Dear Folks:
We are here at Toul, France and just four or five months ago we marched through this town on the way to what was to have been the attack on Metz. We were through here the tenth day of November and if ever the future looked uncertain ours did at that time. The Allies expected to lose at least seventy five thousand men in taking Metz. Two more days and we would have been holding our part of the powerfully busy front.
But now it is all over and how different it seems now. The last time we hiked through here with heavy packs and while the company had rifles we had heavy colt automatics and we were beastly tired too. We came into Toul this time riding and have nice quarters and a good mess.
I don't know just how large Toul is but would judge it to be around thirty thousand. It is about the average for a French city. The headquarters of the 2nd Army is here and General Bullard is in command. Almost every division in the second army is represented here. I am enclosing four postcard pictures of the town. I guess I could have found better ones but I was in a hurry when I dropped in at one of the stores.
We will be here for almost a week I guess. Last night we were to have played out at evacuation Hospital number 37 but our transportation didn't get to us in time so we didn't have to go. Clark and I went to town and went over to the theatre and saw the last act of an American play "Officer 666." It was put on by a stock company from the states and it was good. We could have gone earlier and seen the whole show but we weren't particularly keen on seeing any of it.
The president's daughter, Miss Margaret Wilson is here in Toul and sang at one of the theatres the night before last. We got in late and decided not to go up to hear her. I understand she's a very good singer.
Think I'll stay here at the "Y" for dinner. I am not particularly hungry and can get doughnuts, sandwiches and coffee or cocoa so I am not going back to the Garrison where we eat.
It is taking turns at raining and snowing and is a beastly day out. That is one nice thing about this trip of ours. We can stay in where it is warm and dry and when we play anywhere we always have transportation in closed trucks or cars. That beats doing "squads" right and left back with our company.
Want to write Bess a letter so will cease.
Don't worry over my health. If I hadn't been in good shape physically I would have been under the daisies long ago in a French rest camp. Just to show you how one must care for himself I'll tell you why our Lieutenant is in the Hospital and low with Typhoid. We were five weeks in Esch, Luxembourg. It is a city where one can indulge in any kind of pleasure he sees fit. Well, he had a fine room with heat, bath and all that but he disinfected something fierce and as a result, the first truck ride we took when we left Esch for Lorraine he caught a cold and only because his strength for resistance was so low he took Typhoid.
The rest of us are never billeted in good places and are subjected usually to a lack of heat and decent living conditions and we have to take care of ourselves. We are located fine here though. Our room has a large stove in it and we have plenty of wood, coal and blankets. So don't worry over me. I know better than to get out of condition. I don't dare to as it cuts down my chances just that much of getting home.
Grant
