Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1917-11-09
w. Il. Toolc, Former State College
student, ReCounts Incidents Of
Days Spent in War Territory

AatAd IA tAN AANAAN Il Nahf.t iNo ~
France with the eyer-present danger
from a hundred and one things, in
Guiding sudden sas attacks and air
raids, together with the entertain
ments given by the men TO make
them forget the horrors Of war; is
graphically told by W. Brioe Toole
in an article printed in the Daily
Missoulian. Mr.. Toole was form
erly member of the 1918 class Of
the State College of Washington,
and enlisted in the American Red.
Cross as ambulance driver. Mr..
Toole is a member of the Sigma
Nu fraternity and was member of
the glee club during the l916-17 sea-
son. The article is made up of eX-
tracts from letters written by Toole
to his mother, Mrs. John i. Toole,
of Missoula.
AS | told you before things are
quiet here. 1t is queer how soon
one becomes acclmated. When
man comes in off duty the following
conversation almost always takes
place:
How are things?'
oh, they shelled --- for a
while this morning and dropped
few on the road coming down
Then no one pays any further at
tention. 1t has got to be the usual
life. The thing that is a continual
wonder to me is how seldom anyone
is hit. But the French here have the
most artillery and shoot so shells to
one from the Germans. The con-
tinual banging is taken as a matter
of course.
Last night six of us were invited
10 a concert and | was asked to bring
my mandolin. We left here just be-
fore dark in one of the ambulances.
/ have forgotten whether | have told
you about the night driving. OF
course, we do not have any lights
anu Niit lOddS al z OfCiN OHbtN Win
everything from a five-ton truck to
the little cars they use in the
trenches.
I'VE drove for about five miles
and arrived at our destination in
total darkness. 1t is queer how one
knows when one gets into a place
where hundreds of people are living
Naturally there were no visible
lights and you could not tell that you
were in town because the houses
were knocked down. When I say
knocked down, I don't mean ruins
like you see in photographs, but that
there is not a wall standing over the
height of mans head.
However, from all about in the
darkness came a vague humming and
we were sure that here men were liv-
ing and that it was not the noise of
the open road
1--WE were stopped by sentry and
gave him our password which seems
TO open the road to every possible
courtesy Ambulancier Am ricain.
The sentry replied, Oh. Oui mon
comrade, and called into the dark
ness.
"A French lieutenant came up
and we left our car in care Of the
sentry. We went down the road for
a couple of hundred yards and then
took trench. After what seemed
mile of zigzagging back and forth,
we came to a door, which we entered.
This was the entrance TO the
atre at the front II was long, low
hall, the roof of which was on a level
with the ground and covered with
layer upon layer of sand bags. The
stage was simply a platform with
some burlap curtains at the sides.
About 500 poilus were standing
in the back, In the front of them
were seated the officers of the regi-
ment who were off duty. In front
of them was the band
AS an added touch was a poilu
at an old battered piano with
bloody bandage around his head.
I'VE were given a seat of honor
with the officers. AS I told YOU,
this division is about to move and
the three regiments were combed for
men who had been on the stage be-
fore the war. They were very, very
good, and classed up with any vaude-
vile l have seen.
Along about the middle of the
program l played the Indian Love
Song, and as an encore La Paloma. ;
They seemed TO like it very much.
/ have played at good many glee
club concerts while in college but
never before, and probably never
never again, to an audience like
that
Usually the audience looks from,