Harry S. Truman letter to Bess Wallace - February 1, 1919
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Rosieres, France, near Bar-le-Duc February 1, 1919 Dear Bess: It seems as if the first move has been made to take us home. An order has been put forth canceling all leaves and furloughs and setting a date for us to turn in our guns, horses, etc. and start for Le Mans, which is a clearing place for home. I am not putting too much faith in things because there are many slips between the promulgation of order and their fulfillment. It is as easy for the Commanding General to change his order as it is for me to give a man extra duty. Therefore when we arrive at that coast wise port I'll know we may start for home. You've no idea how I'll hate to give up my guns, my French 75s, those implements of destruction which the Hun has said were weapons of the devil. You know I told
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you in a letter from Coetquidan that if I could only give the command that fired one volley at the Hun I would go home willingly and be satisfied. Well there were some ten thousand rounds-or if fired in volleys, over two thousand volleys-fired by those guns at Heinie and they did it all at my command. They are the same guns that I learned to shoot with and with the exception of one barrel, which I had to leave in the Argonne with a shell lodged in it, there have been no repairs on them. If the government would let me have one of them, I'd pay for it and pay the transportation home just to let it sit in my front yard and rust. Men you know-gunners and section chiefs especially-become very much attached to their guns. They name 'em Katie, Lizzie, Liberty, Diana, and other fantastic and high-sounding names and when they fire them
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they talk to them as if they were people. French gunners even cry when their guns are taken away from them. Guns do have individuality. No two of them shoot alike and weather conditions will affect each of them differently. Two of mine would shoot short of the range table, one over and one almost exactly. Each of my section chiefs was morally certain that his gun would out shoot the other three and they were all jealous of the one who adjusted for me when I'd begin to shoot so I always gave them turn about. I was very lucky in the Argonne to get to observe my fire and to adjust on three very interesting targets--at any rate it was interesting to me but I have an idea that the poor boobs at the other end of the trajectory were not so interested except in getting out of the way. I put 43 shells on a German battery going down a road in less than
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a minute. It caused quite a scuttering out and that road was not used any more that day. One time up in front of Verdun I was lucky enough to adjust the whole battery and hit the target (a corner of a trench) with ten shots. It is the greatest sport in the world, shooting 75's is. You're never right certain when you start to shoot whether your shots are going to be near the target in your own trenches or in the next county. At target practice once I fired six shots with one gun and as far as I could discover that six never did come down, but when I fired the next shot for the General it lit right where it should. I don't suppose I'll ever fire another shot with a 75 gun and know I won't with these I'm so attached to and it makes me rather sad. It's like parting with old friends who've stood by me through thick and thin and now I have to give 'em
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to some ordnance chap to put away and maybe later some fop out of West Point will use 'em for target practice and declare they're no good because he don't know how to shoot 'em. I went riding with Major Gates today. We tried to find the Chapel of Ste. Genevieve over in the woods about 5 kilometers from here but missed it. It was the meeting place for the hunts given by the Counts of Bar [illegible] to their neighbors the Dukes of Lorraine, Burgundy, and [ms illegible: 1 wd] in ancient times. We found a church over in a neighboring village that was built some 500 years ago which isn't so old as things go here in France. There is a chateau in Bar le Duc that belonged to the ancient Dukes of Lorraine. It is a very beautiful place and escaped the bombs and shell that some of the rest of the town caught. I've got a lot of Kodak pictures
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of Verdun and my last battery positions which I am going to send to you as soon as I get them printed. I am enclosing you some views of the city taken by one of my corporals while he was riding with me one day not long ago. I am hoping to see you by April 1. Be sure and keep on writing on a chance that orders may be changed. I love you Always, Harry Harry S Truman Capt Bty D F.A. American E.F.
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[ms torn] [Harry] S Truman [ms torn] [Capt] Bty D 129 Fa American E.F. Officers Mail [stamp] [ms illegible: 4 wds] 2-1-[1919] Miss Bess Wallace 219 Delaware St Independence [Missouri] U.S.A. OK Harry S Truman Capt 129 Fa [stamp] A.E.F. Passed As Censored A. 1619
Details
| Title | Harry S. Truman letter to Bess Wallace - February 1, 1919 |
| Creator | Truman, Harry S. |
| Source | Truman, Harry S. Letter to Bess Wallace. 01 February 1919. Papers of Harry S. Truman Pertaining to Family, Business and Personal Affairs; Correspondence from Harry S. Truman to Bess Wallace, 1910-1919. HST-FBP_6-16_01. Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, |
| Description | Letter from Harry S. Truman to his future wife, Bess Wallace, describing his battle field experiences during the War and the possibility of his returning home soon. Captain Truman was placed in charge of Battery D of the 129th Field Artillery Regiment from July 11, 1918 through the end of the war on November 11, 1918. During his military service Truman frequently wrote to Bess informing her of his experiences. |
| Subject LCSH | Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972; United States. Army. Field Artillery Battalion, 129th; World War, 1914-1918--Military life--United States; United States. Army. Division, 35th; Military discharge; Argonne; Bar-le-Duc (France) |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
| Site Accession Number | HST-FBP_6-16_01 |
| Contributing Institution | Harry S. Truman Library and Museum |
| Rights | Documents in this file are in the public domain. |
| Date Original | February 1, 1919 |
| Language | English |