Eddy County letters from The Great War

Editor’s Note: Letters from The Great War is a project conducted by students of Dr. Joseph T. Stuart, associate professor of history at the University of Mary in Bismarck. Students researched archives at the North Dakota Heritage Center to provide transcripts for use by the North Dakota Newspaper Association and the North Dakota World War I Centennial Committee.

These letters were transcribed by University of Mary Theology students, Ashlyn George ‘21.

Eddy County Letter 1

My Dear Mother and All:

I must write you a few lines to let you know that I am still alive and doing my bit to the best of my ability, and believe me, what it takes to do it I have got. I suppose it must be kind of lonesome at home now since Wilbert has left and I suppose it will not be long before Shafter goes. But [do] not try to stop him even if he is not old enough. He is big enough and the sooner we get [the] Hun the better and the sooner we will all be back to our dear homes and friends, whom I am sure will be glad to see us all again.

Oh! Say, Mother, I just received some papers from John. They were dated April 6th and some before. Still they were of great interest to me. I read in the New Rockford Center where the people in our little village of Sheyenne, were one hundred percent American and where they took all the German text books from the school house and burned them in front of the post office. That sure tickled me; only I regret that we could not burn a couple of thos[e] dirty Hun submarine captains. I want to tell you all at home, that our soldiers in France sure are raising dust there now and making the Huns eat it all to[o]. They sure are howing [sic] up our country in all respects. Of course, you must not forget that us boys in blue over here sure are and have done our share; but you hear very little of us boys who wear the navy blue and our stories and tales would take a long time to tell[.] It is up to us boys to take the boys in khaki over there and also to take and protect all of their foodstuffs and supplies which is the most important task to do and and [sic] we have done it so far and not a word said. But some day we will get our credit and thanks and that will be when the war is over. We sure have got the Hun subs bluffed; not bluffed but beaten and the Stars and Stripes with good Americans is what it took to do it.

Well, folks. I think I will close for this time and hope to hear that the wheat crop returns were good and that you all are well.

I am your loving Sailor Boy,

Earl

Earl Hanson, U.S. Navy Sailor, wrote this letter to his mother, Mrs. J.A. Warner, on Sept. 2, 1918, from the U.S.S. Melville Flagship, which at the time was sailing in European waters. It was first published in the “Sheyenne Star” on Oct. 24, 1918.

Eddy County Letter 2

To Mrs. A Flaskrud,

Spring Grove, Minn., U.S.A.

My Dear Madam:

I regret to have such sad and painful news to write to you, but feel that you would probably like to know a little more about the illness and death of your son Pte. E. Flaskrud, No. 2158382-117th U.S.A. Inf. in our hospital than given in the cable-gram.

He came to us wounded in the left knee and did very well for a few days, but the infection in the wound soon began to spread and he had to be operated upon several times. His resisting power was not good and his fever become [sic] higher and higher until he died at 4 o’clock a.m. Nov. 3rd, 1918.

Your son, my dear Ms. Flaskrud, had some very good friends in the hospital here. Some of the men of his company, also Minnesota boys, who had been wounded at the same time he was and had the good fortune to be put together in the same ward there. Among them particularly was Pte. Russel R. Smith who was very pleasant company for him.

I am very grateful to say that he did not suffer greatly. He was always cheerful and brave and very patient. He often spoke of all of you at home and wondered what you were doing. I am sure his mind was with you most of the time. His personal things will be sent on to you by the war department[.]

I hope, my dear Madam, that the knowledge that your son was so brave and noble, and gave his life for a noble cause will be a comfort to you in your sad loss.

Hoping that the Kind Providence will comfort and console you and yours, I am[.]

Sincerely,

Martha A Sander,

No. 12 (St. Louis, U.S.A.)

Gen. Hosp B.E.F. France

Martha A Sanders, a nurse serving in France, wrote this letter to the bereaved mother of Pte. E. Flaskrud, Mrs. A. Flaskrud, on Nov. 17, 1918. It was published in the "Sheyenne Star" on Jan. 2, 1918.