War Service Letters 



475 



I am now serving as the Supply Officer of this very good little ship — 

 not so little but that we can carry some millions of pounds of food to 

 the army. We are in the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, and 

 it's proud of the service and the ship I am! There's work — lots of it; 

 sleep — usually; excitement — quite enough so far; in fact, there's hardly 

 anything that's missing, war-time considered. 



I wish you would remember me to any of the Sierrans who may drift 

 in; to friend Colby whether he drifts in or not; and you might also send 

 my mail direct to the address below, for which thanks. And when the 

 spirit moves, write. With kindest regards, I remain 



Sincerely, 



Address : Ensign Homer T. Miller, U. S. N. R. F., ^^^^ ^'^^^^ 

 U. S. S. "Tanamo," 

 Care Postmaster, New York. 



Captain Ralph McGee has written many interesting letters from the 

 Verdun front in France to his father. We quote this from a recent let- 

 ter: "I started through the German lines, explored a German colonel's 

 dugout that had just been hastily abandoned; it was finished in mahog- 

 any; climbed out of that and a few feet away stumbled over the body 

 of one of my best friends, a young lieutenant who was married the same 

 day I was. My heart stopped dead and I could not help cursing the 

 Kaiser. This war isn't so bad until you come face to face with some- 

 thing on the muddy ground that a few hours before was an enthusiastic 

 American youngster. The captured German officers are very haughty, 

 but the captured German privates are disconsolate; all seem loyal to 

 William, but bitter against the capital class in Germany, who, they say, 

 started the war. I haven't had a man sick for l month ; they are all 

 afraid that they will miss something if they go to the hospital." 



In another letter he writes : "The Americans stormed the village, and 

 an old, half-starved Frenchwoman stumbled out of a cellar, where she 

 had hidden, against German orders. She heard the American infantry 

 bayoneting the German guard in the streets. When rescued, she said, in 

 French, that she had never heard English spoken and did not know a 

 word of it, but the war-cry of the American soldiers as they were kill- 

 ing the Germans so impressed itself on her mind that she would never 

 forget the wonderful American words, although she did not know what 

 they meant, as she only talked French. When asked to repeat these 

 words, which she thought was the American war-cry, she said when the 

 American infantry came down the street they all yelled at the top of 

 their voices, 'Damn you !' And everybody laughed, while the old French- 

 woman was much confused." 



