The diamond drill., 1919-03-15
|
+ !
Horchheim. Germany.

Lear FRIEND.
Well, We are still keeping the watch |
on the Rhine. II is just two months |
today since we arrived here. How the |
time does drag by. All we talk about |
and wonder at is, when are we going
tc be sent home, and some lively dis
courses take place as 10 our port OF
embarkation and the probable date OF
departure.
Germany as she looks to us must
be "allus caputo" in their own langu-
age. They lack nourishing food and
great many people are sick from this
cause. I have noticed their locomo-
tives and cars on their railroads that
go by here and they are an awful
bunch Of junk. The old leaky locomo-
tives can hardly make the grade here.
The people here use us pretty good,
but, like to argue over the war. But
when we tell them OF some OF the
things their soldiers did, they say,
1T cannot be soi your press has fooled
you"
or course their press tells them on
ly the truth. ! noticed in an issue Of
Leslies' some photographs OF some
old castles on the Rhine which were
very strongly fortified. have visited
some OF them and they are only old
ruins and mostly unfit for any kind of
fort.
Fort Erinbreltstein at the junction
of the Rhine and Mosel rivers, is just
one-fourth mile down the river from
here, and is located upon high cliff
However, this fort is manned by the
Americans just now.
am receiving my Diamond Drill
regularly, and II is big comfort to
get II. | suppose most of the boys
from training camps back in the
states are home again. Well, / hope
/ will be that lucky soon
noticed in our daily paper the
last few days that there is big howl
over the issue OF silver chevron for
the boys in the states that served six
months, and the gold one issued to the
A. f. f. soldiers for six months SER
vice over seas.
Well, | guess the following extract
taken from one of our daillys will tell
them what the Third Army thinks of
it:
Chicago Tribune News Serv.
Coblenz, Feb. s.
Just a few invisible waves over
the wireless today turned the first
real cold snap of this winter
on the Rhine into the warmest day
in the experience OF the army of
occupation. Before the sun start
ed this morning to warm the fam
Gus valley the mercury reached
degrees about zero, Fahrenheit.
1t was the minimum temperature
officially recorded by the army and
went TO prove that, like MI wealth
er experts. the German who said
January was the coldest month on
r the Rhine, was as unbelievable as
n the average prognosticator.
To the man on guard on the
= ships bridge or on the heights of
Ernbreitstein it was a mighty cold
= day. But, before long, everything
- changed. In almost the number
OF seconds that il takes to tell 1t
the wireless picked up a message
= that a congressional committee at
: Washington had voted unanimous
," ly TO recommend against the use
- of service stripes OF any type.
The message went on to say that
the stay-at-homes, after having
/, received recognition of their de-
mands for some sort of a service
TO emblem in the form of silver bar
on had protested that the award OF
of golden bar to the man overseas
OF constituted discrimination, and
i'll therefore, the congressman in
,ir their might, had determined to do
away with the whole thing.
se That the coldest day grew warm
es was evidenced by the torridity un-
he der the collar experienced by al
rel most every man in the army Of oc-
W cupation. from the ranking officer
he OF the unit down to the humblest
pc doughboy And this in brief is
an. the answer OF the army OF occupa-
ct tlon. the veterans who stock the
brunt OF the lighting and, as we
ar say, the men who won this war.
lgs Certainly, cancel the service stripe
.ba 20 eatisfv tho chair warmers nj hom