The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1918-03-12
MACHINE GUNNER SERVING N FRANCE
@IN7 BY
|AaTHl4 GUY EhNi

ing party was to follow and carry on
with their work.
In extended order, two yards apart,
we noiselessly crept across No Mans
Land. 1t was nervous work; every
minute we expected a machine gun to
open fire on us. Stray bullets Cracked"
around US, or a ricochet sang over
head.
Arriving at the taped diagram of
the trench, rifles slung around our
shoulders, we lost no time in getting
to work. We dug as quietly Us pos
sible but every now and then the noise
of a pick or shovel striking a stone
would send the cold shivers down our
backs. Under our breaths we heartily
cursed the offending Tommy.
At intervals G star she'll would so up
from the German lines and we would
remain motionless until the glare OF its
white light died out.
When tie trench had reached a
depth of Two feet we felt safer, be-
cause i would afford US cover in Case
we we're discovered and fired on.
The digging had been in rr0@''s'-''
about two hours, when suddenly hel
seemed to break loose in the form Of
machine-gun and rife fire.
We dropped down On our bellies in
the shallow trench, bullets knocking
up the ground and swapping in the air.
Then shrapnel butted in The music
was hot and Tommy danced.
The covering party was having
rough time of it; they had no cover;
Just had to take their medicine.
Word was passed down the line to
beat it for our trenches. We needed no
urging; grabbing our tools and stoop-
ing low, we legged it across No Mans
Land. The covering party got away
to a poor start but beat US in. They
must have had wings because we low
cred the record.
Painting and out of breath, we tUm-
bled into our front-line trench. tore
my hands getting through our wire,
but, at the time, didn't notice it; my
journey was too urgent.
When the roll was called we found
that We bad gotten it in the nose for
63 casualties
Our artillery put barrage on Fritz
front-line and communication trenches
and their nlachine-gun and rifle fire
suddenly ceased.
Upon the cessation Of this fire,
stretcher bearers went out to look for
killed and wounded. Next ddy we
learned that 81 of our men had been
killed and & wounded Five men were
missing; lost in the darkness, they
must have wandered over into the Ger
man lines, where they were either
killed or captured.
Speaking of stretcher bearers and
wounded, II is very hard for the aver
age civilian to comprehend the enor-
nous cost Of taking care of wounded
and the war in general. He or she gets
so accustomed to seeing billions Of dol
lars in print that the significance Of
the amount is passed over without
thought.
From an official statement published
in one Of the London papers, it is
stated that it costs between six and
seven thousand pounds ($30,O00 to $685.
0OO) to kill or wound soldier. This
result was attained by taking the cost
of the war to date and dividing it by
the killed and wounded.
1t may sound heartless and inhuman,
but it is fact, nevertheless, that from
a military standpoint it is better for
man to be killed than wounded.
If man is killed he is buried, and
the responsibility of the government
ceases, excepting for the fact that his
people receive pension. But if man
is wounded 1t takes three men from
the firing line, the wounded man and
two men to carry him TO the rear to
the advanced frst-aid post. Here he Is
attended by a doctor, perhaps assist
ed by two e. A. M. @. men. Then he is
put into a motor ambulance, manned
by crew of two or three. At the field
hospital, where he generally goes un-
der an anesthetic, either to have his
wounds cleaned or to be operated on,
he requires the services Of about three
to five persons From this point an
other ambulance ride impresses more
men in his service, and then at the am
bulance train, another corps Of doc
tors, r. 4. III. C. men, Red Cross nurses
and the trains crew. From the train
he enters the base hospital or casualty
clearing station, where good-sized
corps of doctors, nurses, etc. are kept
busy. Another ambulance journey is
next in ordeI-ttss time TO the hospital
ship. He crosses the channel. arrives
in Blighty--nDre anbulaaces and per-
haps q ride for Eve hours on an Eng
lish Red Cross train with its crew Of
Red Cross workers, and at last he
reaches the hospital Generally he
stays from two to SIX months, or long
er, in this hospital From here he is