The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1918-03-27
I! |kI!l!EuT. FEATHFRSTONF
TEkLS OF EXPERIENCES
It. Douglas Featherstone
Writes Interestingly to
Friends in. Greenwood A.
bout Experiences in the
Front Line Trenches.

tEAD WRITTEN !.
The following letter from Lieut..
Douglas Feathcrstone, son of Mr.. c.
!. Featherstone, to a friend in Green
Eood. will be read with more than
!assing interest here because of the
Insight which it gives into the life
4 the&oys on the front line trenches
and also because Lieut.. Feathcrstonc
8as reared in Laurens, where his
3any friends feel deep interest i'm
9s work with Uncle Sans fighting
Drccs:
Feb 13, 1913.
Asar Mr.. Bolton:-
s@Hhc very nice box Of candy from you
nd your family came to me some
.eys ago and | am sorry that my work
Ihs been so unccasng and cXacting
Aat have not been able to thank yo,,
I'D before this time.
j You aimed the candy for somewhere
y France at Christmas time It didn't
each me at that time due mainly 10
~ many moves Just at the last Of tho
sear; but when /, did reach mo on
Pc jlriyg line assure YOU that il was
~ tliAs rs accountable and nice as If
Eculd have been had it reached mo
4 ChrSVnas. ! might say in passing
a. the sandy ii company with two
ther packa"cS rom Greenwood found
&c with gas mask on waiting for
spchc gas attack TO, pass over.
2Thc year 1918 has been exceedingly
satisfactory 10 us so rar. 70 begin
pith ! am working with one of thc
fst, if no. the lest organization in
Pc United States Army and my con
ection with il has been Of the pleas
rtcsf nature possible. With il have
Pen through almost the entire Bochc
nP-up OF frightfulncss and We have
' to fail to give them as good as
ney sent. We have met and will mcct
Hlicultics on all sides but tho mon
Fc really wNrGors ard somehow VIC
aanagc 10 pull Though. | have been
e:E Fortunate in that have been
9roGEh c%Dc:itntcs ana situations
ghlch usually como with years in
Sead of months on the firing line.
2flghting a powerful Wonderfully
fganizcd enemy three thousand miles
scm home is a task the magnitude OF
$hioh We can hardly realize ourselves
pa we have many, many lessons TO
aarn, but the L. S. soldiers are com.
ag t%Pfhc scratch nobly. have been
ut with our men (and the largest
art of Nc battery is made up Of mon
pangcr than am-and a great many
Z them seventeen. eighteen and ninc-
pcn vars old for three and four
eys at, hard work when our AVERAGE
keep was close to nothing and they
Eorkcd chcerfnlly. faithfully and
keadily. Once we were in thc saddle
9f sixteen hours and, We got in and
sarncd that we had to 80 out in an
qur for eight hours more (and we had
ne meal when there should have been
NcH &Md that one had been cold)--
ne mVen complained out loud and he
Us met with a vollcy of "What'd YOU
pme over here for anyway" SAY you
pght to'vc brought your nurse alone"
D' you come here to get your fiji OF
nowE and he was sorry he hadn't
@pt quiet.
gOnly few days ago a Rochc bat
by opened up on us with high OK
8osivcs and they weren't wasting their
pell all over the country either. The
5tuation was pretty bad and every
pdy was ordered to take the best
helter available The BOchc fire cot
little previous as it went on and it
adn't make worry nice music. Finally
ge get some information as to what
artery was firing on us and the cap
Bin told me to open up on them with
20 guns and send the rest of the men
way :rom the battery position. We
pmputed firing data very hastily and
shen | stepped outside and blew the
thistle the men Sprang out to the guns
fifth yell--and ii reminded me OF
9otball team when the whistle starts
Pc game. With shell falling all
foundQYis we gave them about thirty
Dunds 'and absolutely silcnccd thcm-
nd If there was a man in the battery
= scared as | was he didn't show it
pat day. A number OF the men were
1T, but not hurt, by fragments and |
pd three fragments try to makk bell