The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-05-11
Fargo Boy Struck By High
Explosive While AT
Work In open
THOUGHT DEATH
3 DAYS AWAY
Forced To Leave Trenches
In France On Novem-
Der 5, Last

Eomme and the YpreS. besides dOz-
ems of trench raids, escaping with
three lucky wounds" as he char
acterizes them, Donald Henry Nc
Wes, a private in the Royal Canadian
DRAGONS, has returned to his home
In Fargo, to visit his parents, Mr..
and Mrs. J. G. Mckee Of y18 Twelfth
avenue north.
with but a 14-dav pass from the
military headquarters at Regina,
Sask., Private Mckee faces the pos
sibntty. upon his return to the head
quarters, Of again being sent to the
front and to go through the thrilling
encounters that he has already expe-
rienced since his enlistment with
the Canadian forces in August Of
1914 and during which time he saw
IS months of actual life in the
trenches.
Interviews Are Barred.
/, Private Mckee would like to tell
of the great battles and go into a
complete description of what the
Americans will play in the battles to
come, but all this, he says. Is pro
hibited by orders from officers and
! regulations which he carries on his
passport from Canada to the United
States. The orders read:
Officers, noncommissioned officers
land men while in the United States
of America for certain reasons are
forbidden to grant press interviews
or give lectures without permission
previously obtained from military
headquarters"
T did not imagine what the war
would be like when l enlisted In
iIs14," said Private Mckee. But af-
ter was in the thick Of the battles
and, especially the great Battle or
the Ypres, where 1 sustained my
three wounds. thought 1 would not
last three days. 1t is impossible to
tell you the sensation of soldier
when the time comes to strike. Some
are 'bug-hOuse' from the roar Of the
great guns and do not see any OF
the battles going on beside and
/ around them. They fire and charge,
/ according to orders. At nights every
thing is heIlish-like. l would like to
tell you how mad some of the boys
get when they go over. None of
them wants to be taken prisoner by
the Germans. for they know they
might Just as we'll be dead"
Ypres His Worst Scrap.
Ypres, which is the object Of in
tense action Of late, was the tough
est scrap" in which Private Mckee
figured. That was in October and
November of last year. He declared
that the slaughter was terrific on
both sides. He was in the thick of
that battle for more than two weeks.
He asserted that it was fire night
and day, coupled with gas bombs.
Private Mckee did not go over the
TOP with the infantry in this bat
tie. He was detailed with some rail-
road troops and was but a short dis
tance behind the lines. and worked
constantly from the trenches.
What the Americans call battles,
he says, are referred to by the SOL
diers as scraps and skirmishes.
Tpres. he said, Is a mud-hole.
r. Wounded Three Times.
It was in the Battle OF Ypres, or
the Scrap" of Ypres. on November
last, that Private Donald Mckee was
wounded He was working on the
rails when a high explosive dropped
q short distance away. A piece Of
the shell caught him in the left arm,
left hip and back. He was carried
off by first-aid men. who bandaged
the wounds while on the way to the
clearing station. where he stayed
two days. He was then moved to
the general hospital in England, re-
manning there five months.
Left Trenches Nov. 5.
Private Mckee was forced to leave
the trenches in France on November
67y1917. He took part in the Battle
of the Somme in 1917. He said there
were scores of other scraps and Skin
! misheB in which he figured.
when we are fighting we never
think about the names of the battles
and doubt, very much. that eight
out of ten boys returning from the
I battlefields can tell you the names
rot the battles in which they partici-
Fpated. You Americans, miles and
sgniles away. know more what Is go
lang on than the soldier in the thick
iof the fighting. He is obeying or
fders; you are reading of the &C
lCounts. A soldier may be at one
place one day and suddenly be shift
led to new territory on the coming
/ day. We get the American papers
fprtnted in France and get most of
our information as to the extent and
/; the battles being fought from those
papers. The American papers have
Ear better accounts of the war than
She papers printed in England"
Saw Americans Come In.
Before leaving the war theateri
t6rivate Mckee saw Americans going
10 the front and for a time some Of
the American troops were stationed
l.
f! Kin. KENNEL hill, which will go down
In history as one Of the big battle
6leldB of the present war, was visited
iby Private Mckee four or five times.
Ee declared that the last time he
left that position. the enemy was To-
Gated about one and half miles
away.
Private Mckee would spend four
days In the trenches, four days in
the support. and then four days in
the reserve, after which he was al
lowed his recreation.
They call 1t recreation over
there" said Mckee Really to us 1t
was intensive training. just prepar-
ing us again for our next round in
the first line trenches"
Touching on trench raids, he stat
ed that he was in one which took
q party Of So Germans. For these
raids. men volunteer. They are
then taken back and trained and g.
Subscription OF the country and the
prospective lay Of the enemy is made
clear To them, so they are well ac-
Muainted with their objective.
When Private Mckee enlisted In
f@914, he joined the cavalry at Wey-
Burn. Sask., and left overseas with
@Iie Sixth battalion for England
kJpon It's arrival in France the bat
talon became q part Of the Royal
anadign Dragons.
Cavalry Coming Into Own.
Ia the early battles of the war,
sle cavalry has not played very
important part. In the second Bat
le of the somme the cavalry was
1esd. bit not to the success that was
ected. Now. 1t is used to a great
Itent and with better CO. operation
itn the infantry, better results are
aiaE obtained