Now where might Nellie Jane have gone on her trip?

Herb is in this mysterious place, Somme Py, until the 16th of October.

See how valuable hand knit socks are???? We should all be so lucky to have someone love us enough to knit us some socks.

October 9, 1918

Dearest Mother,

This is the letter I promised you on the card I wrote several days ago. As every one in the world knows now the French troops are advancing along the lines at all points. We happen to be at a point where a strong effort is being made – and made quite successfully. At present I’m sleeping in a dugout that was being used by a German colonel two weeks ago and at that the actual line is a good ways ahead. So you see considerable progress has been made. The country hereabouts is absolutely desolate the Germans had held it for four years – up till two weeks ago. The soil is mostly chalk and guess is pretty scarce now so most of the landscape is dirty white. All this district was once a forest but what trees haven’t been destroyed by shell fire have been cut down by the Germans so the country is practically bare. One surprising thing to me is the lack of good roads behind the German lines. The French have gangs of German prisoners out widening and repairing the old roads and building new ones in order to [prepare?} for the immense traffic of all kinds.

We were out of touch with the mail man for some time, but we have a system now whereby he leaves our mail at a town some 15 miles back of here and collects whatever there is to go out.

Headquarters is turning down all requests for shipments from the States of any articles that can be bought in France or are issued by the Government. Heavy socks are issued – of course they’re not hand knitted but that fact isn’t considered to cut any ice. So I guess there’s no way for me to get those socks. I’d certainly like to have them, too.

The Posts + Times come in quite regularly. I got one package yesterday and one about a week ago – and they always come in very handy. Letters, however, haven’t been very plentiful. However I did get those telling all about your trip and was very glad that you had such a pleasant time. I hope you, Mother, got a good rest. I was awfully glad to have those pictures of Olive – after I’d figured out who the young lady might be. My faith how she has grown. I hope you’ll have a good one of Marine to send me and I would like to have one of you and Dad and Harry.

Your affectionate son,
Herbert