The Dickson County herald. (Dickson, Tenn.) 1907-1979, 1915-10-01
EARS OF THE ARMY
Signal Corps Get Little Credit
for Most Heroic Work.
With Shot ard shell Playing AsSund
Him sIsnalsr ceally spliees sro-
ken Telegraph Wires A.
ways at Danger Point
BY CHRIS AEALY.
tYntsruat ionnl News servtce.l

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exact part played by the skilled
| craftsmen OF Great Britain 4Appre-
eiatiye hints are given here and there
OF the work OF the collier In detect
Ing the enemy's mines. and boring
counter.mlnes. and OF thia work and
that OF the navy. in building trenches,
but none OF the ofaciAl war CORE
spondents have told US OF the bravery
and skill Of the telegraph section OF
the Royal engineers. whose work is
TO organize victory BY making IL pos
sihle for one line OF the men TO con-
munieate WITH the other by erecting
and repairing wires: In phrase, BY
acting as the ears Of the British
army, The signAler Ia seldom the
hero OF one of those great stories OF
aggressiveness which makes the name
OF Michael o'Leary the subject OF .
thousand stories and legends. yet biz
work. nevertheless, Is heroic to de-
gree,
An officer who has recently re-
turned from the region round ipres.
k'estubert. and La Bassee tells me
that The brayest feat he witnessed
during his stay at the iron, was that
OF a telegraph siguAler in the midst
Of a battle whose fortunes we're turn
ing now on the side OF the Germans,
and then on ours
shell came from the Prussian
side, which blew in trench and cut
telegraph line TO pieces. The next
/ moment slgnaler dashed through
with layer OF wire In his hand. his
pincers between his teeth, and quite
an armory OF other tools in his peck
cts. Then with shot and sholl playing
round him he began 10 relay the bro
ken telegraph line. fixed Il up, walked
calmly back 10 his original spot,
wiped from his face the mud and dust
with which II was covered, relit his
Pipe, and awaited his next Job
III was tho coolest piece OF work |
have ever seen. said the officer. He
was a Judge. too for he had seen six
| Victoria crosses earned. although the
| signaler In this case did not get one.
Here is a sketch OF the daily rou-
| tine Of the signaler. He rises while
all the other soldiers are asleep. and
| quietly makes his way to the place
where the now trenches are to bs
made, estimates the amount OF mate
rial necessary, thinks OF the men be
| can spare from the work Of repairing,
and then goes back TO make all the
preparations needed, which must be
completed before the shell signal Is
given that the artillery attack has
opened.
He waits with strained nerves. so
as to be at the heels of the rush OF
infantry which IL 20 capture the enc
mys trenches; then. MS the last Ger
man Ia bayoneted or taken prisoner.
even before the work OF the Red
| Cross section has begun, he starts
laying the telephones and telegraph
wires which are 10 keep the field
commanders Ia touch with one al.
| other.
Night work Is not only dI@cul; but
dangerous. Apart from the discom.
| fort of trudging through pioxed
fields, often after heavy rain has
made them into huge quagmires, fall
Ing into deep ponds made by big
she'll, and running the risk OF being
drowned where cry for help may
mean Wholesale death for your own
sector, lodging the star shells which
| the enemy send up TO take q view oil
things. the signaler must always bear
| In mind that the lines must be laid or
repaired, and his ewn life Ia simply
a means for that END.
| II he ia killed after his work Is
done, then he can die happy knowing
that be has saved the lives OF men.
| II his work Is unfinished. then death
/ has a new terror. new agony This
braces him up when q star she'll lights
the sky. He promptly faces his own
trench with his back to the enemy.
| The pink patch on his face would not
only make him target for sntper,
but would also give away the post
ton OF his regiment
SO he stands still, or else throws
himself face downward. running the
risk OF getting honorable wounds. in
the back, by the time he has meas
ured the ground for the nsw lines
given look for the other lines In
use, and made test or two, II. 10
time to return to his dugout quarters.
| crawl In for an hour or two's rest. and
perhaps. Just as he has fallen com
| fortahly asleep, be peremptorily
| awaReaed by the news that tho enc
my haa blown In one Of our trenches.
and the wires must be repaired or re
laid at once.
| Under no circumstances whatever
muse the communications between
the artillery and the infantry sections
ne interrupted for momGnt. FOR that
might mean disaster to the whole
army