The Springdale news. [volume] (Springdale, Ark.) 1887-1990, 1919-04-18
With the
Colors
FROM DALE PETROsS.
= = =

following most interesting let
raceived by Mrs. Carrel Hol-
from her cousin, Dale Petross'
bTo0N' now in Germany. Mrs. Hoi-
|no : i living at Spring Valley;
|sprooh h..oicb Germany, March Ia, 1919,
IT, o'r Own Little cousin;- | received
81 10y 49, Yesterday from you and Aunt
les'N and Artie Fitch that you folks
q .J written way last October so
Is pau va our mail is awful slow, that
n ~ when you had first come home
# a. tbo west. | also got letter
run 4a.dav from Artie and Aunt Lissie
We. rzere written some time IN Feb
'i''s 80 YOU see these came sooner
n .p ua The one that you wrote. Vera
'"@ ., certainly done know how glad |
-. 70 qet your letter even If 1t was
4 - lone coming. | have wondered
Il = " wondered why you did not write
- ne when | wanted to hear from
q Won 50 badly l wrote you and Car
u 81 long letter when | first came
.,ss ia France and you were still
Ia Fleur. Washington but | don't
n .,,nnose YOU got it as so many letters
Ia DELAYED and destroyed when
q .oss;no the waters | know don't get
j ono half of my mail and | don't sup
nose that you folks get half of what
sord home, for | write letter to
uncle John or aunt Lissie every week.
\ yon see there IS 50 much red tape con
neeted with oar letters, they all have
- no censored and read by our officers
a,9 if every thing isn't written just
riobt and if we tell anything that we
skopdnt they destroy our letters.
Well Vera, | will try and tell you
some Of the things that | have been
through with since | left home. |
went from home to st. Louis from
there to Camp Funston, Kansas where
we STAYED for four weeks and | think
that was tle HoSt HAoti an i0"t
weeks that have ever put in in my
life, that is getting used to the army
Uays and regulations, well we went
from Camp Funston to Camp Mills,
that is on Long Island just out side
Of New York City. We stayed here
for one week making final prepare
tons to sail We finally got on the
beat. the name Of It was, CORONA, and
there were five thousand soldiers on
this boat and all of our equipment and
| tell you We were crowded in this
beat like sardines packed In a box.
We were two weeks crossing the
ocean did not get sea sick at all,
but got awful tired and worn out be
fore we got across, being packed IN
50 tight made it tiresome, We were
not allowed to pull our clothes off IN
all this two weeks we were SO afraid
Of being sunk by submarine and
we did not get hardly anything to eat
and no sleep so | was almost all III
when we landed in Liverpool. Eng
land. We stayed in Liverpool two
days and took the train across Eng
land to Southampton and stayed
there one day and night and then we
took another boat across the English
Channel, We were on this boat all
night and landed in La Haure, France,
the next morning and stayed for two
days in this place. OF all the places
this place was one of them. All the
men had gone to war and the women
were dong the mems work and there
We're people here that we're actually
starving to death The women would
do any thing on earth for a piece of
Dread or some thing to eat and the
httle children would stand around
~here we were eating and beg for just
one bite, but we were not allowed to
give them any thing to eat | would
nave much rather given what | had
~ " the Gflfldren imam To nave
seen them suffer so and cry for it.
we stayed at that place for two days
,heh went on to a little village in
Northern France. it was about 25
miles back Of the front line trenches
mere we put in six long weeks of
drilling We drilled almost day and
night Sometimes on still nights or
mornings we could hear the big can
nuns roaring on the front and in the
eaS time sometimes a German aero
H.''ie would come over where we
"eie drilling and we would have to
,.''e out IN the woods to keep them
nm lihdlng us and shooting at us.
Inc French people at this place were
m, =, oetter than the one at La Haure.
r"eS seemed to have more to eat.
ne women did all the work for all of
.ae men and boys that we're able had
a9ne % war We stayed in this place
H' the last of July, then we went
9''o The front line trenches. We
f 20 INTO the trenches and stay
=, ten days and then we would come
~ -, ana rest for ten days. We did
- .s Up until the 18th of September,