From Peter Kratachnil
Somewhere in
France.
Dear Father and
Mother:
Well, I am at a place where I can sit down and write you
a letter. Must say we had a fine trip coming across and sure
saw some beautiful scenery in England and also here in France.
The towns in England are about a couple or three miles apart
and all of the houses and buildings are of stone with stone and
straw roofs, and the streets are very narrow. The trains are
also very small. A passenger coach is about half the size of
ours and they have about six doors on each side. The
locomotives are small but very cute.
We are at the present time living in fine quarters and
getting three fine meals a day, so we are living like kings.
The French people think the world and all of the boys from the
states and sure treat us fine. Sure, I am getting to be some
Frenchman. Ha! Ha! Say pa, did you get the insurance premium
yet? And also the Liberty Bonds.
The weather here at present is sure fine and warm. Well I
guess this is all I can write about so I will have to quit.
With regards to all of the folks and hope to hear from you real
often, so will close with lots of love, from your son. -
CORPORAL PETER KRATACHNIL. Address Hqr. Co., 127 F.A. Band,
Amer. Ex. Forces, France.
Plattsmouth Journal, July 8, 1918
A
LETTER FROM FRANK MILLER.
Camp Funston
Dear
Mother: -
The boys had the time of
their life on the way down here, as we got into Falls city we
were starting to eat dinner and as they were eating a new bunch
of fellows took our seats, and we had to stand up. They looked
like pretty husky, so we didn’t bother them but I didn’t want
to have trouble so let it pass over some of the boys in other
bunches tried to tell me something of army life. Just leave it
to me, I will get by if there is any-show at all. Ha Ha. The
Red Cross served us at Topeka, Kansas, with lunch and good hot
coffee and I will sure tell the world it sure braced the boys
up and a fellow wouldn’t hardly believe it was the same outfit
that rolled into town. I kindly forget to tell you about the
joke on the bunch as they got into Kansas City. The expected to
get a drink, but they held us over there and wouldn’t allow no
one to go to town and there was a sore bunch, but it didn’t
take them long to get over it. Ha, Ha. The boys are fine and
dandy and there are sure a husky lot when this bunch starts
out, the Kaiser will say who thought that bunch would come over
her. Ha, Ha, Ha. We all got into camp at about 10:30 in the
night and the best part of it the sergeant met us at the
station and we walked just about two or three blocks and beds
and blankets all ready, but the best part of it, we had our
cold shower baths some of us, but laugh, I thought I would die.
Bill Brinkman says, gee, this is sure life, but he wouldn’t get
into the cold water. The funniest part was I heard reveille
first, and as I jumped out I woke the whole crowd and then we
all washed up and went up and had breakfast and it was just
like being at old Camp Cody, Deming, N.M., again, but it will
never look like the old camp to me as they’re all wooden
barracks and we are right up in the second story from where I
set there is hills. The camp is hemmed in by a row of hills or
rather encircled by a chain of hills rather, that is like it, I
think. I think the cabin on the hill is General Wood’s home. It
is some place. I may try to get in as a stenographer, I don’t
know yet. Ha Ha. There are about four thousand new rookies in
here like myself that came in the last two days. The old 41
infantry is down here, but they are rather blue, because they
can’t get on over and do there [sic] bit. I think they
are all determined in the camp now. Ha, Ha. This is fine down
here, compared to Camp Cody. I haven’t saw much sand to mount
to anything, but I hope it is as good as this so far, but I
haven’t saw it all yet.
It would tickle the bunch
of citizens from home if they could step in and see how well
satisfied the boys are here, especially Bill Brinkman, he is
sitting over there, talking and laughing, but he don’t want to
talk about Plattsmouth this morning. I think he has made up his
mind to stick around, maybe he can get on steady and I hope he
can. Tell Mrs.Cotner I haven’t had a chance to pick any
gooseberries, as I spoke of at the station. I feel more at home
here than when I was an enlisted man. The boys are more
jollier, the people do all the can for you and I will never
forget the good time we had the night before we went away. The
Fort Riley bunch from Plattsmouth were disappointed when the
rest of them got off at Camp Funston and if any of them write,
I sure want to keep track of some of the Plattsmouth boys and
if they leave I would like to keep in touch with them. They
have a lot of Negroes stationed here and they are driving teams
and one thing and the other, but they are stationed by
themselves, so it is so much the better. The interurban runs
right past the barracks and into Manhattan. Everybody got the
habit this morning, they are writing home. The captain said
that about in four days they would assign us to a company, but
at the present time we haven’t no outfit yet, so all we have to
do is just stick around and do the best we can. I think I will
write as much as I can this time as I have plenty of time with
no end of a real jolly good time. There is Everett Ward sitting
over there with smiles all over his face, he is using all of
the paper the Y.M.C.A. has, so don’t be alarmed if there isn’t
no news in this letter. Here it is about chow time. I am as
hungry as a bear, but I suppose I can stand a little while
longer and then some. Tell everybody around there that I know
hello and that this is the life I hope Libershal sends some
more. I am glad to see them all come, there is always room for
another good man. Well I will bring this to a close, hoping and
trusting this reaches you in the near future, I
remain,
Your son,
FRANK A.J. MILLER,
Camp Funston, Kans.
Plattsmouth Journal, December 16, 1918
SEES MANY
PLATTSMOUTH BOYS
John Miller Writing From
France Tells of Seeing Nebraska Boys There.
From Saturday’s Daily.
It is no doubt a great pleasure to run across one of the
boys whom you have known back here, when you are in a foreign
country. It is like a bit of sunshine on a dark day. John P.
Miller writes of his meeting friends in France:
France, Nov. 6th
Dear Mother:
I received your letter of
Oct. 3rd, and was very glad to hear from you. I am
getting along good and hope this finds you the same. I also
received Myrtle’s letter o.k. and please tell her I was glad to
hear from her. I have been pretty busy for the past few days.
The boys sure have got the Dutch on the run, and almost in
their own ground. I do not think it will last much longer from
the way it looks now. I have a had [sic] a great plenty
to suit me. If I have good luck it will not be long before I
will be back home I saw Louis Lamphear, and one of George
McDaniel’s cousins, and Skip Dalton, they are getting along
pretty good, and everything is getting along pretty good just
now. Roy Holly and Ed Neil are here. I had a letter from Jesse
Baskus [Bashus?]. Tell all the friends hello for me.
Your son,
JOHN P. MILLER
Plattsmouth
Journal, Thursday,
June 12, 1919
JOHN MILLER IS HOME FROM THE
WAR ZONE
RETURNED YESTERDAY
FROM A LONG TIME SPENT IN OVERSEA SERVICE.
DISCHARGED AT CAMP
DODGE
And Made Straight
Tracks for the old Town — Sailed from Brest May 18th
— Landed 27th.
From Wednesday’s
Daily.
John Miller, who went from here into the service nearly
two years ago, and who within six weeks after his departure was
on his way to France, and in less than eight weeks after
leaving Camp Funston, was fighting in the trenches, arrived
home late yesterday after having been discharged at Camp Dodge
the day before.
Mr. Miller wears decorations for service on three great
battlefronts, having seen service in an equal number of the big
battles of the late world war. He was pretty much over the
battle-torn regions of France, in Luxumburg [sic] and after the
signing of the armistice saw much of Germany as well. He
traveled up and down the Rhine river and saw lots of peculiar
and interesting sights.
John says that for a time war may have some attraction,
but he has seen all of army life he cares to and is sure glad
to get back to [unclear] the grandest and best place in
the world, and to Plattsmouth — a town that possesses more
attraction to him than all the cities of the European
countries. He says that he had a good time all the while he was
away, but has had a plenty. At the present time the government
is offering some pretty liberal inducements for discharged
soldiers to re-enlist, but as enlistments are for a three year
period, with overseas service promised, he found it not
temptation to re-enlist.
Mr. Miller will make his home in Plattsmouth for the
present, resting up a bit before he seeks employment.
Plattsmouth Journal, November 4, 1918
LETTER FROM WM.
ANDREWS
Somewhere
in France
October 1,
1918
Dear Home Folks and All:
I will write you a few
lines to let you know I am well and feeling fine and enjoying
life pretty well. The army is some life if you don’t weaken. We
are up pretty close to the front. We are close enough to hear
the guns going off and I guess we will move again pretty soon
from the looks of things and what I can hear. I have not saw
[sic] any of the boys from home over here yet so far. I
sure would like to see some of them and have a good talk with
them. How is Sis getting along. I hope she gets along as well
as I did and get able to get back home all O.K. I got a letter
from Jude yesterday and I have to write her a letter tonight.
Has Sandy moved to Omaha yet or is he at home yet. Is Mable and
Ruby still there with you? Tell them all hello for me and
everybody in good old Plattsmouth. I got a card from Luther
Pickett the other day and was sure glad to hear from him. It
sure is lots of company to hear from home. Tell Tulens hello
for me. I wish you could send me some cigarettes, for we can
not get them at all over here. Nothing but French cigarettes
and they are so strong you can not smoke them. Mother if you
can send me some cigarettes get a couple of cartons and send
them to me. Well I guess I will have to close for tonight. They
are making so much noise, I can’t write, so I will say good
night, and will close for tonight. So goodbye for now. Answer
soon. You can put this in the paper and tell them all hello.
Answer soon.
PVT. WM. ANDREWS
Address: 93 610, Field Hospital, Co. 40, 6th
Sanitary Train, Amer. Exped. Forces, France, via N.Y.
Plattsmouth Journal,
December 23, 1918
[ Ralph Allen’s letter appeared
with Henry Lamphaer’s letter on this date]
Ralph Allen Writes
"Dad’s" Letter
November 24th
Dear Dad, Mother and All:
Sunday evening, still at
the hospital, but feel fine. Well they tell us not to write
where we have been and the battles we were in, but I do not
think the red Cross has paper enough for all that.
The last front I was on
was Verdun and the Argone [sic], and where some of the
hardest fighting took place of any place in the war. Before the
Armistice was signed we had them out in the open and running,
and many down on their knees begging for mercy, others had
thrown their guns and helmets away and were running like jack
rabbits. The hardest battle we were in was at Chateau Thierry,
you know all about that so I do not need tell you, only to
recall what Sherman said, "War was Hell," but let me
tell you he did not know anything about war then, it has
changed so.
We had just taken a town
on the Toul [sic] sector, about the size of Plattsmouth
when the civilians came out of their cellars, and crawled out
from under their house, the women coming and kissing our hands
and crying for joy, while the old gray headed men would hobble
around and hollow for Americans. If you did not watch them they
would cut buttons off your clothes for souvenirs. The Red Cross
has set today for "Dad’s Xmas Letters."
I am sending you a map of
the Mihial drive, the dotted lines where we started, and the
heavy link where we stopped, and I want to say, we did not stop
because we could not go any farther, but because we had orders
not to go farther then. I believe we could have taken them to
Mets. the way we had them going. We were three days making the
drive, we had told around we were going to make the drive on
the 15th but pulled it off on the 18th,
and this surprised the helmies. We hiked about 5 miles the
night before in the rain, and went into the trenches at about
midnight at Breassette [sic] ; we had some good
artillery behind us, the 151 Minnesota light, the 150 Indiana
heavy, some French Naval guns 16 and 18 inches, all of them
opened up at one o’clock, and kept up the bombardment until
five in the morning, when they lifted the barrage and
"Over the Top" we went. The Germans had held the
trenches since the beginning of the war, and that was to be an
active front. There was a large hill two miles from the line of
the German side. It was called Mt. Sank, the French tried to
take the hill in 1915; they took the hill and held it twenty
minutes and lost 35,000, and then fell back. That did not sound
right to us, but the French told it themselves for an absolute
fact.
We and the 167 infantry,
the Alabama boys took the hill and had the "Botche"
going down the other side by ten o’clock. When we got over the
hill we believed what the French had said, for we found piles
of bones, French helmets and rifles scattered everywhere. Then,
the evening of the 14th of September, we took the
little town of Bine, advanced about a mile, then dug in for the
night. This is where we stopped, and held the line. About 12
o’clock that night the cooks seat us up a feed, boiled beef,
potatoes, and bread and coffee, and say, you ought to have seen
us eat. We held that line for about seven or eight days and
were relieved by the 83 brigade. Went back then, and got some
new clothes, a bath and a pay day, and had a few days to
ourselves and then went to the Verdun front,, where we stayed
until the finish. Well I suppose you are tired of reading war
news by now. I know I am tired of writing it and I will ring
off. I wrote Wayne a letter today. I was talking to a fellow
out of the 100th engineers that was down at Deming,
N. Mex., he told me that 137th artillery had just
come over, so I addressed it over here.
If I knew just where they
were I would try and get a pass and go see them. Well I will
close now with the same address, wishing you all a Merry Xmas
and a Happy New Year.
Your son,
RALPH H. ALLEN
