ake a good wife for the
Top sargent. It would make him happy to sit around an watch her.

Well, Mable, if you dont get another letter from me youll probably get
one from the local congressman explainin why. If the worst come to
worst tell your father I didnt bear no grudge agenst him. I was
thinkin yesterday about a little motto or something for my toomstone.
I sort of like this one. I showed it to the nurse. She said she never
saw anything like it on anybodies toomstone so I guess itll be all
right.

Here lies the body of Bill Smith, dead
For the good of the service, with a cold in his head
Tho hed felt (without duckin) the bullets breeze
He was called aloft by an ordinary sneeze.

yours hopefully
_Bill_

_Dere Mable:_

All kinds of things has happened since I rote you last. In the first
place I didnt die of newmonya like I said I was goin to but I bet I
had the government worried about my insurance a couple of times. One
day they put a bunch of us in an ambulance an drove off. Nobody knew
where we was goin except that it was toward the front. It seemed good
almost to hear those old guns bangin away just like Id never been
gone. An then the first person I saw when they let me out was the Top
sargent. Itll give you an idear how glad I was to get back to the
outfit when I say I could have kised him, whissel an all.

Im riting this way down in a Dutch dug-out. Upstairs there shellin all
the time. War certinly has changed since I went to the hospittle. You
take more chances goin to mess up here than you did goin over the top
when this all started. In half an hour, I got to go on gas gard. That
means I stand in front of the dug out an when I smell something I blow
a klaxon. If any old Ford ever sneaks up behind me when I get home an
blows a klaxon theyll probably see me clap my derby over my face an
dive into a coal hole.

Theyve thrown so much gas at us lately that its gettin on the mens
nerves as well as there close. Most of the fellos would yell gas if
you threw a pot of geraniums into the dugout. Somebody stepped on
Anguses hand while he was asleep yesterday an he put some iodine on
it. He woke up in the middle of the night an smelt it. He had us
wearin our gas masks pretty near the rest of the night. But we--

Ive forgot what I was goin to say there. I bet Ive got gray hairs
since I rote that last line. Just as I got to the "we" I heard the old
klaxon squawk. When I felt