The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1918-10-26
LOUISIANA SOLDIERS in BATTLE
Payne Breazeale, Gives Thrilling Ac-
count of St. Mihiel Fight.

LOUISIANA SOLDIERS in BATTLE
Payne Breazeale, Gives Thrilling Ac
count of St. Mihiel Fight.
Lieutenant Pcyne Breazeale, 5
prominent young tttorney of Bator
Rouge, who married Miss Mia Sims
daughter of Hor. R. N. Sims of this
city, and who is on the firing line in
France, writes to his wife under date
Of Sept. Is, the following thrilling
account Of the st. Mihiel fight in
which many Louisiana boys covered
themselves with glory.
This is my third start of a letter
to you, none of which / have been
able to do more than start, but III
try and finish this one and give It
to the Y. M. C. A. man to mail you.
Pm deep in German dugout writ
ing on Boche paper, and more tired,
dirty, exhausted and broken in heart
| than l ever imagined / could be.
We've been through hell, girlie-but
the 358th can go down in history,
those who will be left, if any are
left and ever relieved. We started at
the jump-off last week at the st.
Mihiel drive, went over the top after
our seven days. the trenches. We
are still in the ont line praying to
be relieved SO L. e. rest and rcor-
ganize. We've6I.-ov s and advanced
taken every obje,.--je either on, CT
ahead of time, but, at fearful cost.
God help and keep those heroes who
are gone. Our casualties have been
Notwithstanding everything
we have less than SO per cent Ct
men left.
Wounded or c1sed.
'Most of them areUNounded or
gassed, but many, many of them are
gone. Our battalion has nine officers
out of twenty-four left, so far-and
the rest are as bad. Poor Capt. Sam
Craig CA Coz was blown to pieces
by a shell. His first sergeant, also,
and old A. J. Sergeant, standing next
to him, badly shell shocked. Tom
Powell, from Lake Providence, who
was my bunkie at training camp ana
who you remember played with Nita
Sims that morning at the 4th O.T.C.
was killed going over the top the first
morning, also Housef. Capt. Horton
and ......-...-. of C Co. were both badly
wounded today by shell. was with
in ten feet Of them. Capt. Gregg
wounded, May and Bates gassed (oniy
enough to put them out of business)
and in the hospital.
major Ashburn wounded in the
neck the first morning-left the first
aid station and went back into the
fight and was wounded in the leg
again. Major Allen, ten wounds. oh
all Of the poor devils. 3 Co. so far
has been remarkable-not an officer
wounded yet in spite of hundreds OF |
escapes. Gutcher was hurt and !
many of my good men are gone-but
gone like men,"
yet We Must Go On"
'I'm sick, sick honey, and yet we
must go on. The Lord is watching
me for my girls. I've had men killed
on every side of me.-today was TAX
ing can Of coffee to my company
a shell burst overhead, wounded all
four of my carriers-broke my he'll
met and knocked me Overland yet
lidn't touch me. We haven't 50 men
eft in B, yet those who are left, with
10 sleep. in all the rain-eat only
very twenty-four or thirty-six hours
are marvellous. We have done
they asked-and more
aptured Germans by the hundreds,
Tiled ten Germans to every one cap
ured and yet have not been re-
ieved. Our men can do anything.
n one drive on this hill we captured +
10 machine guns in concrete emplace- {.
nents and got every man. ,
1.-The Boche are using only ma
hine guns or snipers. Capt. Don is :
marvellous so are Divine and Wadley
wild men, brave, nervy, wonders,
;od bless them. / was called by the
major just after we went over the top l
nd detailed to handle all supplies for 5
he battalion-amun and food-3t
S our supply officer and adjutant
we're put out of business the first half(
our. have fed the four companies, !
Machine gun and headquarters and $
MEDICAL at least one meal day. To- $
ay we have one cook and five car G
iers wounded. captured German /
orse to ride Il couldn't walk another =
tep) and an airplane flew over and c
hot him while was on him. Pm C
harmed, dear, for my girls-7-I hope. t
Dugouts Electric Lighted. t
How we took the hill, | don't t
now. The Boche have held it four +
ears. They have rock and concrete r
renches and machine gun emplac- 70
nents and sniper posts. Their dug a
uts are sumptuous, electric lights, n
ugs, mirrors. piano in this one. n
)ur men captured every, every thing. i {
hey all have German boots. leggings, n
istols, field glasses, watches, cigars,
God everything they could find-lots
t it. In this ten days they have lost n
they owned and hold on S
My to their rifles, bayonets and .
elts. But they are fighting things.
'on't ever believe anything but that
ley are wonders, wonders. God bless :
nd keep them. We've done our part.
''The papers, which the Y. NJ. C. A.
ian brought up said the tanks and
rench had done SO much. May be
,me where else, but here we haven't f
een a Frenchman or a tank. Our S
vn military started the arage, and 4
lr own infantry cleane out these tt
lies /and miles Of Boc% infested Y
,untfy. We have taken FOUR towns, o
We seen the German and American Is
cad piled up in heaps by the b
ell, till you were sick at heart "
mt write commercially, dearie, ] 6
went had off my shoes or hat for ?,
'ys and days-slept IN hour at Il