Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1952-05-13
q OUR
"a TOWN
LETTER HOME

ETTER HOME
Many things of unusual
interest have happened in our
town. Now comes one of the
classic examples of all time.
Just a simple letter from a
soldier to his mother-but
what a letter!
This letter looks about like
any letter that a soldier would
write home. Same general
content and in T o m a tion
Same old free" in the upper
right-hand corner and every
thing. Here it is In its entirety
=. with necessary change in
layout to fit the column:
Dear Mother and All,
Just a few lines to let you
know that / am still well.
Here it is Sunday and won-
dering what everyone is do
ing at home. We are going to
have a real supper tonight.
Six of us have a French house
where we eat when not in the
trenches. Last night for sup
per we had rabbit, potatoes,
bread, butter, jam and choco-
late. Believe me it was good
after eating Army food. Now
don't think the Army food is
so bad. You see we have all
the things we want, even il it
is just plain food. / received
letter from Sis yesterday and
also from you. Tell Dad that
! got the picture he sent and
that Cyril received one of his
father taken on the L.H.S.
steps. The snow in the pic
ture only gives us slight
idea of its depth. Harry Leon
ard received some pictures of
London. One of the best was
the Post Office. AS to the
weather over here, the sun
has been out for the last few
days and believe me it feels
good. / received twenty four
cans of tobacco from Uncle
John. received all the boxes
from you except the eighteen
pound one. Well Mother there
is not much news. We were
in the trenches seven days for
the first time. 1t is not SO bad
as one would think. Although
the bullets sing around your
head, one gets used to it.
Don't worry about me. The
other day we had some fell
lows killed by playing with an
old shell. They were buried
yesterday. Well Mother I
must close. Write real soon
with all the news. / remain
as ever, Your loving son, Bob.
Like we said before this is
a more or less typical letter
from a soldier to his Nom.
The thing that sets THIS
letter apart is the fact that it
was delivered at 1876 East
High Street, London, Ohio on
May 7, 1852. The envelope is
marked free, air mail" and
bears the stamp of the u. S.
Army Postal Service number
SO and dated May 3. 1852.
In the upper left hand corner
is the name of Sgt. Robert
Jones, Co. c. 166th. A.E.F.
and THIS LETTER WAS
WRITTEN AND DATED
MARCH 10, 1918!
Think of it! A letter writ
ten by a soldier in France
during World War / and
mailed "a YEARS LATER!
Note: The letter was de-
livered to the home of Mr..
and Mrs. c. H. Smith who
now reside at 1876 West First
Street, London. AS nearly as
can be determined, Robert
Jones is believed to be living
in Indiana. The letter has
been forwarded to Mrs. Glenn
Summers of Midway mot in
Madison Co.. Ohio. Mrs. Sum-
mers is a sister of Mr.. Jones.
It is not known who found or
mailed the letter which was
written SO many years ago.
Best guess is that the letter
may have been mislaid or put
into a book where it was
probably found by some G. /.
who marked it Free. Air
Mail and mailed it at. the
nearest APO, The stationery
bears the familiar triangle OF
the Y.M.C.A. which many OF
our w. w. vets will remem-
ber SO well. Interesting, huh !?