machine gunner that a battalion political commissar. And if I must be the latter, at least I’m going to be a commissar who’s a damn good machine gun operator.

I think I mentioned to you in a previous letter the swell French commissar with whom I’d been working. He was battalion commander of the French battalion “Fevrier” at the time when his battalion commandant and the two company commanders were killed, and took over the mili- tary leadership of the whole battalion until the battle was over. Later he got it in the head in a charge in which he was fifty meters ahead of the nearest man. Some of his com- rades from that battalion have told me that even as he passed out he waved them forward. Two of the guys who went out into no-man’s land afterwards to bring him in

were killed. Anyway, he is a real swell guy and we became

great friends while working together for a few weeks. He was not around at the time I was called over to this job, but

I as soon as he found out where I was he hopped his motor-

cycle and came tearing o-ver to find out what he could do to help me get the work going.

JOE

18.

Albacete, June 14

Dearest love, g V

Ed Flaherty, brother of the Charley Flaherty I have pre- viously written gtbout, was here tonight. He is commander of one company of the Lincoln Battalion, which finally came out of the lines the other day for a real rest. Sam

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