Aug 5, 1918

My Dear Cousins and Aunt and Uncle and second cousins:

I received Ethel's letter a few days ago and it made me real happy to think that anything I could write from over here would be so interesting. It seems to us who work so hard every day that everything is common place and that what ever we do we get stepped on by a major or a colonel or even some times by a general. But I reckon it is all for the one purpose to make us fit to shoot at the Hun.I wrote you a nice long letter from Angers and told you all about my having been made a Captain, and a lot of other irrelevant and unimportant details of things I'd been doing and expected to do. They had a box headed censor over there and I am morally certain he destroyed that (can't spell it) effort of mine to be interesting and let you know what I was and had been doing. Since then the regiment moved to a

training camp further from the front than ever and I've been working my head off. I was battalion ajutant [sic] for a month and then they gave me Battery D. I'm the hard boiled Captain of a shootin' Irish Battery. It's an ambition I've always had, to be a battery commander. Now I'm it I find it's mainly trouble and hard work. It's some satisfaction though when you've worked like Sam Hill half the night and felt as if you'd have the whole organization and yourself too in the jug before sunset the next day, to see all the kinks unwind themselves and have the battery pull out of the park on time, get into position and shoot the best problem on the row. That's what happened to me the other day. It was mainly good luck and excellent support from my competent lieutenants. I shot away some 611 rounds of ammunition. Enough to make some dozens of stenographic girls buy liberty bonds for the next year. And the best part of it was the projectiles hit the target. The Major remarked when I came up the D Battery is all right. I had the swell head all day - haven't quite got over it yet. If I can make a successful battery commander I shall think I've really done some good in this war. Talk about your infantryman why he can only shoot one little old bullet at a time at the Hun. I can give one command to my battery and send 862 on the on the way at one round and as many every three seconds until I say stop. If they'll only let metake this battery to the front and fire one volley at the Germans I shall be happy if I get court martialed [sic] the next day.

If you'll look in the Saturday Evening Post of May 18, 1918 you'll see a picture of a field I was inspected on day before yesterday. It's a very good picture and looks just like we did.

You'll probably be terribly bored listening to me rave about myself and my battery but when you consider that I've been going to school practically one year and have pulled triggers and worked wires to keep from being kicked out because I can't see and have then managed to avoid being [illegible] and such things by other maneouvers [sic] you can see that I feel right well to be a battery commander and have the privilege (almost) of taking a battery to the front.

Maybe I'll get shot by a Hun but I think not and maybe I'll get sent home for shooting up some infantry major's dugout but I hope not. All we're scared of now is that old Gen. Foche[17] [sic] will chase the Hun over the Rhine before we get there.

Be sure and keep writing when you feel inclined because letters from home are very good to get and don't worry about our hardships because "they ain't." We live in houses, eat all we can, hold and work so hard we can't get into devilment so don't be uneasy. Remember me to every one of the family and hope for me to shoot straight and hit only the enemy.

Sincerely,

Harry

Harry S. Truman

Capt. Bty D. FA

American E F.