James Kellogg Burnham Hockaday letter to father - July 14th, 1918
Transcript
Somewhere in France July 14th., 1918. My Dear Father: I wrote Mother from a little town in England some time ago. I stated that I would write you the following morning but certain things came up which prevented me. We packed up and moved again. We have not been in one place for any length of time until now. We travelled for one month straight and are at last settled for a while and doing real work. I am now "Somewhere in France" and have been for some little time. This is one of the prettiest countries I have been in. People don't live out on farms here but dwell in picturesque little villages and go out in the daytime to farm. The little towns must have been built back in Ceasar's time. They are stone buildings with stone or thatched roof. There is a church in every village and also a public shrine. A family washing pond is built on the edge of the town where all congregate to wash their clothes. Every evening you see the women driving herds of sheep and a few cows right through the c
Transcript
[Page 2] ten feet to the ceiling from where they stood, I heard several whispers "The Hell you say", others came across with "I know damn well it isn't over fifty feet. One fellow said that the Union Station in K.C. was ninety feet high." I warned them that it would be best not to argue the matter there and to keep their mouths shut and ears opened. I realized at the time however that I had a bunch of real Yankees in my platoon. They enjoyed everything very much however and acted like gentlemen the whole time. We made our trip across the channel O.K. and arrived "Somewhere in France". As we marked through the streets of this city, the whole populace turned out and lined the streets. Flowers were given us and thrown from the windows. American flags lined the streets and were waved from the windows. "Vibe l'America" was heard from all sides and our men were only too ready with the reply of "Vibe la France". We camped on the outskirts of this city for the night and the next day left for t
Details
| Title | James Kellogg Burnham Hockaday letter to father - July 14th, 1918 |
| Creator | Hockaday, James Kellogg Burnham |
| Source | Hockaday, James Kellogg Burnham letter to father. 14 July 1918. James Kellogg Burnham Hockaday Collection, 1917-1924. 1986.213.28. National World War I Museum, Kansas City, Missouri. |
| Description | On July 14, 1918, James Kellogg Burnham Hockaday writes a letter to his father regarding his trip from England to France. Hockaday discusses his impressions of England, historic sites, and his platoon's warm welcome by the French. |
| Subject LCSH | World War, 1914-1918; United States. Army. Infantry regiment, 354th |
| Site Accession Number | 1986.213.29 |
| Contributing Institution | National World War I Museum and Memorial |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the National World War I Museum and Memorial: (816) 888-8100. |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
| Date Original | July 14, 2018 |
| Language | English |