Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-11-07

tne frencp army just as VIC nave
been doing.
Captain Mallet, the Frenchman at
the head of this service, in a speech
yesterday explaining the situation
gave us a splendid talk, recognizing
our services as volunteers and COM
menting very flatteringly on the work
we have done for the French at a
time when they needed it most, and
/ regretting that it would be at least
three weeks before he could release
us from service. So that it will prob
ably be a month before l can do as
l please.
Several Openings
! I did not enlist at this time, pre-
! ferring not to continue with the cam
I ion service and also because | have
my fingers on several other jobs that
would interest me much more. From
an indirect source l heard of an
! opening in the newly organized cam
| outage section of the L. s. Army, re- |
quiring engineers craftsmen. print
/ ers, etc, with opportunity for i'm |
mediate commission, good pay and
| rapid advancement for the branch
| has just been organized and they
need men badly. l have applied, but
as yet have had no reply. | also ap- |
piled to the artillery branch of the
service for training in the artillery
| school for officers, somewhere near
| Paris. and, as they are accepting
men for commissions in the Regular
Army through that school, | thought
| there was at least a chance. Ana
J also there is aviation as last re- |
! course, but l will try very hard to
| land in something else before l tackle
aviation. though if it were just my
! self to consider l would take 1t up
! the first chance, for l am crazy |
about it.
! However. I thought it well not to !
! be in too much of a hurry. | also
| wanted to go through the proposed
offensive with the French in TINS
service. for we cover a lot of terri |
tory around here and see much that
/ otherwise would be lost on station |
/ ary lob. The boys who signed up |
! left Yesterday for another canton
ment just for enlisted men and l
! believe during the next few weeks !
will be put to work assembling ana
driving new trucks from Bordeaux or
some other point to the front, when
will be interesting work, but they
will miss out on this attack, and, |
! having gone through the prepara-
! tions for it, want to see the rest.
| feel perfectly satisfied in the
course | have taken, and / shall
never regret and always be glad for
the opportunity of having served
with the French Army. have OBJ
} tanned a viewpoint of the war from |
an angle that few Americans have
seen. and that no American soldier |
coming across in this mass of troops |
ever will see. We have been init |
mately associated with the French,
from poilus to the high officers, and |
l cannot express too highly my ad- |
miration for them. At first | was a
! little disappointed in them, for all
| saw were the little old wizened ter
ritoriar' and the dirty pollu, out
since seeing so much of them up |
! here at the front, watching them as
| they go to the trenches, and back
/ from them en- repos, the uncomplain-
/ ing doggedness, the uneNpresSed
WEAKNESS, the unfaltering obedience
has impressed me very deeply.
Profoundly Impressed
The other night on a very dark
road which was jammed with trail
fiC at standstill because the Boches
were shelling a bridge just about a
quarter of a mile in front of us,
there passed along a narrow path
at the side of the road single file
OF infantry trudging along with
their heavy packs and impedimenta
| silent as ghosts, moving up toward
the trenches and that line had been
moving that way for days. They
are beginning to liVen up the action
along the front and those poor souls
were pIodding along to what Will be
the grave for a great many of them.
! The whole scene as | waited there
! IMPRESSED me profoundly.
! The French officers have shown
| themselves to be a wonderful organi-
! zation of men, always extremely
courteous to us and willing at all
| times to help us out of difficulties.
and doing what at first sight would
appear to be inefficient work for the
! army as compared to American
| standards, but on analysis proves to
| be the right thing, learned from the
experience of three years OF war.
| We would change many things I'M
mediatelv. but would afterward find
! them to be trivial and of minor i'm
/ portance.
certainly hope that the Amer
! lean Army will not be too cock-sure
| OF itself, too anxious to o'revoluuonZe
| the system of warfare. too ready to
| criticise the French, for the French
have many things to tell the u. ).
! Army, for experience is the best
! teacher. which our boys VIII find
| out. | am afraid, at their own cost.
| | am anxious to serve under our
/ Flag and | shall as soon Is possible,
| but | shall always consider 1t Won
! derful privilege to have been able to
| stand side by side with the French,
as a combatant, receiving their pay
and under their colors, helping them
| the infinitesimal bit that | have, and
1 pray for them, for us, for human
| ity. that 1t may soon be over, the
victors rewarded and the guilty pun
| ished.
ON an afternoon like this it is
rather hard to maintain viewpoint,
| for the elements are decidedly of o
| discouraging aspect. Our month and
a half of beautiful clear and warm
weather has at last ended in n cold,
clustering day (now 2.30 p. m.) and
! il is now raining steadily, while six
of us are crowded around a little
stove about the size of a bucket i'm
the barracks. dreading the trip we
have to make tonight. We leave at
4.3O and will probably get back aft
| er midnight. The moon has been full
for the last week, but has now dis
appeared, so it will be pitch black
| tonight We carry trench bombs
am feeling fine and fit for any
| thing, though / will admit that If it
were up to me I would choose a lit
! tie different kind of weather to drive
a truck through at night.
Now that we have settled back to a
/ normal state, we expect to be kept
very busy. and | will write whenever
I can. Write lots of letters, all of
you. With love to all,
HERBERT.