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March [[strikethrough]]13 [[/strikethrough]] ^[[20]], 1974.

Dear Wanda, Jessica and Ted:

On the 21st of July, 1918, Littauer went in search of Major-General Robert Lee Bullard, to report our squadron for duty with his new Third Corps. A corps was the largest field unit so far to be commanded by any American officer in France. American ground troops, in corps or divisional units, were incorporated into armies under French or British command and composed mostly of French or British. The First and Second American armies were created weeks later, and Bullard was to head the Second. The big offensive the allies had launched on July 18 was mainly a French effort, though several American divisions had key positions in it. One was the First division, which Bullard had commanded.

A corps comprised four divisions. At any given time two were usually in the battle line and two in reserve. Ideally each corps had an aviation group of three squadrons. One was assigned to work with each division in the line. The third was the "corps squadron". Its duties wwere mainly photography of rear areas inside the enemy lines and adjustment of fire for the heavy artillery. The big guns were Coast Artillery units under corps direction. Divisions had no artillery heavier than the 155 mm. (6-inch) howitzers. In July there were not enough American observation squadrons to go around. So the 88th was the only squadron the Third Corps had. We did everybody's errands until September 12th, when we were shifted again.

Littauer took me with him to see General Bullard. That honor properly belonged to Howard Douglas, our chief observer. But Douglas was in Paris, enjoying a disguised 3-day leave. At that critical time formal leaves were forbidden, but Littauer found a way around that ban. We had just begun to trade in our Sopwith PLANES FOR Salmsons. Douglas had gone with the first instalment of 6 Sops to Orly, just outside Paris. Orly was only a half-hour flight from our field, and the pilots could easily have completed the business in one day. But Littauer had sent an observer with each plane. He had allowed the crews three days to return from their errand. And he ^[[had]] given each man a written order, to satisfy the M. P.'s in Paris. I should be hypocritical to criticize Douglas, for in my file I have a similar ^[[order]] issued to me on the 30th of July.