Letter to Mother from Somewhere in France

Somewhere in France
6-25-17[sic]

Dear Mother:–

I am in this Y.M.C.A. for my first time a nice breezy tent it is about 2.30 P.M. we had about 7 mile march today which only done use good. we carried our packs the last 2 miles.

I saw horses today along the road the weighed from 9 hundred built a lot like Billy that Ted had up to 200 lbs more than Rolin and groomed until they shine ribons on there tails fat as butter, it was a millitary sports day of our forces, it seems to go contrairy to Cobbs writings in the Saturday evening post for now I can see the guns spit fire in the middle of the day. All horses I have yet seen have been in good strong shape, but about six have needed a few days on the grass so they would shed the rest of there hair.

Now this is something that I may be should not mention but a boy tells me that Myres have been told that Alf is dead he was found in a German dug out with two other boys dead and brot back and buried. I will get permission some day to walk over about two miles and see if I can locate his little cross if I can I will tell you he is buried near a village here in the cemetary just a few rods away we have the remnants of a good sized village all so of trees and etc. I need not try to picture them to you. you have seen them in papers lots of times, and they have been typical of the real village I see today, [written between lines above] 6-26-17 I saw a lad to day that says he don’t think Alf was ever found and he was in the same raid that he went over in so don’t let many read this letter just put it away or destroy it. The Myres boys should know they will be back in soon. maby we are in the same batt. don’t mention this any way.

Murry who was killed a few days ago the first to go down out of our draft was once a Salvation army captain he told me how he had won hundreds of souls for Christ and it use to do me good to talk to him.

[margin] Never mind about the body band Mother for they say you can’t wear them for the lice so I will never starte Laurie