The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1918-11-28
WE BUSTED THE
HINDENBURG
-. LINE SAYS BUD
Kennewick High School Lad Has
an Exciting Experience in
@e NO-Man'S Land
WASN'T SCARED BUT HAPPY
Norman Lynch Writes Interesting
Account of Last Big Drive Against
the German Lines

Earl Anderson and Norman Lynch,
two members Of last years graduat-
ing class of the Kennewick high school
didn't wait for their diplomas, but en-
listed in the National Army last spring
a few weeks before commencement.
They were sent from here to the Coast
then t. Ft. Leavenworth and within
a few weeks were in England. Two
weeks ago we published letter from
Earl telling of an exciting experience
when he and few comrades were lost
from their command and caught be-
tween their own and the enemy's bar
rage. In the letter he said he had not
heard from "Bud" and wondered how
he was making it.
Here's the answer in the following
letteE from "Bud" to F. j. Arnold,
under date of October q:
81 am writing this by candle light,
as sit before telephone switchboard
in a lonely French village, shell-torn
and battlc-worn, which WIS lately
wrested from the grip Of the Hun, and
is now many miles from the battle
front. If there was an alarm clock
here is would soon be Ginning the
hour of 3 a. M, for look at my trusty
wrist watch end see that it is 2:S5.
"Thrce days ago was at the front
and it sure was some bloody old front
too. We were only there for a short
time, but we saw a fight-a real fight,
too. I think the censor viii let me tell
you something about it as it is over
now, the battle won.
"We went up the line Saturday
morning. We were told that our job
was to take the Hindenburg line where
we faced it, on one Of the most strong
ly fortified points. You see ours is
crack division and when they have
some particularly hard job, they call
on us-and VIC never fail them We
rested most of the day Saturday and
prepared for the attack OF Sunday.
Of course the job of the signal corps
is to string wire, and operate behind
the advancing party. They tell us
.just keep communication 1t sounds
very simple, but sometimes it works
out differently.
"Well, Sunday morning at 5:55 the
barrage opened. / have been thru a
couple of battles before, the big ono at
Ypres, where we started them back,
and thought / had an idea Of lot of
big guns. But this seemed like one
continuous roar, as if every foot of
ground was vomiting shells and shrap-
mel. And such was almost the case,
for guns were drawn up wheel to
wheel almost, over the whole front
and several layers deep. And all the
way from the lowly trench mortar to
the big 18-inch navaIs-they all op-
ened up.
"I was sitting in corner catching
bit of rest but when this started /
woke up, offered up mental prayer
to God, and prepared to work. got
up and saw the tanks, whole flocks Of
them, start out. If there is anything
those tanks can't go thru it hasn't
been invented yet. Right to one side
of me there was battery Of guns
49,. -x,1~lr
"At a. m. the boys 'hopped over
At 7:10 a. m. prisoners and walking
wounded started coming back. 1t
surely made one feel glorious to be
there, to be in the thick of the fight,
knowing yourself an active participant
in the great struggle for the greatest
cause on earth.
"Of course our lines were all shot
out, and as / am lineman, our SER
geant told me to pick out another line
man and go out on our forward line.
picked out ''Smitty," little fat kid
whom one wouldn't think could do any
thing but eat. But ! knew he had
nerve that wouldn't desert him and
knew he was steady and willing and
anxious to go.
"we went out dodging Jerry's bar
rage from shell hole to shell hole along
the line, repairing the breaks we found
s--s~-------~