Sidney D. Light's WWI Diary, Postcards & Letters, 329th Battery Book Accounts

My dear Alberta,

....Since I wrote last the censorship rules have been changed so I am now allowed to write a little news....Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the second Thanksgiving that I have been in the Army. I don’t know where I’ll celebrate the next one but let’s hope it’s in the good old U.S.A. I certainly am sick of this country and would like to get back.

I don’t know what’s wrong with the mail but we haven’t received any in over a week. The last letter I received from home told of my brother’s wife not being expected to live after an operation, so I am very anxious to hear from home.

Had a letter from both my brother Fred and sister last week. They are both well and anxious to get back. Nobody seems to know what this regiment is going to do or where we are going to go but we are building stables for more horses and are painting our wagons, guns and rolling kitchen so it’s either move forward into German territory or else parade in some of the large cities over here. The latter purpose I rather expect and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were in Paris about the 15th of next month when Pres. Wilson is there. I certainly hope we don’t go up into Germany because, if we do, it will be a long time before we get back.

I notice by the papers that several units that were in training in England have already left. Guess I’ll have to get sick and get sent to a hospital as the hospital patients will be next to go. I imagine my sitter will be over here for a long time yet......

...Pont a Mousson, where we are now located, is a fairly large town and has been deserted by the civilian population since the Germans captured it last winter. It has been pretty badly damaged by shellfire and I don’t believe there is a solid pane of glass in the whole town. The streets are all stone and it’s the most civilized looking place we have been in. We are just about 8 miles southwest of Metz. Two of us took a walk last Sunday with intentions of visiting Metz but an M.P. stopped us when we were about a mile from there so we didn’t get to see it after all. We’re going to try it again tomorrow if we can catch a train.

I am having my sister send you some fancy work for Xmas. I don’t know what it is as I never saw it. She got it for me while she was on her furlough. I hope it reaches you all right by Xmas. Gee, it seems funny to be talking about Xmas this far ahead. Our Xmas letters were supposed to have been mailed yesterday. Can you imagine being so far away that it takes mail a month to reach you? ....