Norwich bulletin., 1919-05-06
EARLE L. SPARKS FINDS
 HOME BOYS IN GERMANY


 office Monday Earle L. Sparks, young CT son of Mrs. Albert A. Sparks of F,airmount street, Norwich, writes: Weitersburg, Germany. April 13, 1919.
 Yours of March 22d received on April 10th. Today is Palm Sunday, but the palms the natives use here look more like buncn of skunk cabbage in com- Parison with those we have in the states.
 here last Thursday and Friday, but haven [ heard how many men re- enlisted. Have read in the Stars and Stripes that as soon as enough men haTo enlisted in the states for the A. ot Q. 7he ncn over here, i. e., N. G. and duration c: tho war men, will be sent home and discharged. The home of the Second division has been at Syracuse, N. Y, but the papers say that the Second will 80 to Camp Dodge, Iowa, but I do not believe the Second will go home as unit for at least IS months.
 On April 1st the e. M. c. took over all '. M. c. 4. canteens and now we have a comnlissary here. One can get 1 all kinds Ui biscuits and cookies in packages. hard candy drops and stick candy, gum, cigarettes pipes and to- hacco, and other things too numerous i to mention.
 We are on the road now with a new show, Echoes from Broadway. Last ! Thursday night we showed to the 17th ] F. A. at the fort atop the hill at Ehren 1 heritStein. This is one of the Rhine | land forts to be demolished according to Marshal Foeh. It is most formid- able looking place, approached only by 1 long, steep, winding road, on botf l sides of which is high wall from one to five feet thick built of solid rock and | concrete. Every few hundred wards one enters long tunnel and crosses z i drawbridge, under which is a deer moat. There are all sorts of tunnel: and secret passageways in the fort The roofs of most of the buildings ars ! covered with three or four feet of eartf and grass, vines, etc, which make z fine camoufage against aerial observa | ton. We were told that the fort coul( easily accommodate 50.000 men, and don't doubt it, as the interior run. away into the hill. On the very top O l the fort there is a large drill ground: and the view from there is perfectl, wonderful. The city of Coblenz is jus across the river; the buildings lool like toy houses and the people like ant. running around in search of food ! Some of the men from this battalion
 
 l course in automobile maintenance ant I construction. Last Tuesday evenins we showed for the Fifth marines a Schloss Monrepos, one or two com l panies being stationed there The tow1 belonged to the krupps and contains ; ! fine castle which is said to be 1.S0 I years old. The marines are billited i, | a large building which was used as . E hunting lodge. There are many skins | antiers, etc. on the walls with tn "ame of the hunter and the date of tn kill. The castle has always been oc cupied by the Prince of Weld. Tn princess was there that evening. wa | in the kitchen Of the castle; it con .i sists of three large rooms, we'll eduip ped and sootless as far as cleanlines is concerned. Peter, the butler, said h had been there for 30 years. He wa II dressed in light blue coat white shir and collar. blue tie, white trousers an, looked pretty chic. as did the maid i also.
 i So far we have showed at the fol lowing towns: March 31. Vallendar a 23d Inf. field hospital, April ], Hauser :! ,.7th G., 9th marines; April 3. Mels l bach, 9th marines, NJ, (. Co.,; April < Wollendorf, 10th F. A; April 5. Datz !, erath, 5th marines, M. c. O.; April [ Rosshach, 5th marines: 3. Sehl. Monre pos, 5th marines; April g, Fingers, 2t :, engineers, two shows; April 10, Ehren .. heitste;n. 17til r, A.; April II, Wald hreithach, 9th marines
 Reports have come into battalion headquarters from division headquar. tePs that we have one of the hes shows in the division One of the Y M. C. A. men said the two best show, in the division were the Sixth marine. and Fifth N. c. Bn. It is much easier as anyone can see, to get more talen from regiment than from one battal ion. After finishing this division tn, best shows will he formed into league and tour the other divisions il the A of 0. and the S o. & At pres ent the orchestra consists of only twt violins and q piano, but now we hay, drums, traps. clarinet, trombone. cello. and as soon as we get a corne will have a real orchestra The frs sergeant of A company is a 'ceI.ist ant played professionally in the states W have sent to Paris fer orchestrations The baseball season in the Seeon, division opened April 10th and vii close July 18th. Theer are two league in the division. the nationals and tn Americans.
 In my letter to you of Feb. 5th asked if there were any other Norwic
 men in the A. of o, I know now c
 four. I was told there was one, Will
 fred Sage, in Go. E. 23d Inf, statione
 at Vallendar. but who was in a hos
 pital at Revigny, France. I believe hi
 father used to work for The Bulleti
 and am quite sure I went to schoc
 with his brother and sister. Then las | week a fellow ill Co. named Ze from Bridgeport, Conn. Che and I ex
 change Norwich and Bridgeport pa
 pers) told me there is a fellow in c,
 A from Norwich named Sheen C
 Sheehan. I received card from Pv
 Walter $. Lumsden, 32d. Div, Q. \
 C., A. P. O., No. 734. stationed at bier
 dorf, Germany. He wrote me that r
 read my letter of Feb. 9th in The Bu'
 letin and so wrote me. he was in tf
 A. of O.. and that also Lieut. Leslie 7 Gager of Norwich was in the medic:
 corps at Trier, Germany. Received
 letter from friend while ago and |
 wrote he met Miss Hirsch on the No,
 wich-New London trolley and ths
 Miss Hirsch said they had a nephew i
 the 9th M. G. En-, and gave his nam so 1 guess it must be First Lieutenar
 Baylson of Co B., as the names al the same.
 Wouldn't be surprised If the batta
 ion left here within two or three week
 as l understand we are to take oy,
 positions vacated by the sgd when the l leave for Gods country
 Is it true they still have hatht,1I