Oliver Bunker Writes to J.C. Badgett About Life in the Trenches, 1918

Letter from Oliver Bunker of White Plains to his friend, J.C. Badgett, as published in the Mount Airy News, September 26, 1918

Somewhere in France

August 15^th

Dear friend

I received your letter some time ago. This leaves me well and getting along fine. I also received the letters from the girls. I think it was about the first of July that I got about a dozen at once. And I am sorry that I have not had time to answer them. I know if they knew how busy I have been they would excuse me. I was in the trenches in the front lines when I got your letter and I have not had time to write home but about once every 30 days. I have heard from Harden since I saw him, but all that I know is that he is some where over here.

I would like to hear from everybody over there. Some one who can write a long letter please write me every thing that has been going on since I left home. Well old friend, I have been scrapping the Germans, but I have not found anything funny about it. I guess you heard about the drive we made. We pushed the Germans back over 18 miles and the drive is not over yet, but I have been put back in the reserve and am now in the rear of the firing line, but am not out of hearing the guns. I don’t know when I will have to back in the trenches. We had a battle a few days ago and lost many of our men. 

You said in your other letter that you wished me the best of luck that could fall to any one, and it has sure come to pass, for the Germans landed a heavy barrage right at us several times, but we went right thru, and went up against machine gun fire. Nothing would stop us and we took some prisoners and captured many guns. The night of the time that I was at the front it was raining every day and night and I got so muddy I could hardly walk, but I did not mind the mud. Some of the prisoners that we took said that the Americans did not know how to stop when they ran into machine gun fire. We went so fast that we had to stop and wait for our own artillery to catch up. I was at a quiet front for a while, but we came to a lively front and captured a good many small towns and some larger ones. The boys at the front are now having good weather. Well I must close as it is getting dark and we cannot have a light for I am on guard duty tonight and am writing this letter holding the paper on my knee.

Your friend,

Oliver W. Bunker