Owen "Glen" Tudor letter to his mother- June 3, 1918
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June 3, 1918. My Dear Mother, I have been waiting to hear from you before I wrote again, but I have no idea when I will receive a letter since I have found out by experience that the mails are very irregular. We have just been notified that we will not be able to receive packages from our folks for the space is needed for cargo so you need not send that christmas package, but if you want to send greetings mail the letter now for by the time I get it it will have a service stripe on it. Well this is the first time I have had a chance to send a letter in the "Blue envelope" and I will take advantage of it for I certainly hate to write personal stuff when I know the one of my Lieutenants will censor it. I haven't much of a personal nature to say, but it will be a relief to know that only the base censor is reading it anyhow. How are all you folks? I am well I had a week of chills & fever at the
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[page 2] last camp but since coming here I have felt all right. I ate only 2 meals (& then only a few bits) in 5 days & lost about 15 pounds. However, I am beginning to pick up again. I like this camp very well, but believe we will be moved again in prehaps a month to the camp we occupied before we came here. We received better eats there so we all will not be very sorry. However, we may go anyplace anytime so of course do not figure ahead on anything. We usually receive a few hours notice when we are to move, and do not know our destination, route or anything else. This is a very interesting way to travel for everything is interesting & surprising. We have been through several good sized French cities & the fellows go wild over them. We get very very little "liberty" however. I am picking up a little French, but think it entirely different from any other language I have ever heard & nothing I have ever had helps me a great deal. However, there is usually some one around who knows a little English who saves the situation. of course this is not at all like touring the country but we get a good bit of
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[page 3] fun out of it nevertheless. I now consider myself quite an artilleryman of course. I have a pretty good knowledge of four different sizes of guns & have done quite a bit of firing. You can imagine what a noise a big gun would have when a rifle makes the sharp crack it does. When you are standing right against the gun or sitting on the seat besides the barrel you feel a little shaky, but after a couple of shots you get completely over that. Of course we put stuff in our ears, but sometimes waste or cotton is not handy and then we use anything from cigarette papers to pieces of handkerchiefs. Of course we are all longing to get into the big fight. There are big things happening over here but I hope by the time you get this letter, the tide of the battle will be turned in favor of the allies and the dirty [ms illegible: 1 wd] will be hiking back to their dirty little stuck up speck on the map of a country. Believe me the Americans over here certainly hate "Fritz" for they play a dirty
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[page 4] nasty game. I hope this war does not end until until they are wiped out and I don't believe it will either, for they understand they can expect no mercy. Taking prisoners has practically ceased to be a military procedure. Well, I will tell you something of how I pass the time. I have been playing a little baseball and pitched a game last Monday but we got beat 3-1 on luck. They got 2 hits off me & we got four off their pitcher but over one error came at a bad time & they won. I now have a sore arm & am going to quit playing until it gets well. I tried to pitch yesterday but I have strained a ligament in my shoulder by throwing curves too early and only threw one ball before I found out I had better quit. This was an out shoot which the batter missed a foot. I have quite a reputation as a pitcher here and will have to take good care of my "salary wing" or I will lose it. After leaving the box I played center field and produced the two base hit which
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[page 5] scored two men & gave us a tie 5 - 5. We quit for supper. That's one point I want to make quite clear 0 there isn't any game so interesting that a soldier won't quit to eat. He loves his chow above all else. Another thing about the American soldier he is the most noisy member of the who fighting out and I believe the most cheerful one. Put him down on a spot which is absolutely desolate & he will begin to sing and laugh & in ten minutes will have a fire started - have some coffee out of his condiment can & a pot of some kind on boiling. It never fails. you can't make them be downhearted unless he is perfectly satisfied & has nothing to do. The French and the American soldiers get along simply wonderfully. There is no holding back - no suspicion or pride that keeps them apart & in spite of the language difficulty they [ms illegible: 1 wd] together. The French officers stand very high in the estimation of the American soldiers. They are very tactful in handling men. I have
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[page 6] spoken to them & received instruction from them & I know what I'm talking about. I am not trying to make you feel good by saying this. I wouldn't have believed that the French & Americans got along so well myself if I hadn't seen it. There is a very interesting old town near here and I have been thinking of getting hold of a bicycle & taking a hike down there. There is a rail way down there, but you can not see as well on the train. However, I do not know of any place to rent a machine so may not do this. It would be lots of fun to jogg along on these good roads enjoying the scenery. The French here are thoroughly used to Americans and you can go around without exciting interest. It is a funny thing but the longer I am here the less I care about seeing Paris & I'm not afraid of "Big Bertha" either. However, the trouble I would have with the language & the way they stick you on everything has got me bluffed off. However I am
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[page 7] going to spend some in New York. I am sure we will get some time Paris sometime. I understand that you get a 7 day furlough after being on foreign service for 4 months. You have to show 275 francs before you are given the furlough however & I am not carrying very much around with me these days. By the way I find French money very easy to get used to. It is on the metric system with the Franc as the unit instead of the dollar. However, I still like good old American money the best - tho I haven't seen any for about six weeks. Week get paid in French money. We got paid for two months last time & it sure sounded big to hear them say - "corporal Tudor - 145." They do not say Francs and you feel like a millionaire. Then when you get some coin changed you get a whole fist full of money and when you laboriously count it you find it is worth about 10 cents. It is funny how the money of the various
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[page 8] countries here is circulated. The other day I had a [Portuguese] copper piece about the size of a half dollar & worth 2 [cents] - a British hapenny with Queen Vic's picture on it - a dutch coin & a bunch of French coins of various denominations. I though of saving them but have no place to keep them. I would be sure to lose the whole outfit if I tried to save a coin collection. I am going to do this when we start home. When we start home I am sure we will get a few days in Paris & I will bring back some French china or something like that so we can trot it out before our friends and I can say - "yes - I got that while I was staying in Paris during the war." and then we can all stick up our noses & look as important as the dickens. Of course I will have to bring you something from Paris like a waist or something that I can carry in my barracks bag - & I will bring Rachel a bunch of
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[page 9] rattles & bibs (& Bee the same) & the new folks (Plant - Raymond & Lawrence) a lot of trophies of the war like shell fragments, etc. Of course Lawrence will be a big guy by that time for I will be one old man with long whiskers which I believe I will get cut off in New York. Then of course I will give London the once over, but I will save the big time for New York. We have just got the news of the ship "President Lincoln" being sunk. I have seen that ship & was sorry to hear she had gone down. Another for the dirty [ms illegible: 1 wd]. I can tell you a few things about the good ship Lincoln when I get back. Tell Raymond not to join for awhile yet & to join the Navy. This is from one who knows. Of course they get a ship now & then
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[page 10] But the men are usually all saved. I understand the Lincoln did not go down for an hour so do not see how anyone could have perished unless by explosion. If he joins the navy he will go up to the great Lakes training station near home - get a furlough of 3 days before he is put on duty - be in permanent quarters from then on as long as the ship hold together - gets a Paris leave on about his second trip across - will get good eats all the time - get to see the statue of Liberty occassionally - and have the good old healthy ocean breeze to keep him well. I don't believe Uncle Sam cares how he does his part. Well I will close. Write Oftener. How is Raymond succeeding with the camera. Your loving son Glen.
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P.S. Adress me as follows: Corporal Owen Tudor. Bat. F. 128th F. A American Ex. Forces in France Via New York. Do not write anything more for if you do may not receive the letter. I will receive all that you have written however, but they will have to go thru Paris. OGT
Details
Title | Owen "Glen" Tudor letter to his mother- June 3, 1918 |
Creator | Tudor, Owen Glen |
Source | Tudor, Owen Glen. Letter to his mother. 3 June 1918. Westover, John G., Collection, 1910-1946. C3733. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
Description | In this June 3, 1918, letter to his mother, Owen "Glen" Tudor discussed his animosity towards the Germans, baseball, artillery, currency, and exploring French villages. 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; Soldiers--Recreation; |
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 | June 3, 1918 |
Language | English |