Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1917-10-31
NEIL STEVENS
WRITES AGAIN
FORMER GRANT COUNTY BOY NOW
READY FOR SERVICE SOME
WHERE in FRANCE
Somewhere in France.
September 18th 1917.


that YOU had received none from me.
Many OF the fellows who received mail
the same day as yours reached me,
said their first letters reached home
about the 18th Since most of them
lived farther east it is quite probable
that mine will reach it's destination
shortly afterward. l wrote you few
lines last Tuesday just after we had
received our little Flats and while we
were still at the automobile Pare.
Due to the strict military censor
ship / am not permitted to mention
our location which of course you
would like very much to know. We
are in a very quite part of the front
and you will only have to guess where
that is.
Last Wednesday morning we got
orders to move or rather we were or
dered to prepare to move the preced-
ing day Consequently we put in most
of the day in looking over our cars,
greasing them and checking over a
rather complete set of tools and spare
parts that come with every car. The
majority of cars were left in very good
running order by the French section
from which we are taking them and
fortunately ours was one of these and
required little work on it.
We have taken over Sanitary Sec
ton No. SO, French Ambulance Sec
ton, which has seen much hard ser
vice at Verdun. The men have left
for other work in the trenches most
likely, but we have had no indication
that we are disliked for taking their
less dangerous work away from them.
Wherever we have gone we have been
given a hearty welcome by the French
people.
Early Wednesday morning we left
the Pare as Sanitary Section Unit
No. SO" with 20 ambulances, two men
to each car, two mechanics, two cooks,
our American Red Cross Chief Sim
mons and sub-chief Milburn, a French
Second Lieutenant and a Sergeant.
Simmons and Milburn practically run
the camp and the French Lieutenant
rarely enters into our life except as
a mediary between the military au-
thorities and the Red Cross. He is
in supreme authority, however, and
is one who can make things very
pleasant or unpleasant as he desires.
1t looks at present as though he were
going to be neutral.
Castle Moore, whom I have men
toned before, is on the car with me
and as he is a fraternity brother and
a very agreeable fellow, the arrange
ment pleases me greatly. Wilsey is
also in the section but none of the
other Minneapolis men are with US,
having gone out Sandricourt with
section No. 60 few days ahead of us.
OF the two men on each car one is
given the responsibility and is termed
the driver l have been given this
responsibility but it is a position with
no advantages so far as l can see.
AS far as driving is concerned, Castle
will undoubtedly do as much of that
as l. which is no more than right.
AS | started out to say we left the
Pare early Wednesday morning, but
drove only twelve kilometers to a town
Of about six thousand inhabitants
where we are resting until we receive
further orders to move Our sOjOurn
here is due to the fact that the army
division we are attached to is now on
repose here We will not leave until
they do and that date is quite uncer-
tain. We are quartered in what was
once a Brewery, on the main thorough
fare of the town with our twenty cars
lined up to the side of the road.
With the exception of Sunday and
one other day we have been required
to remain within the bounds of the
first and last car. There has been
little to do and it has been rather irk-
some lying around idle. But [ have
books to read, a French Grammar to
study and letters to write which oc-
cupy much of my spare time.
Moore and l took advantage Of the
liberty given us on Friday afternoon
and went over to the aviation grounds
two miles distant. We were royalty
treated and had very interesting
time A French Lieutenant who is
in charge of the camp there and who
speaks English, showed us about the
place.
Most Of the machines are of the
SMALL flying type with but one seat
and capable of making 2230 kilometers
an hour or approximately 140 miles
They are beautiful little machines
The Lieutenant showed us his machine
or what there was left to it. He had
got bullet in his motor and had hit
the ground going at rate of 200 kill
ometers an hour.
His machine had finally landed up
side down with him in it; his knee
had broken the magnetic from it's base
and his foot had gone through the
wooden contact to which they were
strapped Miraculously he escaped
with a slight injury to his knee. There
are several aviation escadrilles around
here and the planes constantly fly
overhead. AS yet l have not tired
looking at them.
We had our first taste of war that
same evening. The German planes
fly over every evening from about s
o'clock on and Friday was an ideal
evening. Soon after eight we heard
the crack, crack of the anti-aircraft
guns and saw a plane so high up that
1t seemed a mere speck. 1t was GER
tainly interesting to see the little
puffs of smoke near it where the shells
from the guns had exploded They
seemed close at times but after about
fifteen minutes the plane returned to-
wards Germany. Later in the evening
more returned and until eleven o'clock
the guns were kept in action. The
exploding shells with their flashes of