The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-16
A@AE A BRING BUYERS AND SELLERS TOGETHER VMB @ M S

got to the dugout safe, running low | against the balls. This cave was 1uite l large and was already accommodating
 about 60 Fierohmen of the medical corps, who could do nothing on account of the I bomba-dment.
 But before forget must tell you of the thing that affected me most of all. When we were in the first cellar and tho gas began to come in. we heard peculiar cries from above. It was cat and her little kittens. being slowly smothered
 to death by the gas. We had been feed- ing the little kittens condensed milk and adopted them in general. and now
 they were slowly dying from that terrible gas. have seen men wounded and torn in hundred different ways, but have never experienced anything quite so heartrending and those helpless kittens crying away above the whining and bursting of the shells. And we could do. nothing for them; because T don't think they make gas masks for cats.
 Anyway, to go on with my story, we are now in the big cave, not knowing What might happen next One or two of our fellows got little sick from the gas. but net enough to amount to any, thing. thought that one chap was go- ing to tear his mask from his face, so I kept close to him to prevent him from doing anything foolish. I felt pretty good, myself, breathing fairly easily. You would have been surprised to have seen now lightly everyone took it.
 We jolsingly suggested card games. of-
 fered each other cigarettes which It was impossible to smoke, and things Of that sort. Of course, everything was tense. Whether we were going to come out alive, no one knew. We did know that the French had planned to retreat, and whether we would be able to get out before the Boches got to the village was a matter of luck, If we could not get out, few German hand-grenades hurled into the cave would have finished us. But at the time it did not seem 50 terrible. It was just sort of game, per- haps win, perhaps lose. I was not fright ened. I just kept wondering what WAS going to happen next Several times shells burst just at the entrance to thA. dug out, and the concussion would blow out the candle we had lighted. Early in the morning F'renchman went too near the cave entrance and suffered she,is shock from just such | bursting shell.
 "Abo1t 4 o'clock in the morning a fig ure appeared at. the mouth of the cave and here took place one of the most he. roic acts have ever witnessed. The fig. tire called into the cave: Is there any one of the battery here. Yes came a voice from the cave. Then come to the guns. we are going to 'fire,' called back the figure.
 'sThe artilleryman who had been ofK duty when the bombardment began and had taken refuge in the cave, ascended the steps and went out into the open.
 "'Great heavens!' I thought. can they ever get to the guns The batteries were the center of the bombar1inent and 1t seemed impossible to fire. But about 1O minutes later We heard single French gun open, up It fired four shots and was silent. '
 'The French artilleryman who had gons out a few minutes before had walked deliberately to his death without word. He died like hero facing the enemy.
 "And so we fingered waiting. waiting. perhaps it would calm down. but 1t kept up About 7:3o in the morning we re- ceived message. that the Boches wero already in the end of the village and had already established a machine gun post. ton at the head of the main street. In the meanwhile our ambulances had been battered to bits
 "shortly before 8 o'clock the French captain in command of the medical corps gave us orders to leave us best we could. It was only matter of a few minutes before the Boches would be upon US. T ie . captain said, If you hurry you may pc. able t. save yourselves. Every man cor Himself, don't mass up together
 And so we dashed from the cave lnto the open and down the street, dodgiu;y behind trees and into .ditches. Shrapuei and machine gun bullets were whizztng and breaking. but luckily most of them were way off range.
 "As we dashed down the road the IT, serve infantry was already in its place in the ditckes With grim and deter mined faces they waited for the enemy. ' My only emotion was boiling rage. II have never hated the Boche so much as did that morning, going down the road with the shells and bullets whistling ana banging. And we had no choice but to go, being defenseless and unable to ref der any aid Three of our men were loss in the shuttle. Whether they were Killed or captured we do not know. We dre inclined to think that they were cap. tured.
 1.-TWO days later got another car ana went to W ork again with, the others. few days later everything was quiet again. The attack had been an. absolu-e failure for the Boches.
 ..The whole section and four individuai members were recommended for the Croix de Guerre by our French captain. The recomm.n ndations are awaiting approval at American headquarters. If approvc1's your little son can wear the Croix oe Guerre over his left pocket, for was one of the four recommended for 1t. It's not certain yet, but I'll let you know how 1t turns out Your devoted son.