Sincerely, Joel C. Swisher

Dear Folks,

We moved down here yesterday from Souilly about 12 miles west of Verdun. This place is about 25 miles west of Chaumont. We came down in trucks. It is about a 75 mile trip and we made it in about 8 hrs. which is good time for a loaded truck. We came thru some mighty pretty country and some neat villages and towns. Came thru Bar-le duc and St. Dizier. Both good sized towns, the latter is quite a manufacturing town. It had been raining for the past week and yesterday was clear and frosty, just right for the trip. The trucks were open so we spent the time by taking in all the scenery we passed. One of the things I noticed was the great amount of mistletoe on the trees along the way.

I do not know how long we will be here. We have some barracks to put in but I don’t know how much help we will have so cannot tell how long we will be here. Many of us feel that yesterdays trip was the first lap of our journey to a seaport and home. I hope that our ideas are correct. Even though we don’t have the best of luck, I think it won’t be many months until we are home.

Well, here’s hoping you are all well and getting along allright.

Best of Love,
Joel