The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1919-02-07
CLYDE BOYCE ON BATTLE FRONT
WRITES AN INTERESTING LETTER.
Was in the Famous Ninety First
Writes His Father After Censor
Ship Was Raised.

Smp was Raised.
The following letter was given to
the Echo by Mrs. Fred. Sanger, sister
of Clyde, who enlisted from Leav-
enworth in 1918 and was fortunate
enough to get over in time to get into
the big fight. The letter was written
to his father, who resides at Grinnell,
Iowa, and was forwarded to Mrs. San
ger:
La Valbonne, Ain, France,
Nov. "a, 1918.
Dear Dad have been waiting for
a long time for permission to write
this letter and at last it has arrived.
Or, in other words, the strict censor
ship rules are null and void at last.
/ am permitted to write a real letter
Also, the date is important as it is
designated as the date for the Amer
lean Expeditionarv Forces to write
to Dad" And by the way the papers
talk they agree to deliver it to you
by Christmas. So you see this letter
ought to be the best one / have written
and if it isn't it will be because
haven't any skill at letter writing.
l think a good beginning would be
to start in at New York because this
is where we hit the first jumping off
place. The date was July 4th, and
was an absolutely different Fourth
of July" We boarded a transport
named the "Scotian," which was
British boat with an English crew, and
our troubles commenced. We laid at
the dock for day and when we moved
out we found ourselves in company
with fifteen boats that were as large
or larger than ours. There were sixty
thousand troops in the convoy so you
see the responsibility of the men-of-
war was pretty big.
The food was awful and at the time
l thought it couldn't be much worse,
but there came a time when even the
poorest of it would have been well
coined. We were thirteen days on the
high seas and had to wear life pre-
servers all the time. There was no
need, either, because in all our voyage
we didn't have even a scare.
The trip was a long one but we don't
dread the return trip because it will
take only half the time. You see they
changed the course so many times
that it doubled the length of the trip.
Well, at last we steamed into the
Clyde river, passed the submarine nets
and then we put away our life preserv-
ers. Had to wait for the tide and in
the afternoon we were taken in tow
by tugs and headed up the river.
Glasgow is thirty miles up the river
and l never saw so many steel ships
in the process of building. We didn't
have an opportunity of visiting Glas-
gov as we were under quarantine. 1t
looked queer, tho, because everything
seemed so quiet. Of course it was the
first foreign city we had encountered
and that accounted for it.
The hills even were different, and |
know that the idea that received that
it had taken centuries to make every
thing look so permanent. Even the
hedge fences looked as tho grand
father had planted them and son and
grandson had cared for and pruned
them. | also imagine the hills of the
United States will look wild when I
see them again.
Well, we boarded dinky little
train the next morning and started
south and then it was that / received
another surprise. l found that it could
travel even tho it didn't look like it
was built for speed. l have forgot
ten the names of the various cities We
went thru but will be able to recall
them with the aid of map.
This trip carried us to Southampton
where we again boarded boats and
crossed the English channel, landing
at Havre, France. Our next trip
found us loaded into box cars. We
thot this a pretty poor way to travel
hut now we prefer them to third class
carriages. In box car one may
stretch out on the floor while in the
third class carriages one has to sit up
all the time.
This trip carried Us behind the Toul
sector and we went into training for a
couple of months. Our company was
billeted in the town of Is En- Bassigny
which is near Chaumont, Province of
Haute Marine.
We worked hard here and the hours
were long. | left the company the
23rd of August and went up to Con
drecourt to attend the First Army
Corps school for month. This was
the best school l have ever attended
unless the one | am at now proves
to be better.
| finished at Gondrecourt on Sep
TENDER 21st and joined my company at
Aubreville. We moved every night
from then on and on the night of the
L