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who had given up all idea of ever seeing home again they just rushed full well in to the fight. many time the Fritzes though acordin[[according]] to Academic warfare the American should retreat but they could not stop the boys and they have (the boys.) left us all behind we cannot buy any thing that the boys need the most or what they crave for all our viliges [[villages]] about Leon are demoralised The civilins [[civilians]] are comming back and trying to straighten out their affers [[affairs]].  soon everything will be in good order and every body that have any thing to do with the Army will move forward.  Monday & tuesday I took a trip up near the lines in an auto truck staid [[stayed]] two days. and the way the Americans are cleaning up the Fritzes is grate some places where [[strikethrough]] the [[/strikethrough]] we past [[passed]] we could see the Fritzes must have been on the run but other places a stand had been taken and very sever [[severe]] fights had taken place. some viligs [[villages]] were completely wiped [[strikethrough]] out [[/strikethrough]] off the map.  The Germans had been in the habit of putting their officers in Chateaus.  one fine building and even Chirches [[churches]] and the French have never been inclined to distroy [[destroy]] them, but the American soilder [[soldiers]] bombard this fine places as well as the other. there is no use to try and use any other method except there own. to simply crush them. I made some sketches while up there of runens [[ruins]] and write all about my trip. which you will see later.  Anmuty [[ammunition]] guns broken wagons, cars. every thing of the Army laying in the fields. many grate wheatfields had been torn out by the obus.  the barages by the A. were so acurate [[accurate]]. the grate obus had fell about 12 yards apart over grate fields as far as you could see. I walked all around Fair a Tordenous [[Fère-en-Tardenois]] which is completely ruined.  I sleep on a lounge in the 

Transcription Notes:
* "obus" is French for shell [This is a response to the comments that follow.] *I think there is probably a more accurate way to transcribe what the transcriber called "opus", but can't figure it out myself. It looks more like "ofus", but I'm not sure what that could be a misspelling of. ---On page 13, the transcriber called it "Ofus", a misspelling of "Office", But this doesn't really fit here.