Somewhere in France (Buss)

France
July 12, 1918.

Dear Aunt Rose:

I received your letter of May twenty ninth about a week ago, also Elgie’s pretty July fourth card. Thanks very much for it Elgie. So you are five years old now. I hope your mother gave you five good spanks for me. I would like to have been there to do it myself. I think that its quite mean of you telling me all about the ice cream and nice cakes that you are having. It makes me so homesick. Lucile wrote me out a big bill of fare in one letter, a dinner that they had on some occasion and I told her I’d never write her again if she teased me like that.

You folks at home are sure doing your bit for Uncle Sam. Dad wrote that a service flag with fifty-two stars was raised Memorial day for the boys who had left Farnam. I think thats pretty good for a small town. I only know of a very few who haven’t enlisted. It wouldn’t surprise me much to hear that Delevan had enlisted as soon as he’s old enough, but hate dreadfully to think of it, of course this winter if we stay here won’t be near as bad for us as last. We were really pioneers and things weren’t ready for us at all. Last Christmas we all planned on having the war over with this spring and home by the fourth of July; but now we’ll do well if we’re home by the next fourth. But most of the Frenchmen think that it will be over in about four or five months. I sure hope that they are right about it. I would sure like to have spent the fourth at home. How did you celebrate, Elgie? Sunday, July fourteenth is the French "National Fête" day, something like our fourth. We are to have a holiday and I understand that it is to be a national holiday in the States, in honor of France. I hope we get a holiday for all of our allies, (about twenty-two, or something like that.)

A squadron of *censored* Allied planes just went over us. They were flying in a bombing formation. I suppose that they were just returning from a bombing party to some German town. I see by the papers that the Allies are doing quite a bit of raiding along the Rhine. Next Monday, July fifteenth we will be in the service just a year. I guess we can’t be called "Rookies" anymore. Well must quit, must not make my letters too long, because I want to write about two dozen more this P.M.

I’m putting in some coins for Elgie. Now write often.

With Love to All,
Harald

New Address: (Important)
Pvt 1/c E. Harald Buss
Field Hosp. #166
Amer. Ex. Force,
A.P.O. #715.

(A.E.F.) must be written in full or abbreviated like I have it so as not to confuse it with (A.I.F.) "Australian Imperial Forces."

Note: This was a private letter to Rose Thompson from Harald Buss and was not published in the Farnam Echo.