The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-11-02

| fer Rownan of the headquarters COM
pany, 13Oth field artillery, to his par
| entS:
ing ali manner of forebodings regard
ing my welfare and 1 am sorry that l
hcould not write sooner. The last
month has been a busy one for all OF
us and there has been no opportunity
| to keep up correspondence. l wrote
to you about two weeks ago, but was
| not in a position to mail it. 1 carried
said letter with me hoping to find an
| opportunity to start it on its journey.
but my hopes were not realized so L
am destroying it and writing this in
| it's stead.
! I'VE have had some wonderful and
| exciting experiences, most of which
will have to be related later. and
am among the fortunate ones who
came thru unscathed. We have been
on the front for quite a. while-I
! thought you would worry unnecessar-
lily if you knew it so 1 did not advise
you earlier-and nearly all of us have
1 had our close SLAVES. but these only
add excitement to the game. John 1.
| Lewis got in the way of a machine
gun bullet fired from an aeroplane
and was sent to the hospital with
very slight flesh wound in the left
| shoulder. He hardly knew he had
been hit and now the lucky stiff will
| get to loaf around the hospital for
| light wounds probably two weeks or
] moreno doubt he will have good
valet-it will be like vacation to
him. \ The only unfortunate thing
about it is that it came at a rather
| inopportune time-we had Just been
relieved and were preparing to move
| back to this rest camp, so he is not
getting out of action or work, except
the work which is necessary around
this place.
I'VE were in the September 26 drive
from the start. 1t was our first expert
ence at commencing a drive but not
our first time in action and as far as
know everything worked smoothly.
We advanced several kilometers and
took up new positions. continuing fire
as quickly as possible; there is no
doubt but that our shells did great
damage. The roads over which we
passed were lined with shell holes,
bridges were out, few dead bodies
could be seen, villages were in ruins,
much equipment and material were
lstrewn along the way and everything
indicated haSty tho not diSorderly
retreat. At certain places there were
evidences of quick evacuation, but I
attribute the cases to the fact that a
Few positions were maintained until
the last moment. the object being to
cover the retreat of the main body
and you can readily understand why
their retreat should not be slow. We
mad opportunities to pick up numerous
souvenirs in the shapes of German
equipment but so far 1 have not laid
| IN a very large supply. 1 used to hope
that some day 1 might be able to pro-
mote a boche helmet, but due to the
TACT that the infantry is ahead of us,
thought that my chances of getting
any desirabls trinkets would be
mighty slim. however 1 find that he'll
NETS are very plentiful. so 1 am not
going to get one until later on-there
is no use carrying one around when
they can be picked up almost any
place. In the dugouts evacuated by
the boche-whfch, by the way, are all
that the newspaper .proclaim-there
were many trinkets left which could
not be taken away. They were very
comfortably situated-some having
electric lights, fine chairs, tables, beds
blankets. every indication of an in
tended semi-permanent residence: but
now we are using them.
Along with three gun squads from
the batteries, 1 went forward some five
kilos ahead of our regiment position,
to the location of a battery of los
four-inch NJ. NJ. guns, which the Ger
mans left behind. These guns had been
damaged. but by combining parts OF
all four one good gun was made and
/ for parts of three days and nights the
boche had the experience of dodgine
II
/ guns were some which the boche had
captured from the Russians. These
| gun-positions and near by dugouts
/ were left in disorder-probably these
| were among the last enemy guns tc
be silenced.
"On the morning of the End instant
witnessed what, to me, was one OF
the most beautiful scenes l ever gazed
| upon-the destruction of a boche
l aeroplane. (By the way that word is
4 pronounced like bosh.) 1t had flowr
over our lines and its return to its owr
/ lines would doubtless have meant
heavy bombardment in our immediate
VICINITY. SO you can readily appreciate
our lamenting the absence of allied
planes. But he tarried a bit too lons
Iend suddenly and apparently from no.
where four or five American planes
swooped down upon him and gave
chase. They opened fire and he wav.
cred then burst into flames and short.
ly dark object could be seen falling
lat first slowly. but with rapidly in.
creasing velocity until it passed from