The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1918-10-21
whose home is in Gary.
Wife and Child Gets News.

Wife and Child Gets News.
A letter from Private Ragon 10 his
wife and child who are now living in
Hobart told OF the capture. Young
RaEon is the son of Mr.. and Mrs. Elmer
+. Ragon. SOC Harrison street. Gary.
who has another son, Chandos s. Ragon,
with the Marine corps in France.
Private HaGon is the first Lake coun-
ty soldier, 80 far as known. 10 capture a
German. HIS letter follows:
September 10. 1918.
Base Hospital II A. z. O. T21.
Somewhere in France.
Ny own Dear Wife. Baby and Parents:
VIII write you a few lines today.
sunday. l am coming along fine. I
wrote you all "a letter a few days ago
telling YOU why I was in the hospital.
from exhaustion the main thing. Don't
know how long l will be here or any
thing. ! was in a field hospital near
the lines for five days and have been
here -four days and a day and a half
ride on a Red Cross train from the field
hospital. They brought me in on a
stretcher. so you see l am quite a ways
back now.
I guess I told YOU in my other letter
that I had been transferred from the
AA6 A&A III - IL NAt 4AAA3IlIAN"d 0QAEA
boy" now. That was seven weeks ago.
Had o two weeks training with the
rife. etc, and then my new OUTFIT start
ed for the front. We marched three
days and nights full pack. I could go
no further so l dropped out. The next
day 1 tried to catch up and never could,
SO I jumped a French ammunition truck
and went straight to the battle front.
fpfnG a hfrrh cf Marines orz ~na- 4v,rn
battle with them and gets lost again on
the battlefield All alone at night Sep
TENDER 18th raining and mud all over
1 staggered and wandered around. shells
dropping far and near from me, didn't
know whether l was in h or Cary
about half crazy I guess. The lights
from our wonderful American artillery
would light up the sky like day at times.
I kept IN going. Did not know if I
was going towards the German lines or
my own. All at once I saw two forms
and by the light saw they were two
Germans. 1 started at them, bayonet
fixed. They surrendered at once yelling
"Kamerad," I ought to have killed
them right there and then but instead
I marched them back to where l heard
American voices and was there directed
by a captain to take them down a road
six or seven miles TO a Hun prison
camp. I did. I run them. walked them
and trotted them all the way. Finally
reaching the place. turned them over TO
the American authorities and was Civ
ell a type written divisional receipt also
saying had got lost from my own com
pany. I remained there that night and
started out the next day to look for my
own outfit. Looked for eight days and
finally wound up sick from exhaustion in
the hospital.
I have been away from my own COM
paay now twenty-five days. I have two
coat buttons from the prisoners cap
tured which I VIII keep forever as
souvenirs. One OF the prisoners was a
sergeant and the other a private. The
sergeant was from the Crawu Pri0ce's
army.
1t is doubtful if 7 ever see my new
infantry company again. I may be sent
to another hospital from here and in all
probability I viii be sent TO some casual
or replacement camp and then sent to
some other infantry outfit.
by the way, in this new Marine QUIT
I went into battle with I met a boy
who knew brother Chandos and saw him
in France. Oh. God, if I could only see
him, I wrote him a letter yesterday
and hope he will get it.
If you Will look up the back dates in
the papers where the American drive
took place on or about September 18th
you will know where 1 got lost on the
battlefield. I can't tell you on account
Of the censor but you viii see that we
advanced IL miles in this salient.
Do not worry about me, any Of You.
7 will be alright. If l can only pull
through to come back and tell YOU Of
the wonderful experience end trials I