Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-10-27


During the latter part OF this week
a company OF huskies from the 18th
Infantry has been busy digging a Sc,
ries Of practise trenches that are
doomed TO the bTunt OF the grenade
tflrowers' art. The splendid system OF
trenches on the other side of the
ridge which the reserve candidates
are wont to think of as their own
was considered too fine to tear TO
pieces with live bombs, SO this new
set has been buiIded. The grenadiers
can have at" the new ones as much
as they like. When they are prop
erly dilapidated others can be con-
structed somewhere else in Leilehua's
spacious soil.
But to return TO the school. Prac-
tise during the week has included
more and more OF the real thing, I'M
III now the men are learning to toss
/. those hefty pound-and-a-half bombs
out across the zone of NO Mans
Land"
In you think that's easy get up
some morning and throw a fiat-iron or
two around before breakfast. The
grenades are thrown a distance OF
% to IS yards, which latter figure is
los feet. They must light in a cash
of earth Just wide enough to hold
standing man.
AS the bombs are calculated to kill
most every living thing except grass
or grasshoppers within a radius OF
30 wards. the bombers duck to safety
when the fixing starts.
Capt. Charles F. Leonard, com
mander of the bombing school and
the reserve camp, has an observing
station back from the throwing
trenches, and with his periscope
watches operations at a safe angle.
IS one man throws his comrades lie
In the adjacent section of the trench.
Capt. Leonard explains that this is
matter OF safety, so that should re-
Surn fire be made in battle the losses
VIII not be so large as were all
punched together in the open one.
They direct the throws. watching
through the periscopes as the danger,
our metal spheres light across the
area in front. q - -
Signals Direct Work ~szv z@sa 3
RAISE five yards" they say if the
bomb falls short, or LEFT two" II 1t
strikes too much to the right. Prac-
tically all OF the work is handled by
signals
Though most OF the periscopes used
by the bombers are heavy wooden af-
fairs with a number. of dabs of red,
yellow. green, white or brown paint
camouflage against the grass and
wild flowers on the Leilehua plains -
4 aRI so hal
the small periscope for many pur-
poses. This is one of very light
boards, suitable TO be carried without
trouble from weight.
This was the sort We used along
the border in 1915" says the captain,
"and il proved very convenient"
Incidentally Capt. Leonard saw
some activity along the border that
year in the vicinity of Douglas. when
5 the yillistas and Carranzistas met al
Aqua Prieta. The American troops
were entrenched Just north OF the
border to see that Uncle Sans terri
tory was not used as fighting ground.
villa came UP on the left with
about 12,o00 men," says Capt. Leon
ard in telling of the incident. The
Earranzistas were on the right with
about 5000. The scene was spread
out In front of us as in a moving pic
ture. We hung on and watched.
The fight took place directly in
front Of u.s. Villa had number of
machine guns and Carraiza's men had
shrapnel You'd see a flash, hear an
explosion from one side and three or
four men would fly to pieces out
across there within hailing distance of
you. Now and then a mule would
suddenly disintegrate and pieces of
mule meat would fill the air"
The fighting continued hot and
heavy until along some time in the
hight, and in the darkness number
of missiles came over into American
territory, but none OF the Mexicans
ever got across.
There are many kinds of bombs,
different makes, that is, but two com
mon kinds are those which explode
on striking the ground when thrown
and those which have their fuses set
and started burning before they leave
the hand OF the thrower Both are in.
clined TO give the thrower a ticklish
feeling on first acquaintance.
The nervous part about the former
is the printing, for a thought comes
over the bomber at first that should
he touch the delicate primer a little
too hard his comrades would soon be
picking up pieces of him from the
countryside. The latter bomb brings
diffidence about the time its fuse be-
gins to sputter. 1t viii explode in
five seconds after that and Mr..
Bomber must get it away from him
in the interval.
So it is that he has fleeting giimpses
of its striking the top of the parapet
or the side of a sand bag or some.
thing equally unnandy. These fears
are only at first Carefulness is used
at al times, but fear becomes dead
issue after the first few hours.
Work Progresses Steadily
Work at the training camp is pro-
crossing steadily ana the men are
being given drill to round them out
as officers. Map sketching has been
one of the important processes OF
training during the week. each em-
bryo officer being sent out with map
and stool to sketch various portions
&c the military campus.