ON ACTIVE SERVICE
with the
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
August 10, 1918
Dear Father and Mother:
Your letter of July 5th received about two days ago. We have had it quite easy lately as we are having quite a rest. But I guess we all earned it for we were sure busy for a while.
We were in a good sized town for about a week which seems more like civilization. I met a French Family by the name of Schalles; they may be some distant relation to us. They were refugees from Alsace.
I received the razor blades O.K. Rose sent me some pictures of you and Mama also of Elsie and Rose. I also received some pictures from Mae not long ago. The last time we were in the line I saw some tanks in action. They are sure some boat. The looks of them is enough to scare a Boche out of 10 years growth. I saw in the Durango paper that Ray and Robert Armstrong had enlisted.
There are lots of girls running street cars here in the bigger towns and working in the mills and heaving coal. I guess that would be quite a sight in the states.
Will close for now with love your son,
Robert E. Schalles
1st Amb Co.
American E F
via
New York