Owen "Glen" Tudor letter to his mother - April 26, 1918
Transcript
Don't abreviate the adress.[censor signature] My correct P.O. adress is on envelope. April 26, 1918. My dear Mother, The enclosed "Hatchets" are just duplicates of the other file I sent you. I thot prehaps the others might get on a ship which would be sunk or the letter lost & so sent the duplicates so as to be a little surer that you would recieve a complete set of them. I am still well & getting along fine & dandy. School has not begun yet but it will in a few days and then things will be more interesting. We are quarantined in camp again because someone in another outfit got sick. Until now we have been allowed quite a bit of liberty away from camp in the evening until 8 30 and get a chance to see what the people are like. There is a town near
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by and I caught a truck down there right before last in search of a hair cut. I certainly had a search. I hunted up one street and down the next until I gave up - then on the way back I found it. I looked in & saw some Frenchmen which made me enter with hesitation, but I needed the haircut very bad & so downed all fears. I had to wait a while so picked out some postcards of the camp & town which I am not allowed to send but which I may be able to hold on to in some way or other 'till the end of the war. Prehaps later on I can send them from some other place if unaccompanied by writing. From the rules which are made by the censors I believe we will have to buy our post cards & French souvenirs in New York City on the
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back after the battle of Berlin. To go back to the haircut - we finally got started (the barber & I). I give myself equal credit for the haircut because I worked as hard as he did gesticulating & working my arms around to show exactly. Finally we did a very good job of it & in looking in the glass after it was all over I was very pleased with our work. I was on a detail by the railroad station and saw many strange sights. It was market day & everyone had come to town on the train bringing a pig - chicken or a basket of garden produce. It is very interesting to hear them "Parley" together. I am studying French and hope to be able to speak it before the end of the war. I can say - Bensure - Monsieur" and "Jer ner com pron-pa" - the latter I use very
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often, naturally. We talk to the French soldiers and marvel at how used they and everyone is to the war. We have also talked with English soldiers. They say that the Germans are getting killed like flies, but are will to sacrafice a million & a half [ms illegible: 1 wd] to win this battle & end the war in Germany’s favor. There are also quite a number of German prisoners here who don't look very dangerous. In fact I believe I could lick any number of them, but of course don't like to brag about it. As far as I can make out the Americans are about as scared of the Germans as they would be of a flock of mosquitos. The Americans do not recognize no man's land. It is Americans land & if a German is out there he is trespassing & they go out & get him. Well, I will close this time. Your loving son, Glen
Details
Title | Owen "Glen" Tudor letter to his mother - April 26, 1918 |
Creator | Tudor, Owen Glen |
Source | Tudor, Owen Glen. Letter to his mother. 26 April 1918. Westover, John G., Collection, 1910-1946. C3733. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
Description | In this April 26, 1918, letter to his mother, Owen "Glen" Tudor described his early impressions of France - including getting a haircut, going to market and learning the language. Tudor also discussed encountering German prisoners of war. Tudor, a Maplewood, Missouri, native, served in the 128th Field Artillery in the 35th Division during World War I. |
Subject LCSH | United States. Army. Division, 35th; World War, 1914-1918--Prisoners; World War, 1914-1918--Censorship |
Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
Site Accession Number | C3733 |
Contributing Institution | The State Historical Society of Missouri |
Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the State Historical Society of Missouri: 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, Missouri, 65201-7298. (573) 882-7083. |
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 | April 26, 1918 |
Language | English |