Letter by Thomas Hamilton to Bill Hamilton
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Title
Letter by Thomas Hamilton to Bill Hamilton
Creator
Hamilton, Thomas
Subject- LOC
World War , 1914-1918 -- Correspondence ; Veterans -- Illinois ; World War , 1914-1918 -- France ; United States . Army . American Expeditionary Forces -- Correspondence .
Subject [IDA]
Military Veterans World War I
Description
Handwritten letter from Thomas Hamilton , who was serving in the United States army in France , to his brother Bill Hamilton in Clinton , Illinois . The letter was given to the Clinton Morning Journal for publication and contains editor's marks . See also DeWitt County War Record 6-3_WWI-6-wr-2010-55-015
Contributing Institution
Vespasian Warner Public Library District
Date
10 Oct 1918
Type
text
Format
5 handwritten pages
Identifier
5-1_WWI-5-le-2010-045
Language
English
Transcript
Letter to Tom’s Brother [YMCA logo] ON ACTIVE SERVICE WITH THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE Oct . 10 , 1918 Dear Little Brother : I received you letter yesterday while we were firing at the Germans . Believe me , boy , you do not write much at all . I wrote to you a long time ago and to dad when I was in the hospital . I am all right now . Bill , I have had all kinds of German helmets but no way to send you one . There are no post offices close on a battle field . But here is a German post card and a piece of German money . Life here [illegible] is fierce cold and rainy . We do all our moving at nite when it is very cold . I have seen lots of things , Bill , since I wrote to you . [Illegible] I wish you were here (?) [Page 2] to see all the different kinds of guns and the German trucks we have taken . You could get all the souvenirs you wanted for there were oodles of German dead at St . Michel . But here there are few dead . The Germans take their dead back and they bury them I guess . I saw 2 aeroplanes shot down , one inflames , and 2 men fell out . The other landed . The aviators first to get away but every one was shooting at them and they surrendered . I saw lots of American soldiers killed too . Nearly got myself a couple of times . But still I am alive and well . When a shell lights close to you it sure jars you when it goes off . The worst tho I think is the aerial bombs . They sure are destructive . I saw one [Page 3] kill 11 and wound 52 . Machine gun fire from a plane is also bad . You can not get out of the way . They came too fast . Bill , you ought to see me shaving out of a can just now . It works great . I am in sad need of a hair cut too only let it about 2 mo . Bill , I had to stop writing and help save “Hazel” . We had orders to fire . The Germans sure make it inconvenient for us. Had to get up at 4 this am and fire the last few night it has not been so bad . Well , Bill , ans soon . Oh yes , the paper talk sure had cheered us up with its peace because we all hate the thoughts of a winter up here. It’s bad enough as it is . Well give my love to all . I sure hope Dad does not get sick . I am safe and well so far but we can never tell Fritz might drop one of his shells over here. How is John getting along ? Your Big Soldier Brother Tom [Envelope] After 5 Days Return to The Morning Journal Clinton , Illinois Thomas Hamilton
Coverage- Geographical
United States -- Illinois -- DeWitt County -- Clinton ; France
Coverage-- Temporal
1910s (1910-1919)
Rights
The Vespasian Warner Public Library Distrcit (VWPL) holds the copyright for this image. It may be downloaded for personal use, but may not be published or redistributed, in whole or in part, without written permission from VWPL. You may contact VWPL at 310 N. Quincy St, Clinton, Illinois or at 217-935-5174.
Collection Name
DeWitt County World War I Collection
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