Took a shower-- the first since returning from Paris. Everybody has cooties!

As the First World War entered its final weeks, the German government reached out to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson about a possible armistice. The Germans hoped to split the Americans away from their British and French allies and get easier terms. In his reply to the Germans, published in newspapers around October 24th, Wilson was resolute in his commitment to the Allied cause and would not hear of a separate peace. 
  

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)

Sunday, October 27, 1918:

Got 3 hours of sleep last night. Pretty good for me on post. Our guns cut loose this A.M. at 4 o’clock and a couple of big boys over back of us somewhere shook me out of bed. Sat in the dressing station until 6 A.M. when I got a call to Sommerance. Fritz raised hell in Fléville last night. Several new shell holes in the road and many newly killed horses.

Read Pres. Wilson’s reply to German plea for armistice. ’Tis a wonderful note though the last paragraph was sufficient. Hope there is no armistice until we have German militarism ousted. Don’t think it will be long now. What is the new German system going to amount to?

Took a shower bath this A.M. at headquarters -- the first since returning from Paris. Everybody has cooties!

Relief came at 1 P.M. Returned to camp and worked on car. Grady Chapman took my car back on post for this shift.

Monday, October 28:

Spent the day in cleaning up our dugout and person. Put a stove in our house and cut a pile of wood with Al LaFleur. Got letters from Dot and Mother dated Oct.1st. Not bad time at all. Wrote notes to both last night. The big noise which we all expect very soon up here is being delayed for some reason. Still massing artillery. New divisions up here are 77th, 80th, 2nd and 27th. The 42nd is the only division being relieved that we know anything about.

Played bridge this evening with Titchner against Burt and McCrackin. We lost. A man by the name of Stevens dropped in on me this eve. He hails from Ambler, [PA], knows Dot who told him to look me up. He is a nice, good boy from S.S.U. 554 now with the 2nd division -- just down from the Champaign. Took a walk with him later and had a good talk. Still more proud of 647 than ever.