Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 May 1918 — LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIERS [ARTICLE]

LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIERS

Harvey Phillips Writes From France John O’Connor of Kniman has received a letter from Harvey Phillips, who is in the U. S. naval aviation service sfhd at present stationed in France, which we are permitted to publish, together with Mr. O’Connor’s reply thereto: France, March 11, 1918. My dear Friend: — I will write to let you know 1 am doing my bit to get the kaiser. As you well know there was not enough ships for all the men in the navyj I was one of the many that were sent to this country for aviation duty. Of course, when one thinks of aviation, all he thinks of is something that is flying. So far our experience has been to make rocks and dirt fly. Our crew consists of eight men and officers, but our complement will he about 500 when to running full speed. We put~in a full day of ten hours and get three meals and when night comes it finds most of us in bed..

The grub is better perhaps than you had when you were in, and believe me there are none in camp suffering from lack of food. Our daily menu would be something like this: Breakfast-—Oat meal, fresh fruit, spuds, meat, bread, butter and coffee. Dinner —Meat, spuds, corn, string beans, jam, bread and coffee. Supper—Meat, spuds, green peas, bread, butter and coffee. Our meats consist of steak, pork chops, roast pork, roast beef, sausage and corned beef. Spuds are boiled with and without the jackets, mashed and fried. Yesterday we had French fried potatoes. Fruit consists of tinned apples, pears, peaches and prunes. That kind of grub is our regular eats the year round. Prices has nothing to do with it. I have been in the galley for the past three weeks and that means extra work. I had to get up at 4 a. m. and was on the go until 9 every night. But today I was rated storeroom keeper. The Y. M. C. A. is here and with it comes a good place to write and read. The “Y” was fine at home but here it can’t be beat. They gave us boxing gloves, base nails, bats, basket balls, indoor baseballs and lots of other athletic equipment. We get the Paris editions of several States papers and by that means we can see what is going on •in the outside world. You people sure have had a bad winter with plenty of snow and cold weather, besides the coal famine. I suppose most all have observed the wheatless, meatless and

heatless, and. also the eatless days. Our Uncle takes very good care' of we boys, and his navy is a fine place for anyone. I As you know I am, limited as to ' what I may write and one has to be careful or we will say too much. My address is H. J. Phillips, Sec. 21c., U. S. Navy Aviation Forces, Foreign Service in France. Care Postmaster, New York, N. Y. Hoping this will find the people of the glorious U. S. as it leaves me, I am Your friend, HARVEY PHILLIPS. P s.—Before I got a chance to mail this' I was sent to the Base i hospital at Brest for treatment. llHope to be back at work before this reaches you.

Following is Mr. O’Connor’s reply; Kniman, Indiana., April 28, 1918. Mr. H. J. Phillips, 11. S. Navy Aviation Forces, Foreign Service in France. My dear Sir and Friend: I received your very welcome letter of the 11th ult., and not being at home is cause of delay in answering. J want to assure you that it was with deep feeling and much joy that I first saw your letter, and because of the fact that you were the first and only one of the large number of American men or boys that thought enough of me to write to me after I had talked to them lin reference to joining the U. S. I navy. So you see, my dear Harvey, that I have good reason to be glad to hear from you, especially because you are in the service of my own country and in that particular branch which I most love, the U. S. navy. Just forty-eight years ago last Tuesday, April 23, I was honorably discharged from the U. S. navy, after seven years’ service and a trip clear around, the globe. Just fifty years ago 1 3 was in Japan during their civil war, and you know that if there is anyone in this world that loves the U. S. navy and Old Glory, I am one of them, God bless our dear old Flag. ’ Well Harvey, my dear young American, I surely think more of you now than ever before and because you are now protecting, not only my dear country, but also my dear home here and the virtue of my dear wife and daughters; because if you cannot whip the kaiser there he will whip us here, and that is as sure as God lives. So, my dear young man, everything is at stake and all depends on such men as you, our own American boys in Europe, and may God bless and strengthen and give you courage and vigor to all our men and women in all the different branches of our country's service. Oh, how many times I wish 1 could onlj* be again on the deck of one of our dear war ships, and let >me say Harvey, that your letter I shows you to be a true American sailor, and why, because you do not say one \yord of fault about either the food or hardships of the service. -That is righty' my boy, war is no place for picnics. War is hell and we must keep hell and the trenches out of our own beloved soil, and that can only be done by such young men as you. And don’t forget that the future of our Republic depends on you and the rest of yott. I will always be glad to hear from you. Your true friend and admirer, JOHN O’CONNOR.