The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-01-24
LETTERS FROM Thu:
BOYS IN ARMY CAMPS

Attorney and Mrs. Thomas Hughes
are IT. receipt OF the following letter
from their son Burton Hughes, who
has been in France:
France, January IA, 1919.-Dear
Folks: Long before this letter reach
es you you will hear of our return to
the United States. 1t seems almost
too good to be true. How we hap
pened to be among the lucky few to
be sent home l don't know, but some
guiding star must have followed the
regiment since it's start. In year
and a half of it's existence we have
lost but four men, two killed in action,
two from disease, the only FLU" VIC
tim we have ever had died at sea a
few days ago. May our record be as
good when we hit the states and un-
til we are mustered out. ! wrote my
last letter December 81. Then it
looked as though we were stuck at
Pontanezau Barracks near Brest for
an indefinite time and that same
night at about $3.50 the bugler blew
officers call and we knew that we
had orders to sail within forty eight
hours. So we spent busy but very
happy New Years eve and New
Years day. January 2, we marched
into Brest-five kilometers and
boarded harbor boat that took us
out to the cruiser st. Louis adm that
afternoon we sailed ard that night
will go down in my history as the
most miserable that / ever spent. A
storm was raging outside. and the
old tub jumped up and down-side
ways and slantways-I lost my din
ner straightway and barely got out of
the way of the two officers rooming
with me. We all-every one on ship
board / guess spent bad night and
a worse next day ard next day. Then
the storm began to moderate and by
the time We reached the Azores the
sea was fairly calm. 1t has been get
ting calmer ever since until today
the surface is as placid as any mill
pond The weather too has been
warm. During the most of last week
we loupged around without coats
ard bare headed / had no idea that
the middle of the Atlantic in January
was so nearly tropical Our voyage
except. for the first few days storm
has beer most uneventful not even
submarines to look out for. We passed
a steamer bourd for France the other
day. That is the only thing we saw
on the way back. Our wireless keeps
us informed as to the world at large.
For each morning at the breakfast
table is little printed sheet with
wireless news.
Also they get their orders by wire
less now telling when and where to
dock. We are to be at Ambrose
Channel light ship thirty miles out of
New York at a. M, and expect tc
dock in the Navy Yard at Brooklyn
ut 10 a. m. Very probably we viii
be ordered to Camp Mills to rest ur
a week or so and then be sent tc
Camp Lewis to await rehabilitation
We all hope to be home by March !
at the latest. However, until we get
ashore and see how the land lies rs
one can tell. So have asked aMrie
to make no plans till we know.
We are not looking as spick and
span as when we left the states. The
uniforms are faded ard patched am
the overcoat also, left my locker
trunk in Bordeaux with practically
all my good clothes IT, it onis-lo find
that the French couldn't get it ur
to Brest in three weeks-hence We
all had them shipped to New York
by express. 1t will cost us fortune
to get them there too guess
Our stay at Brest was not one OF
the unmixed joy. The camp just out
side the city was of course on the
peninsula jutting out into the Eng
lish channel and exposed to all the
wind and rain on earth. 1t rained at
least once every single day we were
there. Often it would rain six OF
eight times a day. A storm would
blow up and it would rain and blow
for an hour-then few minutes
rest and another storm would follow
We were kept in tents that leaked
They had been erected in the middle
of plowed field and of course
streets of any sort were almost i'm
passable. Mud and water stood hall
way up to ones kTtees anywhere in
:, camp.
In our company street l stepped
over the tops of my boots several
times. l had the unique distinction OF
getting stuck in the mud and having
to be pulled out on my way up to
Regimental Headquarters one day
And we couldn't get anything sto bet
ter conditions. They had nothing to
offer. in the way of boards or. rock
and they wouldn't issue us shovels &c
dig bitches down the street to helI
the drainage little, the boys had q
few German shovels that they were
taking home as souvenirs and we
rounded them up and at last dug q
shallow ditch that helped little
They fed us ir Troop Kitchens
where the food was poor I've. seer
|, lots of mud but Eever so plentiful
and never so smelly and dank as thai
mud, ar.1 if an outfit complained the
commanding officer put them bach
thirty days on the sailing list. The
. wonder to me is that we didn't loose
half our men of "1u" right there. Il
our democratic administration would
spend less time censoring unfavor
able rews ard more time betterins
conditions they would corfer won.
derful favor on the American sol
. der. Nothing got the mems goat sc
. much as to lay around in that mut
and read articles on the wonderful
camps that the war department hat
created cover seas"-said article!
approved and put out by George
Creel and his committee of publ,
TryI-. 60. Il,