Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-11-21
Honolulu Boy Who Went to Death
In France Tells Of Going Ouer'
In One of Last Letters Gideon
Potter Describes mo Mans
Land" Conditions

II
y ter in France than of German
- shells, letter was received by
Honolulu friend from Gideon Potter
just few days before the cable
brought the. news that he had been
killed in action somewhere in
France"
In fact, like so many letters from
the battle fronts, much of young Pot.
ter's letter was devoted to descrip-
lions OF weather conditions and the
small a1nusements of camp life than
is given to his two experiences in
going over the top" He does, how.
ever, speak with some zest of the
sport experienced by him in cunning
for German aeroplanes and of the
fine fights in the air" he has seen.
Young, as was this Hawaii boy,
there is no evidence of uncontrolled
enthusiasm over the mighty job which
faces every soldier in the war. He
warned his friend that things are not
like one believes"
But, nevertheless, Potter writes
cheerfully that he expected to get a
souvenir for his friend the next time
he "goes oyer"-an occasion which
perhaps resulted in his death in ac-
ton. H.. ... =. 49,. ..:s
Parts of Potter's letter are given
below: ~. H..
"Well, to start off with / wish
was back in Hawaii-Canada, Eng.
land, Scotland and France are all
right, but you can't beat the islands.
L., xrydo pnpliV ic Hkn-Unf
Il just heard band playing a Sc
lection of Hawaiian tunes, for the first
time since leaving home, and it sure
sounded fine. / had swim about
three weeks ago, too. The water was
very dirty indeed, but we are quite
used to dirt these days and it mattered
very little. / can still wiggle away at
very slow rate though and when the
rainy weather comes on will be
swimming through all the shell holes.
"AIl the pictures We used to see in
books about mud and water, etc., are
not exaggerated one little bit. I've
been in water up to my knees (not
saying how much mud was mixed in)
in the summer, so what will it really
be like in the winter.
"The one thing that really worries
a man out here is the artillery. 1t
simply gets on your nerves. When
went for the first two trips they put
over a little 'strafe' a few evenings.
I'll tell you honestly gave up hope
of ever getting out alive. 1t was
regular barrage. That is when all the
artillery is concentrated on one line
for while And ! don't want to be
in another barrage like that. F..
ut is really a funny scrap all
through. l know what you think
fighting is like, but it sure is not.
The best way to ina CINE it is to have
a couple of trenches hundred yards
apart and imagine the artillery OF
each side playing on his opponents
line. And there is no one in sight;
no one dares stick his bean up for
more than a second tand only the
darned fools do it, unless they are
snipers). ...
81 know hundreds of chaps who
have been in the line two months and
have never seen a Hun. I've been
"over the top" in raid and couldn't
HGlD SSSlllS LucIu. GL4p NfSI bLtS
top (if it occurs again I'll try and
get you a souvenir. l was going to get
few the last time, but we expected
Fritz to counter-attack, and l didn't
get much time. -. "
1--WE see some fine air scraps once
in a wilhelm fact very often. Be-
ing machine gunner / waste few.
rounds occasionally on Heine ma
chine. Saw one come down the other
night. Danquist sends his aloha. He
is still getting on fine. The other
chap was wounded, and is in England
now, nearly o. k, and expects to be
back again soon. ..~. ....
my address in full is G.. Potter. No.
1O15o14, c Co.. 72nd Battalion, Cana
dams, France" -. !.
In the final paragraph he asks to be
remembered to all his Honolulu &C
quaintances and friends.