Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1918-09-13
FROM ONE OF OUR BOYS
August 18th, 1898.
Clinton Pinney Writes an interesting
Letter from lover Here"

Letter from lover Here"
August 18th, 1918
"Over Here"
Dear Mother and Father:
Well, suppose you are getting anx-
ious for a letter by this time I am
going to try and scribe" you a note.
but won't promise that it will be much
of a letter. We have moved down on
a different sector which is much more
quiet than the one we just came from,
which is much to be thankful for. 1
will say that the other one was HELL"
for the short time we were in there
We went in I mean over the ton ut
10: 30, a. M, and came out at H. D. M,
which was great relief. After we had
driven the Huns out of their rosition
and back for about mile, thew nut
over the worst machine gun and artil-
lery barrage believe they could have
given us. We just had time to dio us
small dugout apiece, when they
started. I had my dugout in a bank
along side of a road. In p short +i--1e q
second lieutenant came along with a
shrapnel wound in his arm I bandag-
ed it up for him and then let hir-, come
in my dugout with me. We iust got
ourselves fit into the hole when a shell
struck big tree just aIon ~-i'a Of nv
dugOut. 1t tore several ranches off.
one of them falling directly over me-
OF course l was in this hole pit didn't
touch me, but I was carou4aged TO a
finish. It wasn't long until a german
aeroplane came sailing down over our
skirrnish line of dugouts and turned a
machine gun into them, but as usual.
those square-he heads can't shoot straight
enough to hit any one But when this
artillery barrage came over there were
shells hitting within 10, 20 and 100 feet
away, some of them were so close they
threw dirt in on us and the smoke was
so heavy we could not see 30 feet. 7
got along fine until one of those 1855
hit about so feet feet away: right then
could feel myself giving way knew
was going to be sheu-shocked. but
just stiffened my body out and closed
nv jaws tight and set the idea" in my
head that 7 was not o0i-~ 70 - -----
self be shell -shockd, and when the bar
rage was over / found nuvseIf
and sound as some of the rest of the /
boys, but really that was the worst two /
hours | have ever spent in all my life. /
The closest 1 came to getting hit was /
a piece of shrapne1 hit me on the heel |
of my shoe.
While we were going over the top,
running the Boches out of their posi-
tons, one shell fell not more than 20
feet ahead of me. OF course it knocked
me down and I hit the ground like a
ton of brick. I got up and felt myself
all over but I wasn't scratched: the
shell must have been just the right dis
lance that the shrapnel went over me.
Another time l dropped down in a
small shell hole to avoid few machine
gun bullets, when a German II went
right over my back and exploded a
little ways behind me. But all those
things are past now and I'll try and
think of something else to write about
Those sort of scraps are a rare thing
and / probably won't have to take part
In another one for a good while; at
any rate, they don't worry me a darn
bit and there isn't a marine over here
that isn't ready to go over the TOP at
any time IL it will shorten the war a
little bit This is going on my eighth
week on the line and really it isn't the
worst eight weeks have spent. I feel s
real lucky anyhow, and and don't
.hink the Boches have my number.
On our way into the line we certain
Y saw a fine, encouraging sight. On
me side os the road there were ma !
ines, on the other side tanks" and s
moving into the line, and in ,
he middle there were long strings of c
German prisoners coming out. Among
ome of the prisoners they took there 9
vas a high officer. The Americans I
lad taken him by surprise and gone T
nto his dugout and brought him out Il
n pair Of pink pajamas. That was a
'retty good one on the Boche.
have fairly easy job while we are
n this sector. am cooking for 21 a
nen; have lots of help and am get G
ing lots to eat so I can't complain. 1
hope you are both In better health :
han you were and don't worry about b
le, as this war is not good for many a
,ontrs more. which guess you can F