The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-03-27
FROM ONE OF OUR
MARION BOYS IN FRANCE
France. Eel. 19th. I9I9.

Dear Henry: received your letter
yesterday and, OH boyl l was glad
to hear from you. That was the first
time since came to France wrote
you three or four times, and last De-
cember l had a letter from Mayme,
telling me where you were. so sent
you letter to Miami. 1t chased you
all the way to Camp Gordon and gave
up the chase there and came ON back
to France and i got it last night. This
letter is for you all, so you can read
it at the supper table when you get
it.
I'm sure glad you are at home and
have your discharge. Did you ever
get in the guardhouse? I'm sure you
didn't | haven't yet. don't know
when my ship will enter Brooklyn
harbor; hope it will be sometime soon,
as I'm anxious to see you all and tell
you what / know.
just got back from Paris yester-
day. Went there on leave for three
days and believe me. ! saw some Won
derful sights. / haven't gotten mar
ried TO any of the French girls yet,
but there is one near here that go to
see quite often. She is real nice and
always gives me good supper when
go there.
Well, old boy, you should have seen
me the first time went into the lines.
| thought it was all up, but Provi-
dence. iwiIled differently and / only
got a dose Of gas that put me in the
hospital for over a month. The first
place we went in the lines wasn't 30
bad and we stayed there q days be-
fore we came out TO get replacement
troops and go in again. We thought
we would get few days rest before
we went in again, but what did they
do but march us from Thiecourt TO
the Argonne. a = distance Of over
hundred miles. After we got there,
of course we were all tired out, for
we made about twenty miles every
night with our packs. We stopped two
days and waited for our reinforce
ments to come up. The day came
when we got orders to move forward
at o'clock that night. was with
Company /, 309th Infantry. We NOV
ed into the lines and relieved Com
pany G.. 305th Infantry of the 77th
division. They were along the road
in a cut just outside the village
of St. Jauvin. OF course. they had dug
in, but not very good. for that was
their objective that day and they
hadn't been there but half day. Al
soon as they came out of the little
holes and started to the rear. we took
our place in the same holes. 1t was
| raining (as usual in France and
about two or three inches Of water
and mud In the holes; some place to
lie in all night. but if you are wise no
one has to tell you to get In a hole,
no matter what's In it. The Huns
artillery was working like an Elgin
watch and lots Of his shells came dan
gerously close to US. put my shelter
half tent in the bottom of the hole
and my blanket over me; couldn't
sleep for it was raining in my face,
but / could lie there and rest. There
were three or four dead Germans
right near us. About four hours later
our captain came down the road and
told US to fall M with light packs,
emergency rations and entrenching
tools. We knew by that we were go
ing over after Fritzie. Company
went first. We had a time getting
through the barbed wire and had no
sooner got on our way across No
Mans Land than the Hun, opened UP
what seemed like couple of hundred
machine guns. / didn't care so much
for the little bullets; it was the can
non that got my goat. We reached our
objective about 12 O'Clock. but lots
of the boys never came back. We
got good many prisoners and ma
chine guns and / and ten or twelve
more near me were gassed.
Boy, you may feel sorry you didn't
come to France, but I'm glad you
didn't. ] can't begin to tell you all I've
been through. but am all right now
and tip the scales at 155.
/ Your brother, VIM. o. Parker,
Camp Hospital 3, A. z. r.