The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1917-09-12
From the Front
Interesting Letter from Young
American With French
Army

MunCy, or tho dap, from Mr.
Walter s. Peterson, of Red Oak
Iowa, member of tho first
volunteer American ambulance
group to go into the French
army. MIR. Peterson was a
school mate of Mr.. Donald Pres
colt ut the University of Penn
sylvnnia aud has visited him
here in Big Stone Gap:
NJ Dear Mudge:
Received your letter yes.
terday and glad to hear ali is
we'll and that Don got Il look at
my previous note. have writ
ten him card and II couple of
letters hut may have sent them
to his rural Pennsylvania I'D.
dress and they didn't forward
them.
At present | am at our front
post and about 40 feet under
ground. | was supposed to
have gone to the Central Hos
pitul this evening but didn't
because one OF the officers is
going to take me up to the front
line trenches in the morning
aud rs this is something no one
else of the bunch has done and
forbidden, / am going to take
advantage of the opportunity.
II is very difficult trying to
write letter because you see
and experience 80 much it
take couple of days to write
it and there liz difficulty in get,
ting the most attractive things
in Il reasonable letter.
Our duty is to carry wounded
from the first post here at the
second line trenches to the cen
trail hospital where they are
trained, and if able, are taken
to Il Base hospital. Our front
post 10 only about n half mile
from the Germans and it is IN.
der shell fire continually. They
can see one mile of the road we
travel over and shell two aud
one half miles. The wounded
are brought in to us on two
wheeled push carts or two men
carrying stretcher. We. when
here, are at q great place to see
everything and to know just
what war liz and what it does.
When outside, we hear Il whizz
and see q little smoke and a
Boche shell drops near by, then
q bang. and roar and our
French comrades shot their ar
tillery i'll answer over orr heads
80 we are in the continual an
noyance Of both. have spent
a couple afternoons at a go gun
battery and stood 10 feet from
them when they were fired
believe mo, they make some
noise and almost blow on over.
They are large enough that
they use cranes to lift their
shells To the breech of the gun.
am with u. S. S. No. 60. which
IS the first volunteer American
ambulance group to go into the
French army. We drive French
berliet cars. We have French
officers, cooks and mechanics
and 45 American drivers. We
are in supposedly the most active
sector Oh the French front but
all those shells and eclat (pieces
OF bursting shells) have put sew
eral cars out of commission,
the personnel of the section re-
mains intact so far and No. g.
(my car which carries a wood
en- shoe, 80 all | have had is dirt
thrown in my face. \ shell Lie
nifty feet from the car today.
Unfortunately, one OF the boys
was killed last week in this ser
vice. was man by the name
OF Norton, who | came over
with and stayed with while in
Paris.
The worst part of the work is
night driving, as you can't see
and can't use lights, and you
can't always see the various
trains of troops, munitions and
supplies which are on the road
at night and you never know
when you will get hit by shell
or go into shell hole, as they
shell the roads all the time. 1t