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Letters From Oregon Boys
in France
FIRST EDITION
1917-1918
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
GEORGE PHILLIPS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION
Lovingly Dedicated
to the
Mothers, Wives and Sisters
of
Oregon's Brave Soldiers
Foreword
Let there be no misunderstanding.
Our present and immediate task is to win the war and nothing shall turn us aside from it until it is accomplished. Every power and resource we possess, whether of men or money or of materials, is being devoted and will continue to be devoted to that purpose until it is achieved.
WOODROW WILSON.
December 4, 1917.
JAMES WITHYCOMBE Governor of Oregon
State of Oregon, Executive Department, Salem
December 18, 1917.
My dear Madam:
Anything which tends to the honor and credit of our soldier boys is entitled to the full support of every loyal American, and I am therefore glad to give my endorsement to your booklet entitled, Letters From Oregon Boys in France. This book will certainly prove of great value and interest in after years as it will be the means of preserving an organized record of the experiences of the Oregon boys who are upholding the honor of their country in a foreign land. I sincerely trust that your booklet will meet with a ready sale and that the Red Cross will profit through your patriotic effort.
Very truly yours,
Governor.
In compiling these letters from Portland boys now in France, who were among the first to volunteer their services for their country, a double purpose has been in view.
First, to enlarge, through the sale of these booklets, the American Red Cross fund, of which our boys so often speak in terms of deepest gratitude, and secondly, to give a clearer vision to the home folks of the chivalrous work our American boys are doing in France. If it may prove a source of pleasure to them to know that through their letters they are also rendering financial aid to the Great Cause, this booklet has fulfilled its purpose.
To the friends and relatives who have made this booklet possible, I, personally, extend my thanks.
M. E. W.
Dec. 24, 1917.
Letters From Oregon Boys in France
I
Excerpts from a letter from Captain Kenneth D. Hauser, Co. F, 18th Railway Engineers, to his father, E. V. Hauser, Multnomah Hotel.
France, November, 1917.
Today we received 28 sacks of mail for Co. F, marked Captain Kenneth D. Hauser. It filled the whole regimental post-office and was the envy of the camp. I decided to issue it to the boys, as they needed it; so we got busy and doled it out to them. Our orderly room is in one of the huts, and the line filed in; we had it all systematized. First, I had them checked over and totaled on paper; then we divided it into the number of men and officers, share and share alike. They made a sample test of what each man's share was. One man took charge of each article and we would call a man's name and the article. The man would hold a box and the things were thrown into it from all corners of the room. The line lasted three hours and it was better than a vaudeville show. It was so rich I went up to headquarters and invited all the officers down to see it, and they all came.
Afterward I got one of the boys from Port Angeles, Larry Mason, with his tenor and guitar, and John Shaver, with his ukelele, and our wonderful quartette, Jimmy Clock, Killaly Green of Aberdeen, Cecil McNutt of Port Angeles, and Dustin of Coos Bay, and we all sang the old songs and cheered the auxiliary.
I declared NO TAPS, and it is after 12 midnight now and we have just quit. The officers all stayed to the finish and said my boys were wonderfulso close together and just like one big family and so talented and jolly.
Tell the auxiliary what a wonderful feeling of gratitude there is toward them. The football suits from Portland all arrived.
NOTEFollowing are a few of the articles contained in the 28 mail sacks mentioned above:
300 lbs. Assorted Tobacco
300 lbs. Assorted Candy
24 Football Suits
20 Boxes Chewing Gum
20 Boxes Chocolate
360 Corncob Pipes
500 Candles
400 Bars Soap
100 Sweaters
45 Doz. Pair All Wool Socks
II
Letters from Captain A. E. McKennett, 18th Regiment, Engineer Railway, to his mother, Mrs. R. L. McKennett, 185 Fifteenth street, Portland, Ore., and his son, Robert.
Somewhere in France, November 5, 1917. My Dear Mother:
Your letter in answer to my first in France received. It had been some little time since we had received a big mail and we were very glad to get them. I received the first Oregonian that I had seen since I left the States. I am still in good health and spirits and hope to continue the same. The weather is about the same as at home, so we experienced no difference that way. I received a very nice letter from Mr. Lyons recently signed by nearly all the officers and office help. We are getting quite used to France and French customs. They don't seem as odd as they did at first, but the other day when I saw an old lady walking along the road, wearing wooden shoes, carrying a large basketful of vegetables on her head and knitting away on some garment, I had to stop and admire her dexterity. I am getting along fine in French and talk considerably. Tell Catherine I could read a French letter if she wrote me one now. Tell Minnie hello for me and tell Mrs. Way I would like some of her beans to eat with our war bread, and oh how I wish I could have a good drink of Bull Run water!
