Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1918-12-14
MICHAEL SULLIVAN,
TT. Lee man IN FRANCE,
TELLS OF HUN FIENDS


Dear Sir am taking the liberty
of inclosing you herewith an excerpt
from letter written by Sergeant Mi
chael Sullivan to his brother, James
Sullivan of Fort Lee. Sergeant Sulli-
van is attached to the First Battalion,
One Hundred and Fourth Engineers,
i'm France, forming part of the Fifth
New Jersey. Sergeant Sullivan went
through the Mexican campaign and
after training at Admission went over
seas. Sergeant Sullivan was formerly
borough clerk Of the borough of Fort
Lee
trust you will find his letter Of suf-
ficient interest for you to publish
same. Yours very truly,
JAMES ID. MOORE.
Dec. 3, 1918.
"Well, suppose you would like to
know something about the boys of our
regiment. 1t seems to me from what
/ hear that you folks at home know
where the Twenty-ninth Division is,
although I can't mention the place in
a letter. 1 can mention this, however,
that we have nbeen in one big drive
about three weeks ago on a prominent
front and done exceedingly good work
with comparatively small casualties.
Our division was then taken away and
sent to another front, where we are
now In handy grips with the Huns.
"At this writing we are encamped in
shelter tents on the slope of small
mountain. The weather here is beast
ly, which makes bivouacing quite mis-
cradle When say we are here /
mean only our battalion. The other
battalion which the Fort Lee boys are
in is many miles tok the rear, but will
pull up later. The reason we are now
on the battlefield in advance Of the
Second Battalion Is due to the fact
that on account of no engineering
work being required In this particular
sector at this time we are held in re-
serve to reinforce the infantry. The
'dOughbOys' went over the top last
night and made good progress. The
prisoners they captured are at this
moment passing before my eyes.
Among them are some machine gun
men, known otherwise as the murder
crew, with Red Cross insignia on
their arm Just think of the treachery
of these beasts They know that an
American will not open fire on an enc
e.,I<1 III oCin In hic
arm, and their passing to and fro to
positions has been without mOlesta-
ton. But we now have them marked,
and very few escape our bullets. If
you knew the German as we know him
he would become a lOathsOme creature.
Every device known to the mind of 4
fiend has been employed by them In q
dishonorable way to work havoc
among the allied troops. For instance,
trench or dugout recently occupied
by them appears perfectly normal
when entered. ButAwhen door Of one
Of the rooms is opened mine ex-
plodes. Perfectly innocent looking
flowers in vase are connected with
bombs that the slightest touch causes
an explosion; nails in the floor are
slightly raised so that slight step
upon them sets off cap attached to
mine; bombs are put in stOvepipes so
that when fire is made dug0ut and
occupants are no more. could go on
describing numerous other treacherOus
devices of these fiends, but it would
take too much time and paper.
II am writing this letter at the door
of my tent, p. M, our time, which
is 10 a. M. your time. We are encir-
cled by about 1900 guns of ours which
are now making the earth tremble
with their barrage fire. The enemy
has located us, and, believe me, he is
at this writing bursting shells all
around us. Some of the boys and
horses are torn to pieces every day be-
fore our eyes, and it makes us all
think If the next one will get us. Who
knows? The friend of tonight is a
corpse tomorrow. Such is life on the
battlefield! However, 1 am prepared
If the worst comes, for better men
than have made the sacrifice for
their country. But somehow or other
I have that firm belief that / am COM
ing out all right and be home again
once more.
II am inclosing a piece Of Ger
man officers coat. The officer, an
aviator, was shot down by an Ameri-
can aviator at p. m. today, and he
fell just few hundred feet from our
tents. You should have seen the
bunch Of us tearing his coat to pieces
for souvenir.
II am also inclosing slip for a
Christmas package, which explains it.
self Tell mother to send me three
pounds of chocolate candy.
II can't write any more now, as the
gas alarm is sounding, which means
to put on our masks, as Fritz is send
ing over some gas shells.
"LOve to ALL Tell mother I will
write her tomorrow"