Charles Stevenson letter to Folks - August 23, 1918
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[YMCA letterhead] [August 23, 1918] Dear Folks: If we ever get a blue envelope again this will be the letter for it. These blue, or green as they have lately been, envelopes are very irregular in coming and consequently the real personal letters are irregular in leaving. The big piece of news is my recent promotion to the rank of sergeant, first class. You can believe me that this is sure one fine job - in fact no rank in the company is better than this. The top, or
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organization you hold the same grade as the first sergeant. The pay is the same and all travelling privileges are equal! You can again read that letter I wrote you from where we formerly were, telling you of the characteristics of this job. They are the same. The greatest relief of all is to get rid of that rifle and one hundred rounds of ammunition I have carried for eleven and one-half months. We were issued tiny Colt
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I was certainly one surprised youth when I saw the appointments posted on the bulletin board. It was the first I knew it. I knew some appointments were to be made, but had no idea that I would get one of the places. As I told you - to hold one of these places fellow must be an engineer of some repute. It seems as if one of these six sergeants is appointed on general principles - and I must be the one. Last night my commanding officer asked me how I liked my new position. I assured him that it certainly did please me, but that I wanted him to know that I knew nothing at all about engineering. He said he knew it, but that he had other
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sergeants for that work!
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[YMCA letterhead] [page 2] save at least $30 a month out of this. I think I shall make arrangements for the transfer of this amount to my credit at the Citizens Savings Trust Company! In a year with my Liberty bonds I would have close to $500. Not bad for a drafted man. Of course I would be a year behind as I spent a lot of money while at [Camp Funston]! Before I make any such arrangement however, I
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ordinary sergeant. I am still platoon sergeant, but I
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Supply Sergeant which I recently wrote you of turning down! The other big piece of news was my recent jaunt into No-Man
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imagine that we were about five hundred yards from the first German lines. I have been closer to the Germans then anyone in our company. I rather believe I will be chosen regularly for this kind of work - perhaps this is the reason for the promotion. Kenneth has been gone for three or four days - to an engineering school where he will take up a certain branch of engineering. He is a dandy fellow, sings good tenor, is an excellent athlete and we sure miss him. He should be back in three weeks! Yesterday morning a German aeroplane was brought down a short ways from our billet. It was brought
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[YMCA letterhead] [page 3] down while I was asleep. All things of importance happen while I am asleep. In the plane were two Germans. Both were burned to death! The cloth of which was cut and distributed partly among our company. I could have sent you a little piece of it, but I could just as easily have cut a piece out of my pants and sent it to you! You would not have known the difference. I never did get to see the aeroplane as I lacked the energy to walk to where it was. The work I am doing is
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sure a simple thing. I really am a foreman over twenty men who load dirt, unload gravel and sand, and dig dirt our of the ground. We go to work at dusk and quit about dawn - 3:30 a.m. You can see that it is an all night job. At midnight we get a big can of coffee and at 3:30 a.m. we get a good breakfast. Then we got to bed and sleep until noon. In the afternoon we can do as we desire. Most of the fellows sleep more, as numerous flies and lots of noise make the morning sleep hard to get. Sundays are the same as other days, altho every eighth day each man is supposed to have at least twenty-four
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consecutive hours off. This is my seventeenth consecutive night on the job - but tomorrow I get off. A good night
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About every other evening the aeroplanes battle each other with machine guns, while the anti-aircraft guns on the ground send up their big shells at enemy planes! Altho the work itself is very prosaic, conditions make it rather thrilling at times. About ten days ago I was a mighty sick youth for fourty-eight hours. Something went wrong in my stomach and I had one heck of a time fixing it up. I was the sickest I have been since joined the National Army. It
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[YMCA letterhead] [page 4] letters at all. When the mail finally does reach us I should get about twenty letters. I generally lead the company in mail received. I seem to have plenty of time in the afternoons for writing and I have written to many persons, so I should have gobs of incoming letters. I hope you got the scarf I sent, Grandma, and I trust Grandpa got the picture of myself taken in New York and mailed from France. I recently sent some papers to you from here. You might save
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By the way I have quit drinking coffee. The coffee we get is awful stuff and I can
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Well, Folks, I have no idea when I will get to mail this, but I
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drove up in a khaki-colored Dodge but Lt. Maurice Stevenson. His division, for the last two weeks, has been holding a sector in the front line, and just yesterday they were relieved by another division. On his way back he stopped here for two hours. With him was Lt. Eckers, a Kansas University graduate, whom I had previously met. Maurice visited us for two hours, talked to the sergeants, met our three lieutenants, listened to me play the piano four a little while, told me about himself and went on to war! His division is going back to be filled up with men. It will get some more training and then go at it again. Maurice seemed to be in the
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[YMCA letterhead] [page 5] best of spirits but looked to be very tired physically. He said he was and he looked it. He told me he was sure of being made a first lieutenant as soon as a courier got to the United States and back with the recommendation. Men in our company who were second lieutenants in the U.S. were made firsts immediately after arriving here! Maurice has been here a year and is still a second, Queer!!! Today I took a truck ride lasting four or five hours during which I saw various parts of France. I rode around with our Transportation Sergeant.
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and had quite a nice time. Tonight I take out about a hundred infantrymen and have
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I can begin to save a little - and I imagine I will be able to use a little spare cash if I get back to good old [Kansas City] and Olathe. No envelopes yet so I can
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blanket and tent all folded up. Yesterday I got from Aunt Daisy a copy of the Saturday Evening Post containing the story by George Pattullo
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[YMCA letterhead] [page 6] dollar
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more about this. By the way you can send me the Register every week. I got it all right for a long time. Well, folks, I found a green envelope in a side street and thus I get to mail this. I cannot think of anything else to write - nothing else has happened to me. We had a slight gas attack last night - and this morning a Boche plan flew over our lines and set on fire a couple of our observation balloons, thereby causing two observers out of each balloon to make and unexpected parachute
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jump. Attention is called to the fact that I was asleep during the attack. I
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Be sure to save me any clippings about Grandma from any papers. - Put one clipping in my book.
Details
| Title | Charles Stevenson letter to Folks - August 23, 1918 |
| Creator | Stevenson, Charles |
| Source | Stevenson, Charles. Letter to Folks. 23 August 1918. Stevenson, Charles S. Collection. 1979.24; 1982.202. National World War I Museum, Kansas City, Missouri. |
| Description | Charles Stevenson wrote this letter addressed to his grandparents informing them of his promotion to sergeant first class and his new duties. Stevenson enlisted in Kansas City, Missouri and became attached to Company A, 314th Engineers at Camp Funston, Kansas. Stevenson was shipped overseas on June 12, 1918 where he remained for the duration of the war. He arrived back in the United States on May 26, 1919. |
| Subject LCSH | World War, 1914-1918--Military life--United States; World War, 1914-1918--War work; Promotions, Military; Liberty bonds; Airplanes; United States. Army. Engineer Combat Battalion, 314th |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I; No man |
| Site Accession Number | 1979.24; 1982.202 |
| 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 | August 23, 1918 |
| Language | English |