The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1917-10-18
Bud Davis Says
Americans Very
{ POpularin France

{ POpuLarinFra
Canon City Boy Writes Entertaininsiy
Of Ambulance Work on French
Front and Of French Attitude
Towards Americans.
In France, September is, 1917
Mr.. Guy U. Hardy,
Canon City. Record.
Canon City. Colorado.
Dear Sir:
! received your letter and the copy
of the Record" and believe me it was
q genuine treat to get news from
home. I will write few lines as you
suggested from time to time and will
certainly let you know of any Canon
boys ! meet over here. ] received a
letter from my friend Earl Rundahl.
He Is somewhere in this country but
we have not been able to locate each
other SO far. but we are going TO try
and Arrange a meeting soon
Our service is arranged SO that we
very seldom see any Americans over
here. and while we are members of
the American forces and drawing
American pay We are detailed 10 the
French army and constantly with the
French forces. SO that we are never
close TO the American camps.
We have been on the front and
working steady for two months. We
have one month more at the front
then we are in line for permission" :"
meaning one week leave OF absence
to be spent in Paris. II will be God
send to spend a week in a regular
city with shows. good eats. etc. after
three months roughing it and living
in an atmosphere of gunpowder. pois-
on gas. sweating men. dead and
wounded We never know when an
attack-will break out and we have to
drive over q shelled road wearing q
steel helmet that weighs ton after a
while on the head. or a gas mask that
makes life misery at the end of ten
minutes.
Outside OF Inconvenience and dan
ger, our work is very interesting. due
to the fact that we are moving around
soEmuch and see y great deal of the
countrT and see the war from almost
every angle
We are attached to what is called
an attacking division of the army. II
is composed mostly of Colonials. in
cluding Algarians. Africans. etc. Their
duty is TO attack the enemy trenches
and capture what ever objective they
go after at any cost. They 20 to the
trenches and stay for while to IA
niliarize themselves with the country
and have what work done that is nee
essary. Then they go and rest for a
while and then enter the trenches
again. The day or hour of an attack is
never known but is generally detected
by extra heavy artillery fire. Some
times continuing steadily for several
days. AT a certain signal they go over
the top" and the attack is on Then
things commence to hum. the constant
rattle of machine guns. grenades ex-
ploding. artillery fire, general MELEE
with all the tricks of modern warfare
exhibited. After the attack and things
are settled down the division leaves
for -repose" for q well earned rest
and to fill up the ranks again
Our ambulance section is com
posed Of 40 American men. most all OF
them under 25 years. and 20 ambu-
lancee. with several French mechan-
les. cooks and petty officers. We have
base camp about five miles back of
the lines and three posts very close to
the front When we 30 on duty we go
for "a hours at a time. Our cars are
parked at these post de secoms" and
bring the wounded to a hospital back
os the lines from where they are later
taken TO hospitals farther back.