Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-12-24
KNOCKS GERMAN
DOWN and RUNS
Rock Islander Writes of Escape
From Enemy In Clever Way Be-
fore Hostilities We're Ended.

That the cleverness of the Ameri-
can fighters was too much for the
Germans during the fighting over
seas. is shown in a letter written
by Corporal Harry Sage in France
| to his parents, Mr.. and Mrs. Harry
Sage, 500 Second avenue He tells
Of an encounter he had with a
troop of German soldiers and how
he made good his escape. Bullets
were flying at me, but | guess l
passed them" he says.
Corporal Sage's letter is append
ed:
at last We can write anything
that we please, so will try and tell
YOU some of my experiences. /
guess We have walked all over
France and Belgium. Our trip
across the water took us l3 days
which brought Us up almost to Ice
land and then down the coast of
ireland and Scotland through the
Irish sea down to Liverpool and
through England to Southampton
and then took boat across the Eng
/ lish channel to Havre, France and
/ through France to a dozen different
camps and wound up at Bordeau,
France.
Here we were split up into diff
+ ferent divisions and with three
other Rock Island boys we went 10
the company that | am still with 1t
/ certainly took some time and hard
travelling to get with the company
as we walked II hours with packs
through the rain and mud. He fin
ally got them at st. Mihiel's front.
! THAT is up on the Verdun front
and the hills that the French lost
+ $4,000 men on in two days. 1t took
I the American boys just "a hours to
take it. We had $500 big guns up
there and the Germans that were
captured said they thought that
hell was upon earth when the bar
rage was started Why, there were
+ holes from our guns big enough to
put a house in and the Germans
had dugouts 30 feet down under the
ground-they were intrenched to
stay. They were all cemented and
had electric lights and good hunks.
/ They also had their own light
plants. The Americans were too
much for them. Was also in no
mans land, which was some battle
ground. I wish you could see
what is left of some of the towns.
It viii take years and years to
build them up again.
belgium suffered more than the
rest. Through the Ypres battle
ground all you can see is just moth
ing but tanks that were wrecked
and airplanes that had been
! brought down and there wa snoth-
ing left OF the trees but stumps.
Every few feet there is a grave
mark.
That was where we got a
glimpse OF real battle ground and
was the start Cf our drive. We did
all our hiking at night and [ viii
never forget the first shell the
Germans fired at US. We were ly-
ing along a road waiting to get up
in place when these shells bursted
about ten 10 fifteen feet from me
and / was lucky enough to get
some of the mud that it threw. We
were then put in another shelter
in barns-tO rest until morning
VIXEN we We're sent Ocer the top.
We advanced about nine kilo-
meters and in the town which we
took the people came out with milk
and bread and offered us evety-
thing II was the first breath of
free air that they had had for
months, but we had to keep on go
ing until dark and then dig our
/ selves holes and lie in.
Il was put on guard and lay in
ditch full of water and every
time I would put my head up a ma
chine gun sniper would send a
bunch of shells at me and at the
same time the big shells were
lighting all around me. I surely
was glad when daylight came. The
next day We We're on the go all the
time. We had to do everything
that day, including cutting down
trees and making a bridge to cross
the Esscott river.
We advanced about three hun
dred feet which was our objective
and was relieved by the French
( after three days of hard fighting.
THAT was where the Germans
I captured me. They started sending
thirty airplanes at US and then they
put over a big baTrage which drove
every company back to the river ex-
/ cept ours-we stood and fought
My lieutenant gave me orders to
run over to the One Hundred Forty
fifth regiment to have them close
in on our right which was vacant
and in doing so after about 300 feet
/ ran right into about thirty Ger
mans. They took everything I had
hly pipe was the only, thing that
saved me- AS the guard that was
taking me had a package Of smok-
ing tobacco that he got from me,
l asked MIN for some and he came
up along side OF me, and put his
gun on his shoulder And when he
did that, | hit him and knocked him
down and then 1 sure did run.
They fired at me, but I guess I
passed the bullets.
I am sure glad it is all over as I
don't care TO go through it again.
We were all ready to go into an
other drive when we got word of
IL,