Carthage courier. (Carthage, Tenn.) 1913-current, 1919-03-13
LETTER CONCERNING DEATH
OF HORACE HALE WEBB

La Guerche st. Pambois (cher.) J.
January 21st, 1919.
Dear Madam:-You will excuse me
if take the liberty of writing to you
/ have not the pleasure to know you,
same as / don't know your country
am French interpreter attached to.
the American army. / have been at
tached after the 402 Telegraph Bat
talon came in France, to this organ
ization. Then I had the pleasure to
know your dear son, Horace. You will
forgive me if / write about some one
you have lost, and if then l revive
youHsarea sadness but I thought I
had teAwrite.
Excuse my language perhaps not
always English, but l am French
soldier, and / have never been to Eng
land or to United States.
l have met in August your son, and,
rapidly, we became very good friends.
Very often, for not saying always,
we were together. have done with
Y the greatest pleasure, always my best,
J to give him enjoyment in a country
of which he did not know the people,
or the customs either.
Very often when he was not on du-
ty, we have been together from place
TO another visiting towns and so forth.
On the Bird, first Sunday of Novem-
Der, by a nice weather we went from
il-Chattel Cote d'Or) where was the
belleting, to DIXON. We had very good
time together. We came back in the
afternoon. The day after, it was very
cold and raining. He went on duty
all around the town.
Tuesday night he told me he was
not very well. He went then to the
Medical Department, which sent him
to hospital with a fever of 104.
Several days after he asked to see
me, as / could not go before on ac-
count of my duty He seemed at this
time to get along fine-so fine, that
/ really thought he would be back soon
again with the Co. We spoke long
time together about the war, which
was going well at this time, and by
his request l told him / would come
the day after.
Busy once again, could not go, and
/ went only two days after. He SEEM
ed to be asleep. l looked at him and
i saw he was not.
"How do you do, boy?" was my
question. He looked at me and seem
ed to be not well at all. He answered,
"Not very well today" Then l think
he was not conscious, as he spoke to
me about an operation.
/ was so astonished that ! saidy
"Cheer up, the armistice is signed,
you will be back soon with your folks"
EMO, John, 1 am too bad. l don't
think will ever be back home" Then
he seemed to be too tired. / left him
with perhaps the impression he was
not so bad, that he would say, and the
hope to see him once again and better.
In the night he died.
/ am the last one to whom he spoke,
and | have been so much sad of this
visit and death that during several
days / had the impression it was a
bad dream. / am still under this i'm
preston when write about him. /
liked him so much that / regret him
more than a friend, just like brother
/ shall say, if you let me say so.
/ can't find expressions in your
language which could give you an
idea about that. 1t would be in my
own language-it would not be the
same certainly.
What / can say is that l have been
on the front for long time before
being attached to the American army.
l have seen many men who have fal-
len. MY father died from this war.
NV 1st cousin, End Lieutenant in the
Air Service, % years old, who was for
me like my brother, as hew alone,
very young, and then was taken by
my mother, Ikea son, has been killed
on the 26th-of Jan'y 1918. His brother
q
health last November. have seen
and endured many things, but really
have never been so sorry when we
learnt the death of your boy. So
young, so kind, who came to our coun-
try and died so far from his folks in a
strange country-the day of the arm
istice- the day of our victory.
Be sure that l viii never forget him
The day after / went to dispose a
bunch of white flowers on his grave
and to tell him the last goodbye be-
fore moving to another place.
However l thought that as 9
Frenchman ought to take myself
disposition as somebody could take
4, care of his grave situated on my soil
AkIOam glad to say, Dear Madam, that
your boys grave will ne'er be forgot
ten.
Madame Quenot at Til-Chattel
(Cote d'Or) has had the kindness to
accept the charge of his grave. YOU
can write to her. She speaks Eng
lish. not much, but sufficiently / be-
heve to understand.
This lady has seen Horace otter
with me and then she is not quite g
stranger. She now makes arrange
ment with some $1,000 that l have
sent from the friends of your boy. AS
soon as she will have done everything
she will send me photo OF his grave
Then, anyhow, somebody will always
attend to your boy.
Now it is another thing / ought tt
say.
At the beginning of the war wher
many of our departments have beer
Aoverloaded by the Huns army, lot
of French soldiers became miserable
as they had then lost their family
Then our people who were not so much
suffering have taken on them the care
of these soldiers, and some ladies anC
girls taking the qualification OF
''Godmother," sent them money o.