This must be printed-- if it isn't somewhere else!!!!!
Letter postmarked Tompkins Square Sta. New York. N. Y. May 13, 11 AM, 1919 Addresed to Mr. Ben Knight, Mineral Wells, Route 5, Texas
364 East 4 st. New York, N. Y. May 12, 1910
Dear Mr. Knight,
I received a letter this morning from a brother of mine who is in France with the 29 division and he mentions your name in it. The facts are these. You were doing duty with the 36 division on the Champagne front. Do you recall that on the 27th of October, a fellow by the name of Charles Klein, 132 Machine Gun Bn. Co. D. was hit and you carried him off the field and that he later died in a hospital.
Charles Klein was my brother, and my brother who is at present in France, visited his grave and the boys of the 132 M. G. Bn, Co. D. He was given a royal reception and some interesting stories about my dead brother. And they gave him your address, as they told him you were the one in the best position to give him a few side lights on what had happened before my brother closed his eyes. Any statement that you will give me will be greatly appreciated.
Respectfully Yours, Samuel Klein, U. S. Navy
My Daddy answered the letter, but there wasn't any further information that he could give him about his brother.
I do not know if he told him that his brother was crazed from pain. He kicked and tore his and my Daddy's gas masks off.
My Dad was 'gassed' and spent months in the hospital in France. He said that 'the angel nurses',called him, 'The whispering hope'. He had a beautifull singing voice and led singing at church. He never could do that again. He had stomach and indigestion problems. To pass the time at the hospital, he pecked on French coins, money. He brought three home with him. They look like wide silver wedding rings. Two of them have got away from us. But I have worn one of them for years.
He wrote friends and 'back home'. In the hospital-they come through and said that those who would sign that they were 'well'', could come home. Daddy couldn't tell that they were doing him any good in the hospital. So he said that he was well, and he come home. He never could get any pension = because-He said that he was well.
One day Mote Gill come in from town and said, "I saw Ben Knight today." My Mother, Anne Gill asked, "Could he talk?" He said, "Yes, I heard him talk."
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