Letter to Mother from Somewhere in France
#782373
S.W. in France
9-16-17[sic]
Dear Mother:–
This is one of the grandest Sept days. I have always favored the Autom to any time of year, I can remember once back at school a lot of use kids walked out to the couley for plums, an other time I took the bunch to the grove for plums with Warrens team. later I used to like the last two hours of bundle pitching in the evenings.
Mother life is great the same here as at home, we never think of the coming days. I have no horror for the battle field and man never got more of a real enetiation than I did the first time I took up my position before daylight in a trench. The battle was over but the sight remain dead and wounded. A man can harden him self to it untill it don’t cost him a thot in the world, the job is there and it has got to be done, I might as well do my share as leave it for some man that may have a wife and any number of children.
I may never take it on, but I have the craziest notion to be a scout since I have been thru the mill a cupple of times but the m.g. is a good job it is the important section of the platoon we can draw any man we want while no other section can draw a m. gunner
We had a good service this a.m. after the sermon there was a presentation of medals to the boys who have proved themselves brave on the battle field. There is another service in the Y.M.C.A. tonight at 6.30 I am going to take it in. I must drop Clive a letter I havent written him for a long time,
bye bye Mother dear as ever your loving son Laurie
[Transcriber added this undated fragment, page numbers 3 and 4: the notepaper is the same; he refers to "the service" as if already mentioned; mentions two light frosts, suggesting early fall; says "bye bye again," suggesting letter was already signed off before.]
The service is over we had a good talk by our chaplain and a good many of the old hymns were sung it surely does us so much good. Things that I used to just mildly enjoy are such a joy to me now I can’t explain just what I mean but I guess a little home life would mix with my army life a little fine about now. they have raised our pay from 6 to $9.00 per mo. we will spend it all, that is the caracteristic of the soldier to always be broak. I have only spent 8¢ in 10 or 12 days, I spent that 5¢ piece that Kate sent me. I bot some chocolate one night after a work party, with the 5¢ and I spent the other 3¢ a few days before on the way in, we have had two slight white frosts the last two nights but we are cosey where we are now. we got paid this P.M. I received two packages one from you and one from Annie yesterday A.M. Kate and Kathleens socks and candy cookies they were fine all so Annies cookies they were great I have a lot of them yet.
My mother, I surely will never need for socks the way you folks fire them at me and handkerchiefs they are increasing to I don’t need any thing I am going to make a pair of fingerless gloves out of a pair of the legs of a socks I can make a good pair. I will do it tomorrow.
Soldiering now an’t anything like it used to be we have a metal road right up with in half a mile of heinies line and each trench layed with village side walks te. he. trench mates so you can see the difference, the new system of bringing up grub we never miss a meal, and the mail each day. of coarse it would not do to bring the mail up the first day on an advance for a shell might blow it around.
Well, bye bye again
Laurie