World War 1 letter from Eckhart Vissering
The following letter was written by Eckhart Vissering to his mother in Minonk on February 9, 1919. Click here for more on Eckhart's military background. Thanks to Doug Martin who gave us a copy of the letter.Dear Mother, We
have just sent you three packages and hope you receive them O.K. They
contain mostly towels and knit goods which we will have no further use
for, and which we would not have room for in our trucks. They also
contain a few souvenirs one of which is a German officers's knife. That
is my souvenir and be sure to take good care of it for me. Some of the
contents of one of the packages belongs to Kirkspatrick so please try
to keep things well bound together so that none of his things are lost.
You spoke of getting souvenirs. It is not a question of getting them
but of getting them home. We are having some French?? fixed up and
think we will send them home. I have a German watch and chain we took
from German prisoners but I am going to keep it with me. We are afraid
it might get lost if I sent it home. Its not an expensive watch but I
don't want to lose it.
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We
haven't heard yet whether we get to go to England but expect to know in
a few days. However, the chances for our going is very slim, but I
expect to go to Paris in a week ot two to spend a few days and the rest
of my money. "The Lamp Dodger" (the paper Folkert use to send you from
Camp Dodge) has just come out with an editorial saying we would be
ordered home and mustered out in 9 months or so. That would get us in
the States sometime in March and probably back in civil life some time
in April. But one can't tell anything about it, maybe we will be back
by that time and maybe not for 6 months, but we hope it will be soon. Esther
said in her last letter that you thought we would be on our way before
her letter reached us so that it wouldn't be any use for her to write
but we are still right her in St. Armand and we will be for at least
several weeks. Folkert is
writing to Esther and ?? tonight. He is O.K. and like myself is growing
fat and lazy. I hardly think either of us has done a days work in the
last six weeks. Your loving son, Eckhart P.S. Speaking of souvenirs, this is the best yet.
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