Oct. 9, 1917
My Dear Mother: -
I rec. your letter of the 6th this A.M. and one from Leona this P.M. Those were the first two letters I have rec. since coming here, but suppose you have been very busy owing to Dear Old Grand Dad.
I spent most of this evening over at Company A. Signal Corp, with Frank Cullen, Earl McBride & Harry Van Hoesen. Thursday Eve Frank Cullen & I are going up to the city, they have two good shows up there, like the Alhambra.
One of our fellows, named Bachman, who seemed very despondent, disappeared from camp Sat eve at 6:00, he left without his coat or hat after searching his personal property we found his razor missing, today we got word that he was found in a hay barn with his throat cut. He is now in the Base Hospital. I am unable to get any definite information as to the truth of the entire story on the seriousness of his condition.
I wish you would look up Elwood Tyler's mother & let him know how she is. She was very low when we left and he has not heard from home since we left. Please do this immediately as he is very downhearted over affairs.
Everyone else is well & happy. In the tent with me are: Harry Manson, Stewart Donaldson, Clarence Keiser, Don Tubbs, Hoyt Holton, Hugh Neff, Lester Elliott, Erle Walton, Lyle Rothenberger, John O Jesse, and Charles Ellis. The "Dirty Dozen"
They won't allow us to wear white collars and leather putters uptown. I guess they are sore because some of the fellows look neater than the officers.
I must write to Leona so will close.
With Love for All
Your Son
Howard
Just in case you're wondering...above are WWI-era "leather putters" with a bonus pair of spurs. It took a lot of wading through golf sites on Google to figure out just exactly what Howard was talking about. And where did Howard wear these devilishly handsome legwear? To the theat-ah, of course! He mentions the "Alhambra", which was a theater that was built in 1911 in Toledo. It has since been demolished.
As a mother, this post really cut me to the core. I can't even imagine what Howard's mother could have been feeling, imagining her child a situation so hard enough that a friend would want to take his life. Or, even that Howard would have had to deal with the emotions of the aftermath, still only being a teenager. I suppose it was nothing compared to what was still to come.
And poor Elwood's mother - and Elwood himself - dealing with being apart without the benefits of any communication to even know how each other are even coping. We vilify our smart phones and pine for the romantic days of letters, but an excerpt like this makes me grateful I can reach out so easily to those I love.
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