Lexington dispatch-news. [volume] (Lexington, S.C.) 1917-1919, 1919-05-28
SOLDIERS LETTER.
st. Nazaire, France.
May II 1919

DeCS' OF the family are plOuO VI 1ilO.
also should be proud Of the fact that
/ I as your son was one among the
many other khaki clad boys who did
their part or bit rather to make the
| world safe for democracy also to man
1t fit place in which to live, altho
| I'll admit that the part which 1 played
| in this war was indeed small beside
the parts of some of the lads which
came over here to this war stricken
country. and fought, were wounded
tsuffered and died that we might be
free from the rulings of the crowned
head OF Europe and from the hands
of Europe and from the hands of
autocracy which tried so hard and
failed to gain profitable footing.
| Possibly the way in which I started
this will not appeal to you, but I hope
S.
AS this is known and regarded as
Mothers Day with the boys Of the
A E F the Commander in chief Cen
eral Pe>shing has issued a request
that all the boys in France write a
nice long letter to his mother, "those
of us who are so lucky as to have one
living.s so I have started with that in
view. so bear with me in patience un
til you have finished reading this let
ter. will do my best to make it inter
esting to you. I have just returned
from a sixty-four mile trip which I
enjoyed at the expense of the Y M c
A we left st. Nazaire at about $50
this morning in an automobile, we
went out through a. little town called
Monitor, then to Don, Chateau, then
to Calvary where we stopped for about
an hour and took in a reproduction
Of the. birth. crucifixion, burial and
ascension Of Christ which I will eX-
plain more fully in another part Of
this letter.
After we left Calvary we went to-
another city called Guerande or the
walled city, this city has rock wall
about thirty feet high and ten feet
wide and all around it on the outside
of this city is another city but am un-
able to give you the name Of it, we
spent about an hour and a half here
and ate dinner which consisted of
two eggs. one slice of bread and a
small piece of butter it cost us three
francs and twenty five centimes which
is about sixty five cents in american
money. that's paying for two eggs isn't
it everything is that way over here
high as the mischief. From Guerande
we went to Ia Baule and stopped
there for about forty minutes, that is
the prettiest town which I have been
in since I have been over here, it is
big summer resort where goodly
number of the more we'll to do French
people go to spend their summer va
cations. they have a very fine bathing
beach there from La Baule we headed
again for st. Nazaire arriving at five
o'clock. that was certainly nice trip
and wish that you could have been
with me. also papa and the rest of the
family.
Now we will go back to Calvary,
this is only a small village, there is
very beautiful catholic church there
is also what is known as a monastery
a place where young men and boys are
brought up more or less in seclu-
sion and are taught to be catholic
triests On the grounds about this
church monastery is a reproduction of
the life of christ from his birth TO the
ascens::.,n the figures used are about
life size. starting from his birth in the
manger we have a figure Of the Bles-
sed virgin Mary sitting down holding
the christ child. Joseph is standing be
side her, I failed 70 state that this
work has not been completed. so the
next thing which we come to is where
Christ has been tried and sentenced |
to be crucified, next is where he starts
on his way to his place Of crucifixion
carrying the cross at regular intervals
there are figures of him carrying the
cross showing where he fell each time
then we come to the mount which the
crucifixion took place, the first fig
ures show where he is being nailed
to the cross, next is where he is hang
ing up on the cross between the two
thieves next we come to-
where he. is being taken from the
cross. next where he is being put in !