Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1917-08-17

1t Seemed That tho Whole Earth Be
hind Mo Roso In the Air,
one elsc's business to pick that mar
up. Next, according to the queer psy
chology of battle. began to lose my
sensation of fear and nervousness
After l suw II second man 20 down |
gave my attention principally to con.
sideration of the Irregularities Of the
German parapet ahead OF us, picking
the trench. 1t seems silly to say 1t,
but seemed to get some sort of salts
faction ont of the realization that We
had lost the percentage which we
might be expected to lose going over.
Now, ii seemed, the rest of us were
safe until we should reach the next
phase of our undertaking. heard d.
rections given, ana l gave some my
self. My voice was firm. 1t surprised
me, and l felt almost calm. Our ar-
tillcry Ind so torn up the German barb
wire that 1t gave us no trouble at all.
We walked through II with only few
scratches. When we reached the low,
sandbng pnrapet of the enemy trench
we tossed In IL few bombs and follow
ed them right over rs soon us they had
exploded. There wasn't German in
sight. They were all In their dugouts
But we knew pretty well where every
dugout was locnted. and we rushed for
the entrances with our bombs. Every
thing seemed to be going just rs We
had expected 1t to go. Two Germans
ran plump into ME as was rounding
a ditch angle with bomb In my hand
They Ind their hands up, and each of
them yelled:
"Mcrcy, kumerad"
Ipassed them back, to be sent to tho
rear, and the man who received them
from me chuckled and told them TO
move lively. The German trenches
were practically just rs we had ex-
pccted to find them, according to our
sample. They were SO nearly similar
to the duplicate section in which we
had practiced that We had no trouble
finding our way In them. was just
thinking that really the only tough
part OF the job remaining would be
getting back across No Mans Land
when 1t seemed that the whole earth
behind me rose I'm the air. For mo-
ment / WINS stunned and half blinded
by dirt blown into my face. When /
was able to see 1 discovered that all
which lay behind me WINS q mass Of
upturned earth and rock, with here
and there man shaking himself or
scrambling out of 1t or lying still.
Just two minutes after we went into
their trench the Germans Ind explod-
cd mine under their parapet. I have
always believed that In some way or
another they had learned what spot
we were to raid and had prepared for
us. Whether that's true or not, one
thing is certain-that mine blew our
organization, us we would say in Ken
lucky, plumb to HI" And 1t killed
or disabled more than half of our
party.
Great Confusion.
There was much confusion among
those of us who remained on our feet.
Some one gave nm order to retire, and
some one countermanded It. More
Germans came out OF their dugouts,
but instead Of surrendering rs per our
original schedule they threw bombs
among us. 1t became apparent that
we would BIO killed or captured If We
stuck there and that we wouldn't got
any more prisoners. I looked at my
wrist watch and saw that there re-
manned but FIVE minutes more Of the
time which had been allotted for our
stay In the trench, SO blew my whis
lie and started back. had seen Pri-
vate Green (No. 1T7,250) knocked down
by bomb in the next section, and i
picked him up and carried him out
over the wrecked parapet. I took shell
ter with him In the first shell hole but
found that he was dead and left him
there. A few yards farther back to-
ward our line found Lance Corporal
Glass In she'll hole with part OF his
hip shot away. He said he thought he
could get back If helped him, and /
started with him. Private Hunter,
who had been In a neighboring shell
hole, came to our assistance, and be-
tween US Hunter and / got Glass to
our front trench.
We found them lining up the surylv-
ors Of our party for roll call>~.That
showed so many missing that Major
Lewis, formerly of the Montreal Star,
called for volunteers to go out I'm No
Mans Land and try to find some of
our men. Corporal Charleson, Private
Saunders and Event out We brought
In two wounded, and we saw number
OF dead, but on account of their black
ened faces were unable to recognize
them. The scouts later brought In sew
eral bodies.
OF the sixty odd men who had start
ed I'm our party fOrty-three were found
to be casualties-killed, wounded or
missing. The missing list was the
longest. The names of those men were
marked I'm. b. k" (missing; believed
killed. on our rolls. l have learned
since that some few Of them have been
reported through Switzerland as pris-
oners OF war in Germany, but most of
them are now officially listed as dead,