Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-23
SAMMEES GET TURKEY
ON NWASHINGTON'SDAY
Bullets Whine and Shells
Crash as>Anniversary Dawns
in France
AMERICANS ON ALERT
Boys Fighting for Principles of
Country's Father First Time
in Europe

WITH THE AMERICAS ARMY IN
= FRANCE. Feb. 22 (delayed).
Standing on iresteps. crouching in
y listening post and machine-gun positions.
or concealed in dugouts where telephones
and other war instruments are hidden,
American soldiers observed Washing
TONS Birthday.
II was the first time the sons of the
father Of democracy had spent that day
!. in a European battle line to save the
{ principles he represented.
Every man in the frontline trenches
had turkey dinner in honor of the
occasion.
German shells were whistling bv and
shrapnel was bursting overhead as the
anniversary was ushcrcd In at mid
I night.
cold brilliant moon lighted up the
trenches and No Mans Land almost
Ike day. The knife-like temperature
cut through the heavily bundled mon
standing rigidy in the trenches. watch.
ing for some Boche movement.
The SammceS "tin hats' surmoun,ed
wool helmets which were drawn nm To
their eyes They kicked their feet softly
against the sides of the trench in an
effort TO warm them.
Y Then came the life savers" Mon from
the rear brought up steaming hot cof-
Zee, carrying the huge cans through the
twisting communication trenches. Every
man got pig cup. IL was not only hot
but good coffee.
Meantime, boche or American ma
chine gun or automatic rife would rat
tie, grenade explode, and then the Ger
man artillery would open up with a
( brief chorus. The shells would swish
ana scream over the trenches bursting
far in the rear
BULLETS WHINE OVERHEAD
German bullets would whine closer
overhead as the American sentries cut
loose with their rifles at suspicious OBJ
jects on No Mans Land
/ In the artillery's telephone dugout
were two boys from Chicago. two from
Boston and one from Salt Lake Citv,
TWO were constantly watching the tele-
phone, which connects the battery with
all parts of the American sector.
The Sammes in the dugout wanted all
the news from home. They had come
over in Decembtr.
The dugout was tight cutained and
invisible until. clambering down stems.
{ one came abruptly into a warm. dry,
cramped room.. lighted by Pickering
candles
The post commander; captain, had
MS dugout on the mine floor. 1t was
nlled with water by recent rains, but
was pumped out today.
In an automatic rife emplacement
was middle westerner. watching
across No Mans Land through n small
portfolio for suspicious movement.
IN a listening post far out a boy
was stationed, whose chief job was to
Keep still, with his ears open. 1t was
n quiet out his way and all he had done
was to keep still
AS the night passed the cold grew
more intense, The mud froze hard. The
guns were quiet and the silence was
deathlike. No church was ever so quiet
no silence SO crushing
inc moon cast weird, lengthening
SHADOWS of the men as they peered to-
ward the boche lines. Thus they waited
tehseiy through the hours until dawn.
: TURKEYS FOR FEAST
The kitchen is located in a shell-shat-
tered house In the rear TURKEYS for
today's feast hung from the rafters,
for breakfast.
The men in the front-line trenches
get hot coffee at midnight every night
and are served with hot meals during
the day.
Approaching the front lines. one
passes through many ruined villages
whose shattered walls and crumbling
spires assume the most fantastic shape
IN the moonlight