rating for X-ray work, so my
pay is $41.6O and am saving at least
$25 of this and have for the year and
some months over here. l have put
in my time and money into this game
having about $21O of war paper with
another bond am paying for. Now
l feel in doing this / have in some
way, to some extent made up for the
years l fooled away in the past, yet
my many jobs have made it possible
to meet the game at many points
where could be of more use than with
only one trade would have done.
Now Uncle Billy l am coming back
in my turn and hope to take up for
estry. re-forestry and better methods
II saving what We have. 1t may be
long. hard road, but l am coming to
do what can to help save the thing