The Alaska daily empire., 1917-12-26
Promises to Bring Home Left One as a "Souve- mir de BOche' of
 the War.
WITH AMERICAN TROOPS
First to Enlist and Was with Battery which Fired First Shot for
 the Americans.

When the first American gun was fired on French soil October 27th 1917, worlds history began for worlds democracy in earnest And when the history of that opening shot is finally written, Alaska must be given credit. An Alaska boy, a High School boy of Juneau, was cannoneer of the third gun of the American battery which fired the first shot near Verdun.
 He was LeRoy yestal, a mere lad, and the son of Mrs. R c. Day, of Juneau. He was an Empire Boy" and the Empire staff members all feel a special and personal interest in the young fellow.
 Extracts from his letter to his mother reads:
 We have been on the move for about 6 month; my dear mother, sure did appreciate that package you sent me. The Empires sure were newsy. I am not allowed to say where we are, but l imagine you can guess. It was great exper- ience. When you wrote that letter 70 our E. c. Battery Commander, , he called me up to his quarters and showed it to me. Well, I sure was scared"
 The lad. it should be mentioned vas but 15 years of age when he enlisted, but did not let a thing ike his age stand in the way. He was born in Douglas, and was raised Alaska. He was undoubtedly the first Alaskan to enlist in the fight ng forces of the United States and inside of three months time was with the army on French soil. The etter continues:
 He asked me if I knew I could get in all kinds of trouble fer that. md l meekly answer Yes sir He lsked me if l wanted to stay ip the service and 1 said Yes. l think hey made a mistake. I think the U. s. is about broke owing to my )utlandish appetite. bet you would not know me; I>have grown a great leal. especially my feet. The clothes which were first issued to me are ,retty tight for me now.
 You ask me to write a newsy letter. You know that the censor s very brisk, and is always on the lookout for little things going through the mail that might give information as to the whereabouts )f the troops.
 By the time the war is over .hink we shall have visited every village in France; they are only a few kilometres apart.
 Be sure and don't worry about ne. for I can take care of myself am glad l am in the regulars. Our battery was the first to fire shot on French soil and I was the cannoneer on the third gun at the time. We were also the first ar ous life if you don't weaken. Gee! you should have seen the boys eyes pop out of their heads when they saw that box of goodies. There is sure a lot of difference between French and American chocolate. But that peanut butter sure hit me in the right spot. A sergeant gunner and four privates are billeted with me and they sure did like the chocolate and stuff. The old French lady went pretty near crazy over those moccasins. She brought all the neighbors in to show them. It is sure nice to sit down by a fire place with the moccasins on and read the papers from Gods country. Say I took out Libery Bond.
 q can understand French pretty we'll It is sure comical to try and make the people understand. Well, all the boys told me to say hello for them. Tell Pa 1 will bring the Kaiser's left ear home for him as a souvenir de Boche."
 Today's News Today-in Empire.