Dear Mother
You will no doubt be surprised to see I’m in Chamonix but I’m just here on a little vacation. We are given a seven day leave every four months. Seven days side from travelling time. All our expenses are paid i.e. hotel bills and transportation. I am staying at the Hotel de Paris. You can see by the map where this place is right on the border of Switzerland and Italy. It is a resort way up in the Alps mountains right at the base of Mr. Blanc. This is where the Millionaire tourists from the United States come to do their mountain climbing. There is about five feet of snow on the ground here now. Oh, the scenery here is grand. I went up the Mer de Glace glacier today and tomorrow I think I will go to the Glacier des Bosson. The Y.M.C.A sends out parties every day on mountain climbing trips.
I won’t try to describe the scenery here, it would only weaken it. I will send you some cards, though they won’t do it half the justice.
We were supposed to have stopped at Aix-les-Bains but it was under quarantine when we got there so we came on here. This is a much more beautiful place than Aix-les-Bains.
My company is still up in Luxembourg but they may be up on the Rhine when I get back. I heard just before I left that we were going to Hamburg. I saw in the paper the list of divisions that were sailing in March, April, May and June but none of the regular Army divisions were mentioned so I guess it will be some time before I get home.
There are some regular army divisions over here, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th. None of them are mentioned in the sailing lists. Well I may as well see all the country I cna while I’m over here because I’ll never get the change again. I’ve already been in England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Alsace and Lorraine, Switzerland and Italy. Some little traveling, no?
Well Ma, I’ll close now hoping to find beaucoup mail from home when I get back to my Co.
Walter
Wagner W. Bushnell
5th M.6.R.S.
A.P.O.7.4.5
American E.F.
P.S. I can’t put many cards in with this letter so will send you some in separate envelopes