Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 May 1918 — LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIERS [ARTICLE]

LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIERS

Oscar Leach Meets Rev. Tims Over In France. Mrs. Carl Hamacher of near Lowell, but formerly of Jasper county, received a letter from her brother, Oscar Leach, formerly of Rensselaer and who has been over in France for several months, in which he tells about running onto Rev. Titus, former pastor of the Christian church here, on April 23. He says nothing regarding the latter's having been wounded, as reported in the Indianapolis News April 27, and it is therefore probable his wounds —if wounded he was—were of a trivial nature. Oscar's letter appears below in full: France, April 23, ISIS. My dear Sister:— Just received two letters from you, also one from Mae, and will try and answer them. The first mail I have had for some time, but there is a reason. I am fine and dandy, that is to say I am well but have been having some work done on my teeth, and yon know there isn't much pleasure connected with that. lam taking a little rest now a few kilometres back of the lines in a little French village where I had a chance to clean my clothes and clean np in general, for after a trick at the front one is greatly in need of water. I gave Everett's name for them to notify in case of accident for I thought he could break the news to you girls better than a cablegram. But don't worry for you are not going to get a cable, I am one of the livliest “Sammies" that ever ate out of a mess kit. We boys have to pay the French people 80c per dozen for eggs when we have them. There is a Y. M. C. A. tent here where there is a Victrola, piano and checkers, also a canteen where we can purchase a few luxuries. It is a very small place and nothing like our villages, for the ways of the French people are so different than ours. The houses and buildings are all made of rough stone with a tile_ roof, and God surely has been witK us this winter as there has been” very little cold weather or I fear we would have frozen to dratS sleeping and living in the haymoh<.of a barn where yon could h»k\ out through the roof and connt tne stars of a night. The chief industry here is farm-

ing, and if you would see a farmer going to t»he fields I dare say you would open your eyes in ‘wonderment for they hitch a horse in the lead and a oow (pot an ox) bitched alongside of another horse. They use plows made of wood, and every farmer owns his own threshing machine; it is a very crude affair run by horse power. I don’t believe they raise any corn here as I haven’t seen any since I have been here. Tell Basil he has a big brother in France that if necessary can do two men’s duty, and sincerely hope he can always be home with his family. It is raining very hard here and has been most of the day; don’t know if my pile of straw in the corner of the barn has washed away or not, but I am getting sleepy so think I will investigate pretty quick. You probably saw an account in the paper about Beatty of IHammond and Beckwith of Morocco: they are both in my outfit and with me tonight. Oh yes, do you remember Rev. Titus, minister of the Christian church of Rensselaer a few years ago? He is in charge of this Y. M. C. A. I met him this ■ afternoon and had a long talk with . him. 1 was surely surprised to run I onto him over here. The world is not so large after all, is it? I am going to have the chaplain censor this for me. Will close with love, Your brother, CQRP. O. R. LEACH. Ist Frencli Mortar Battery, A. E. F., via New Yofk. Ralph Sparks Writes From the Rattle Front. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Walter have received the following letter from Ralph Sparks of near Idaville, ’a former teacher in the Walker township schools, which The Democrat is permitted to publish- The letter follows: On the Western Front. Dear friends Albert and Marie: You must have already gotten my last letter in which I promised I would write something for you to put in the paper as you wished. Well, since then my company has been moved again and we have already had our turn in the front line trenches for ten days. This period was folloed by ten days in rest camp. “Rest camp,” that is quite a misnomer, for there w« daily marched out several kilometres to the front and worked at digging trenches. We worked on the border of No Man’s Land. The French were glad to have us working but not so the Germans, for they soon got busy with their 77’s and 155’s and made it so hot for us that we just naturally dashed in some nearby dugouts. Fritz had his sausages (observation balloons) up and whenever we came out they would commence shelling us again and we would hunt another dugout. Can you see why I sav “rest camp” was a misnomer? I don’t care for anv more “yest camp.” Now we are in the first line trenches again, and I hope we stay longer (censored) for which we are detailed. Both the Allies and the Germans relieve their troops in the trenches by night, so we came in by night and relieved those troops already here. That march was quite an experience. Our com pany assembled and waited until dark. In the meantime the artillery was exchanging fire. We were all quiet and anxious. One officer rode by and stopped to inquire from another if that was the French artillery that just fired. Things were livening up and it began to look as if we might have anything but a quiet night. And then the command forward was given. We were glad to be off, for here there is nothing worse than doing nothing and being under suspense. We followed along roads

which were liable to shell fire at any time and so we marched. I for one kept a lookout for dugoti ts and trenches, for when under shell fire it is every man for himself and none but the foolhardy would stay out in it. But fortune was favoring, there were no shells coming. Maybe Fritz was playing cards or drinking his beer jftst then. And then without warning we came intp some tainted air; shell craters were everywhere near, and quickly and excitedly the sin gle word • gas.” was passed frorfi the front to the rear. There was quick adjusting of gas masks and respirators. The mule-skinners fixed their mules’ masks. We went on for a kilometre or so and were all right. Gas is one of our worst things to contend with, for the strong concentrations used by the Boche prove fatal if one but inhales a single breath of it. But we carry two masks Vith us all the time and thus have perfect protection from it, if we only get them on in time. Most of us can put our masks on in nothing flat and we expect to cut that in half if we get very much gas. Well, about o’clock we pulled into a dilapidated village and unloaded our equipment and kitchen supplies. The mule-skinners took their mules to the rear of the lines and we of the crew took our guns on into the positions. No lights were allowed and we had to guess our way through the remainder of that night. And then on the next day we got settled and believe me we sure have some home. One of the nicest dugouts imaginable, dark as pitch and almost as damp as old Gifford. It sort of made me homesick to see that puddle of water. I thought of that song about ‘the muskrat rules the marshes and the people have the sand.’ We certainly haven’t any sand. But now we are acclimated and at that it beats rest camp. We live and think now in the trenches and feel very much at home. It seems as if we have been here a long time and belong here. Our kitchen is in the ruined village where we unpacked and we go there for our meals. Thts town must have once been a qfuiet, thriving place, but today it is a mass of fallen stones and ruins. There is not a whole building here and as the days go by and Fritz continues to drop shells in it. it is gradually •being leveled. Some times the fireworks commence just before our meals and then we <jo get peeved. One day they kept us at home for an hour after supper time and again they began when we ..were eating. Well, crow was dropped and forgotten in the rush for the dugout. But all these things come in the course of the day and are to be expected if not hoped for.

Night time is the exciting time and No Man’s Land is as a thing alive.. Illuminating rockets, star shells, signal flares are sent up continuously and every few minutes a battery of artillery belches out its heavy shells or some , rifleman. machine gunner or grenadier sends over liis compliments to Fritz. And then one may hear from across the hills or nearer may : be a klaxon, siren or strombone giving a gas alarm. Well, so much for this awful war. Write -whenever you can. I shall enjoy letters from each of you. Wishing you the best of times this summer, I am. Sincerely yours. RALPH. SPARKS, 73 C. 6 Reg., U. S. M. C. April' 15, 1918-

Stanlius Brusnahan Writes of Trip to Camp Mills. Stanlius Brusnahan, son of Mr. and Mrs. S. A. Brusnahan of near Parr, writes his parents an interesting letter of his trip from Camp Hancock, Augusta, Georgia, to Camp Mills, Long Island, New York, and The Democrat is permitted to publish his letter herewith: Camp Mills, L. 1., May 20, 1918. Dear folks:— “See America First.” The trip is over and I must say that money couldn’t buy a more pleasant one and words can’t describe it. I'm sure though that no one ever had a more enjoyable trip than those on our troop train. We left Hancock at. 1 p. m. Saturday with a train of thirteen coaches. There was one baggage car, a freight car and eleven Pullman sleepers. We had porters to keep the cars clean so we didn't have to worry about “policing up’' twice a day. We ha<j card or writing tables, and everything in fact. We had no dining coach attached, but the cooks had a Held stove set up in the baggage coach and the way they fed us was surprising. They gave us the best possible. We had fruit with every meal and in between they brought around a bucket of candy. We sure have got a good mess sergeant. After leaving Augusta and crossing the Savannah river in to South Carolina we traveled southeast, then north, missing Columbia. Harvest is on in the South now. Saw Several binders at work and one field of oats in shock. -~w We woke up Sunday morning in Virginia and it sure is a very pretty state and both hilly and rocky. It was my first peep of civilization for some weeks. There's lots of grazing there and I saw many nice herds of cattle. We crossed the James river during the morning. It is quite wide but shallow, with numerous boulders sticking up out of it. Some of them looked as large as a small house. We didn’t igo through Richmond but went near it. We followed the Potomac for miles and crossed it a half doaen times. It is much wider than the Mississippi at New Orleans. It is also very crooked. We arrived at Washington, D. C. shortly after noon and were given a royal reception by the Red dross. We were served lunches and took a short, hike and left. I got a very good look at the White House but didn’t see Woodrow. We left the train at Florence, S. C., Saturday evening and were

treated to some real eats there by the Rg<d Cross. After leaving Washington we passed through Camp Meade and Baltimore. Later crdssed the point of Chesapeake Bay into Delaware. At • Philadelphia last night we were given the greatest welcome of all. We got in there about 6 p. m. and the Red Cross was there with apples, cigarets, playing cards, magazines, etc. Afterward some people who were above us on an "L” threw some money tjown on the platform where we were. There were several dollar bills, halves, etc., tossed down while we were there. They also threw cigars and bunches ol flowers. The city sure was rightly named the “City of Brotherly Love.” ‘Talk about Southern hospitality, they’re not in it at all compared to the North. Truly I don’t see how anyone who ever lived in the North could feel satisfied with the South. After leaving Philadelphia with many cheers to the R. C., we crossed New Jersey to Newark Bay, with Jersey City on one side and Newark on the other. Our train got there rather early in the evening, that is about 9 bells, and we slept there peacefully till 4 a. m. We ate breakfast rather early and detrained. We loaded our baggage on a ferry and started down the North river, then into Easj river. They are both really tiie Hudson. We moved along rather slowly and could get a fine view of New York city along the river. The Woolworth building is quite close to the river. The river sure is ‘‘lousy’’ with ferries, etc. We passed under several wide bridges, including the Brooklyn bridge.

We landed at Long Island City, L. 1., but were delayed some there by another buinoh who were unloading at our pier. We entrained there for a twenty-one mile ride through Long island to camp. It is city nearly all the way. Where there wasn’t city there wag truck patches. Long Island, unlike the states we crossed, is quite level. I don’t know how far from the coast we are as Long Island is so small on my map I can’t find myself. We are very near* Mineola and Garden City, There’s an aviation field here at Mineola, so I saw a few planes again. We sure did make good time all the way. No one needs to tell me a troop train is slow traveling—-thirty-one hours after leaving Hancock we vfere looking at the Statue of Liberty. That’s traveling some, I guess. Next you want to know when I am going to take my next ride. Most of us think that it will be about a month. The truck driver told us that troops seldom stayed here seven days: One thing that impressed me more than all else Was the spirit of the people all along. When war was first declared most of us thought our past reputation would win the war. I, guess everyone has decided otherwise ere now, hut with the spirit that prevails now 1 think it will soon be over. Will tell you about the camp here in my next letter. I’ll send you a letter or card every day until I leave and then you’ll have to wait for the card. After I get across I’ll write, as often as T can, but of course you won’t get them as regular. Since I left Parr 1 have gained physically, mentally and<>norally, so don’t worry if I do go across for I’ll continue to gain and do as I promised. We are all very much enthused over the prospects of going. Even Jim wants to go now. I guess the South Is out of luck for friends in our bunch. Jim isn’t here yet, but should get here Wednesday. Hoping this finds you at home as well as 1 am. Yours, CORP. S. BRUSNAHAN,18th B. O. D. Co., Camp Mills, L. I.