Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-06-30
ONLY WANT TO GET
WELL AND FIGHT
Wounded Soldier In Hospital Cannot
Imagine Anything But to Get
Well and Get Back.
SURPRISED AT QUESTION
Amazement Depicted on Features
When Asked II America Would
Win; Pershing Is Pleased.
CAN'T MEND TOO FAST
Soldiers In "Blighty' Anxious TO Get
Back In Trenches Where They
Can Hand 1t Back to Fritz.
(By DONALD L. BREED \

ter and complete amazement spread
over the face OF a fellow being, then
ask soldier who has been in France
whether he thinks the allies will
win military victory.
saw this look OF wonder in the
face OF a man who has been at Cam
brai and Baupaume He is Private
c., of the Eleventh Engineers
and he Is now at Walter Reed hos
pitai in Washington. undergoing a
treatment which will render him al
most as sound as he was before he
got his wound.
IA Certainly we're going to win."
Y be said. But don't know when tn
Y be, but we're going to end the war
on German soil. There's no other
way out Of it We've got to whip
them back inside their own bounda-
mes"
Private c. was before Cam
brai in the famous battle OF Novem-
Der 20 to 80, 1917.
AT least, we thought It was quite
battle then" he grnned. That
was before we knew what real bat
tie was like"
Bringing Up the Tanks.
The Eighteenth Engineers were
given the job Of bringing up a big
battery OF tanks by way OF getting
ready for a drive on the German
positions in front of Cambria. First
they had to lay tracks. There were
tracks by the score stretching out
and touching the rear of the lines at
every point. They reached out like
the arms OF an octopus. The laying
OF track was so we'll systematized
IN
down like magic. After the tracks
came the long trains, with the tanks
loaded on flat cars. These trains
were backed into the spurs and run
ways were laid from one car to an
other. A structure of timbers was
built under each car to reinforce
Il, and then the whole long line of
tanks was rolled off the train.
over here there s lot of excite
ment over one single tank" said
Private c.. I'VE saw them there
by the dozen and then by the hun
dred Why. l would have rellshed
the sight OF a Packard limousine,
just for the sake of n change"
The unloading OF trainful
OF tanks sounds easy enough, as de-
picted by one who helped do it, but
there were bitches once in while.
Sometimes tank ran amuck, and
several of the cars gave way; and
the timbering had to be done over
again.
AT the chosen time the offensive
began. 1t was a big offensive for
those days. and 1t succeeded well
4 at the start The British troops
forged ahead, and the engineers
were kept sweating to bring up the
rear. build tracks and see that the
roads were passable. The spires OF
Cambria. only 2h miles off, were
visible at last, and Private C.
In common with the rest of the
troops supposed that the retaking
OF the city was only a matter OF
hours.
But, as everybody now knows,
CamDrd was not retalSen.
Tho Tide Turns.
I'VE saw German sausage bal
loon sailing in our direction" Pri-
vate G. said. I'VE thought 1t
4 was pretty queer, but we had no
time to stop and figure out the rea
son for 1t. Then, like a bomb, came
4 the order to retreat. / was In a
dugout with bunch OF fellows, and
we could see the men pouring down
4 the roads. The corporal says, What
shall we do2A It's sure death to
crawl out in that open field. and II
we stay here Fritzie will come
sneaking up and find U.S. NY
Well, we crawled out The cor
poral was killed the first crack, and
/ got a rifle wound in the leg. 1t
wasn't bad, but you see, l couldn't
walk I wormed around there ex-
pecung every minute to be picked
1A
down the roads, and they were send
Ing scouting parties out into the
nelds. Some OF them came and
looked at me. and / thought my
time had sure come. But all they
did was give me little kick and
: make funny German, noises in their
throats, and then they went away
again. 1 guess their scheme was to
take me on TO some prison camp
after a while. After | was so thirsty
and weak that l thought / was GO
Ing to die, one of them came along
and gave me drink. l didn't know
but 1t might be poisoned. but
crank 1t anyway, and 1t went down
all right.
After a long time the columns
seemed to be turned. | looked down
to the roads, and the Germans were
coming back again. The reason for
That, we found out afterwards, was
that the Coldstream guards had
come up just in time. Besides, the
Sernans didn't like the terrain.
What they were trying for was a
position on the ridge, and they
eouldn't make II. lay out in that
neid for hours and hours, and the
swelling and the hunger and every
thing made me so faint that didn't
care what happened to me.
II Rescued at Last.
Then 1 was found by a couple OF
Sretcher bearers. 1t was long
way to the hospital, and by the time
got there the wound was so bad
that there was nothing to do but put
me- to sleep and take the leg right
orr below the knee. II I'd had to
walt another day 1t would have
peen good night for me-"
Private G. had long period
OF convalescence in a Paris base
hospital, and now he has been sent
10 Walter Reed to be fitted with a
new limb, so that he can, some day,
n work almost as well as II he had
never gone through the tragic ex-
perfence which he related to me.
h much more narrowing story
was told me by a lad who was seri-