The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1918-08-22

aid Mcdowell of Chicago and formerly
of Kenosha, is right in the thick of it
overseas. As a result he is coming
back some day with a small scar on
the top Of his nose, his scar of battle.
The story of how he acquired the mark
of distinction is better told in his lat
est letter, to his father, dated July 10.
Dear Father:
At last T have some real news, and
have won the right to wear a chevron
distinguishing me from the lily youths
in the armchair jobs.
Yesterday, while on a combined re-
connoitering and forging expedition. /
stopped a shell splinter from Hun
105 nm with the tip of my nose. Fer
tunately it was going across me and
not towards me, or the tale would be
different. At that I could not be much
luckier, and it came as close to real
bushes as I care to ever have it.
We were going down the road lead
ing from the 0. P. to a nearby town.
just as we got to q turn in the road,
we (myself, a sergeant and four men)
heard the unmistakable crack and
whistle which is Fritz's call-letter
when he is after your station. Every
one ducked and lay fiat against the
bank of the ditch.
After about the third shot is was
plain to see he was after just the part
of the road we were on, so I sug-
gested we try for a farm house some
200 - 800 yards away. His field of
fire was about $50 yards, and just as
luck would have it we started on the
right edge and ran straight through it
to the left. He was dropping them
two at once, and every ten seconds
so it was as hot as hell. We were
running as though for a movie show;
every one lighting out at top speed
when just as the whistle came all would
flop as a man.
Once shell hit right on the other
side of the road and the eclat passed
back Of me, and in front of the last
man, with a roar as though some one
had thrown load of coal back of
me.
In getting away, / found myself
tangled in some wire and just as /
made lunge forward the next burst,
and got hit. It was as though some
one had wholloped me with piece of
gas-pipe, and my nose from the carti-
lage on was slapped against my left
cheeks. The luckiest thing was that
my nose was not broken. All I will
have for souvenir will be a slight
scar right on the tip.
When I hauled into the Battalion
post Of command every eone gave me
the laugh and waHted to know who the
bar-keep was that had clipped me with
the bottle. If it had not been for the
fact that all such persons had hauled
out some weeks ago T might have had
a hard time getting the idea out OF
their minds; but under the conditions
they decided to be decent enough to
believe me. So now, I get a wound
chevron and can give the laugh to the
bullet-proof boys who are fighting the
battle of the rear in some Paris cafe
Any one over here can get service
stripe, but only a chosen few can get
wound stripe and get away with it.
went out to visit the infantry this
morning. 1t is regular old-time stuff
They are camped in the woods, living
in "pup-tents,' and the companies
holding the line have no trenches, but
lie out in wheat fields on their bellies
[ adjusted a battery this afternoon
on Hun battery that had just pulled
in. The first shot was 20 miles left
The next target, and the next fifteen
shots did not vary SO meters in range
nor DETECTION.
We could see several large explos
ions, and when the smoke cleared away
the woods which had formerly seemed
very dense were now more like a sieve
We had blown all their camoufage
away, and in that case must have got
ten the guns under it, Later we put
in ten more for luck, and the wood