"I hope you had a fine time Christmas. I sure wish I
could have been there, but I had as good a Christmas as I could
expect being away from home.
"The weather was real warm here. I went around in my
shirt sleeves all a.m., but in the p.m. we had to dress up to
go to
the parade grounds, where the celebration was held. There
were artillery and infantry drills and races of all sorts. We
had several French officers, one Italian, one Scotch Highlander,
one English and one Canadian officer with us. The citizens of
Charlotte (that's the city we are near) presented these officers
and several of our leading officers with silver loving cups and
distributed twenty-seven big wagon loads of cigars, apples, candy
and gum to the boys. It was some bunch of stuff, but there are
about 50,000 soldiers here now. There was a program at the 'Y'
on Christmas eve. Dr. Jefferson of New York spoke, after which
there were some good movies. There is something doing at the
'Y' every evening - a lecture, concert, movies or an entertainment
of some sort. We have three 'Ys', two K.C.'s and a Y.W.C.A.
"I nearly forgot to tell you about our dinner. We had
roast turkey, roast goose, dressing, mashed potatoes, two kinds
of
pie and cake. It was good.
"Our side of the camp, the artillery, is not fixed up
as yet as they are just arriving. Our bunch of the artillery
was the first
to arrive. We live in tents, seven privates and one corporal.
The tents are pitched so as to form streets, each battery has
a street of its own, at the end of the street is a mess hall
for the battery. This camp is well named, as there are acres
and acres of pine trees around us.
"Some change in the weather since yesterday. Woke up
this morning and found an inch or more of snow and freezing,
but it won't last long."
November 8, 1918.
"The hospital I am in, is in the suburbs of Paris.
"I lost my sweater and wrist watch, in fact, nearly
everything I had when I was wounded, but I got a sweater from
the
Red Cross today.
"Of course, there was some demonstration in the States
when the Armistice was signed. I wish you could have been with
me that day - the people in Paris simply went wild - such
noise and flags everywhere, the streets were packed with people,
every time they saw an American soldier, they would grab him
and hug and kiss him nearly to death. A chain, which was put
on the Arch of Liberty after the war of 1871, was taken down.
You cannot realize what it means to these people and let me tell
you it meant something to me too, to think that some day I will
be sent home, instead of to the front lines again. I have had
about my fill of fighting. I do not know when I will be sent
home. I am in class B which means light duty, but there is talk
of sending the ones who have been wounded an din the hospital
home first and I am thinking I will be sent to my battery. I
am helping dress the wounded just now, as I am not quite fit
to be discharged from the hospital although I feel fine."