Letter 98
Dec.
15, 1918
To My Waiting Sweetheart,
If I could
only live just for one hour and have it really be with you I would not know
what effect it would have on my burning heart.
You may think dear, I am a bit blue.
Please don’t think that, for I’m so happy tonight and have been all day.
In one of your letters you said you wanted to tell me some news. Now listen,
dear, I want to tell you something. When
you are pouring out your entire soul with that burning love, that is what makes
me feel so happy. I could stand to read those love messages all
day, for my heart seems to crave that, and nothing else.
It isn’t the news all together I want. All I ask is your love, and more than ever,
you. Never did I think a man could have such love for anyone as I have for
you. If you only knew the many hours I
lay awake at night dreaming and picturing in my mind our future. It is just
wonderful, but when I come to my senses, I feel bad to think it was nothing but
a little night dream. But I’m living in hopes and faith that all may come true
someday when I stand before God and say I am the rightful owner of you, dear.
Now back
again to me being so happy, for two reasons.
First, I received some mail tonight:
3 from you, 1 from mother, and 1 from Wards. Second, because I’ve been with Geo. all day, as
he came over this morning bright and early. He stayed until three this
afternoon. Oh what a friend I have in him. Anything he has he shares with me
and the same with him from me. Yesterday afternoon I was off. I ventured to
Aranville to see him. I stayed about 2 hr. and then headed home, for I had two
and a half miles to go and muddy roads at that. He let me read 2 of his
letters. He seems to think his girl is not paying him her best respect. She
seemed to have the idea he had been neglecting his writing to her, and he does
not write as much he did before coming over here. She must remember we are
forced into a much different place than we were at Camp Miller or Dodge. For all
mail has to be censored which leaves here, and one can’t write as they
wish. But she should be able to read in
between lines.
Dear, if
any boy ever was true to a girl, Geo is to Bessie Blood. If she were placed in
his shoes things would be much different. I don’t know whether you have ever felt the
same way or not, but if you have, please dear forgive me. For you can imagine how I feel, writing to
you and then having someone else read it (whom you know it doesn’t concern). Yet I am not ashamed with what I have
written.
Today Geo.
and I have had a few chats by ourselves.
We went to a church service this morning, but dear, they seemed to lack
something, which to me, was the spirit of the Chaplin. He read his prayer from a prayer book. Did
God ever wish prayer to be written out and repeated Sunday after Sunday? My
conception of a prayer is the innermost soul, pouring out its greatest joys of
thanksgiving and making words into life. A prayer must be acted upon as well as
said.
There were
19 fellows there, three of them were Mormon, a good percentage of the few we
have in the Engineers. They sat together, I surely felt proud to think 3/19 of
the crowd were men from good Mormon families from Utah. If anyone ever wanted to be where he could
partake of the good spirit of the gospel, I did today; I surely can see the
great difference in our church and others.
The letters I received today were the
ones between November third to the tenth. I only received 13 letters this week. Thursday night I received two letters on the
22nd & 24th of November. I surely
was pleased to get them even if they were a little behind time. I got them just before mess. So I went and got my mess and then I sat down
to a great love feast all by myself. Oh
love, I’m sure you can appreciate with me the value of a letter from those you
love so much. They are filled with my only desire. That you may you always have that love for me
is the greatest desire I ask of you dear. I’m sure I will return home the same,
and will always be the same to you dear.
When you
speak about anyone being surprised, I surely was when I received word of the
new arrival. I just had to read and
reread it before I could make myself believe that I was an uncle again. I finally took it to heart or came to my
senses and said to myself, ‘well the more the merrier.’ The only thing I can wish them is good luck
and may they have the help of God in rearing them. They promised to name the
next baby after me, but I see it can’t be done, so your name will be just as
good (Beth). I hope all will be well and
be going smoothly by the time you receive this letter.
The weather here is still warm and there is a little rain to make the roads muddy. We have had a little change in our program of late: 3 days a week we work on the road or the railroad, 1 day drill, 1 day rifle range, Saturday morning inspection, and afternoon off. Then Sunday makes it much better but we surely must have our clothing and rifles in good shape.
If we are
compelled to stay all winter I hope we stay in this region, for we have good
blankets and plenty of fire material to keep us warm.
I surely was lucky in going to Metz last Sunday, because last Thursday they denied the privilege of any American going to Metz on account of a little trouble between some Americans and French, who seem very hard to get along with at present. They didn’t seem to want us there. Well we don’t want to be where we are not wanted.
Well dear
it is getting close to my bedtime so we’ll say goodnight, wishing you the choicest
blessings of God. May my love ever be the same for you. I know I love you more
than tongue can tell. All I want is a chance, with oceans of love, yours loving
sweetheart.
Henry X X X
Corp.
H. D. Call, Co. A 315th Engr’s
American E. F. France
A.P.O.
795
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