March 1, 1919 -- Officially Corporal; But No New Pay

 Echternach, Luxembourg

Dear Ones All,

            Here it is only eleven days more to the grand celebration of the double wedding anniversaries in the house of Sherwood – Weber & Co. And so let’s call this the Anniversary Letter.  By those same signs I take this opportunity to wish you all the best and happiest return of the day, and a fine and joyful celebration. May I be with you a year from the 12^th of March to celebrate with you.

            You have a delinquent orderly to thank for this letter this evening.  I was all ready to go to bed, it is after 10: P.M., but as there was no orderly in sight to hold down the place I had to stay awhile, and I said very positively to myself “Not one bit more work if it is stacking up higher every minute.” So I came back to my desk, sat down to write, and I leave it to you after perusing this book whether my efforts were wasted or not.  I’m so near sleep I’m inclined to believe they almost are.  But anyway you will know I am alive and well as usual when you get this with no immediate prospects of collecting any of $10,000 insurance.
        I had a very pleasant ? surprise, along with several other would be Non-com officers when we were gently handed the news that a certain A. E. F. order prohibited promotions after the 4^th of Dec last.  So the extra pay the few of us made since then drew last month will be firmly and carefully deducted from this months pay, and they will condescend to let us hold our new grade, wear the stripes and do the work of N.C.O’s at the old Private’s grade of Pay.

            Now I know what “Empty Honors” are.  Of course, if they rescind the order we will perhaps start to draw pay in the new grades again, but meanwhile doing Corporal’s work on Private pay is about as lucrative as a seat in the Wisconsin Legislature.  We should worry!  Four months more and then “The Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave.”

            The last letter I got from you was dated February 12^th and as I had about all up to then you can see that mail has been coming extra fast the last few weeks.  Hope Herman’s nose has entirely recovered from Topsyitis.  It is a painful malady, I imagine. 

            Hope my letters are continuing to arrive now they have started to come thru again.  We may move over into Germany this month, nothing definite yet on that.  Now that orderly has arrived, and I’ll be locked out if I don’t make tracks for Herr Kries house.  Give my love to Auntie and the girls.  Will try to write but some of the boys are going to leave from the office as we did in January, so we will be short-handed and you will have to forgive me if I’m not very regular in writing. 

            Love again and again to all my dear ones.

                                    Your loving Soldier Boy

                                                                       George Sherwood

                                                108^th  US Engineers

                                                American Exp. Force 

C. L. Thompson

Capt. Eng. Amer Ex F

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1919-0220 - George Sherwood – map through Luxembourg 

Dear Sis and All:

Just a line tonite to let you know I’m still alive and kicking.  This map explains itself I think.  The cities marked are those we have billeted in more than one night since we came into Luxembourg, “The land of beauty.” – and Lonesomeness for the A.E.F. these days.  Hope you are all well and getting my mail more regularly.

       Love to all. Corp. Geo. Sherwood, 108^th Eng. American Exp. Forces.

 

 

December 25, 1918 - George Writes Home of Food, Gifts, Lice and Bathing Adventures

          I hope you have received the rather lengthy letter I dispatched to you the other day, but in case you did not you can see by this that we are now in the army occupying Luxembourg.  The people here have never been overly well disposed toward the Germans, so now they treat the victorious army very well.         

            The two packages arrived here at the most opportune time.  Both in time for a Very Merry Xmas.  And it has been all of that due to those same packages largely.  The clothes and pen came day before yesterday and I kept them a whole hour before I opened them, examined said pen and laid my face I the beautiful warm union suits that were there for me.  The size looks right, but as we have not yet established bathing facilities here, I haven’t even tried them on.  You see, the company is not all gone yet and I hate to salt them bad the first time.  Now I think we may have settled long enough to nearly exterminate them with proper pains.

            I don’t think I told you about the bath I took at Senningen, did I?  We blew in there about 1 P.M. alive literally – no bath for three weeks.  The first thing we hit on a large wash house at the Chateau similar to our spring house, only there were two cement water tanks about twice as big as ours and a little deeper.  And an inch stream of mountain water gushing into each.  No sooner seen than done.  Out came our other suit of underwear, kept clean at much sacrifice, and we repaired to the wash room (toot-sweet), that’s the way French in a great hurry sounds but I have no idea how to spell it.  Anyway, we stripped and stepped off our board on to the cement floor.  Shock number 1.  Bravely we mounted the sides of the tank and Johnson stuck one grimy toe in the sparkling fountain of cleanliness.  And like the leaf of a frost blasted tree he withered.  After a consultation we decided to approach our bath with caution, soaping up with much groaning and shivering and chattering of teeth.  We were well lathered up and contemplating the icy depths with sinking heart when we heard a titter of feminine laughter, and caught a fleeting glance of three men and three women coming down the road.  In an other instant they would be opposite the door and literally catch us in the bath, so with but one thot in mind we hit the water.  It was only waste deep but we were forever getting to the bottom  Johnnie let out a yell like an Indian and started standing on one foot then the other, tho I still fail to see how that helped the case any.  However, we made noise enough so that the party grasped the situation when they saw our shoulders above the edges of the tanks and how they laughed. They had a right to, I guess, but they took their time to do it.  Well, we got one layer of dirt off anyway, but Johnnie says – Never Again.  We felt fine after it was over, but oh was it cold.  That night it snowed a little.

            We have our office here set up in a little school room  The four of us that constitute the office staff have 2 rooms here in a Luxembourg home.  It is certainly typical.  Barn in the basement with cows, pigs and chickens.  The room we spend our very few leisure hours in has a stove, so when we can get a little wood it is fine.  I rather expected to have a very busy or else a bored Xmas, because the family consists of the old Grandmother and the unmarried son who hasn’t much imagination.  But yesterday evening his cousin came to spend Xmas, so as I can talk a little German things brightened up considerable.  And yesterday we went out to scare up a meal of some sort for today and found a place where they had a big, fat, grey rabbit.  Finally we came to an agreement.  The man’s wife promised us soup, coffee, rabbit, potatoes, black bread, sugar and gravy for 35 F ($7.00).  So we took a chance and it was worth it.  We had a good feed of roast pork, dressing, potatoes and gravy for dinner at noon. 

            Then at 7 P.M. we went down there and how us four did eat.  It was from a plain wooden table, and a plain room, but she brought in browned potatoes, enough for threshers, she had a great big bowl of delicious noodle rabbit broth soup and the rabbit fried like mother used to make.  I feel yet like a stuffed pig.

            And yesterday the most beautiful Xmas box came to me.  We had that for Xmas Eve.  Of course, I swapped up with the fellows as they did with me, but how good that old familiar fudge looked to me and how much better that and the nuts tasted than they looked – if that be possible.  You see, I’ve run out of superlatives already and haven’t half expressed myself.  The little metal box was so original and kept the candy and nuts as fresh as when packed. It landed fresher than many that came only to Logan.  Everybody was wild over it. 

            The gloves fit just fine too and are so long and warm I’m sure fixed for the winter now.  And the pictures bring back fond recollections of “days gone by.”  OH, may the soon come again.  Well now I’ll have to close with a very, very Merry Xmas and a Happy, Happy New Year to All.

                                                            Love to Auntie too.

                                                                        George
                                                                      Sherwood
                                                                        Hq. 108^th Engr.

C.L. Thompson

Capt Enginr American Ex. F.