Braives

Belgium

Feb 7 1919

Dear Mother & Dad.-

Well I have made another move, I am at a field dressing station. I have had [?] for some time, so they sent me here to get fixed up. [?] (Im not sure if that is the way to spell it) is a skin disease, it comes out like small boils on different parts of the body, they spread like the deuce and are darn hard to get rid of. I have had about a dozen so far but I think they are about finished now. I believe they are caused by not having enough green stuff with our food, also not being able to get a bath and change of clothes often enough. There has been quite a few fellows from the battery sent away with it and it seems common among the civilians.

I met Howard Knott here, he was down with a slight touch of the flu.

I suppose all my mail will come now that I'm away, I won't get the parcels, but the letters will follow on. By the way address my mail to the battery as I will be back in a few days, better not send any parcels till I get back.

Wednesday night we had quite a little snow storm, there was about 4 in. on the ground. Since then the weather and been clean but cold. It gets a little colder here than home.

I guess it will be quite a little while before we get back as the 5th Div. is almost the last to go, so we very likely not be home till the summer. Well, one thing, it will be pretty rough and cold crossing over now, it will be much better a few months later. I would naturally like to get back as soon as possible, but as I was one of the last to come over it is only fair to the others that I should be one of the last to go back. I am more sorry for your sake than myself, but thank heaven you haven't to worry about whether I will stop a shell or not.

I am having the easiest time of my life just now, we get up just in time to have breakfast, in fact if you wish you don't have to get up, they'll bring it to us. We do nothing all day but eat, sleep and read or play cards. We get all we want to eat, and good grub too.

All these Belgium Villages are about the same, and dead, absolutely nothing doing, it must be awful to live in these places.

These villages about here haven't been touched by the War at all, it's hard to realize that there had been a war anywhere near here, every-thing is so still and peace-ful.

Well now is everything at home? I guess quite a few soldiers are returning by now.

Well there isn't anything to write about so will close

Your loving son

Walter