The review. [volume] (High Point, N.C.) 1908-19??, 1918-11-07
% PEACE UNTIL THE GERMANS
ARE THOROUGHLY WHIPPED,
SAYS IT. MOORE.

II D. d.
. Moore OF this city. 1t. Moore Marie
Miss Louise Reitael OF this city befor
leaving for Fra11Ee The very inte.
esting letter follows:
! As you know I was assigned to-
pIoneer outfit which is constructor
unit, armed only for defense and no
( trained IN anyway for offensive wal
fare. The duties are road building
emergency bridges, repairs, etc. Eacl
army division has b pioneer outfit at
tarhad. =
when we landed In France we re
n1ained in q rest camp a week, ther
, tavefed1oll troop train four days
WeaWere then billetted about a week
III wonderful old home. I had q
large. beautifully furnished room and
every comfort. The view from my
W1ndoW seemed most too perfect to be
nsallraL The smooth rolling green
lawn neatly trimmed trees, clean
] rdBds,, I, the clear streams flowing by,
! am The quaint odd-looking houses with
/ their red roots. Nothing could have
! ben nbre peaceful.
t The men camped near their work.
] TIE officers were billeted two miles
| away in a house.
zHFrQm here we hiked across the
/ country three nights, sleeping during
! the days, and were abi1leted in "a
! cnateau awhile but soon = went into
barracks. We were now hearing the
Waar zone, SO no lights were allowed,
az a1rplanes were constantly passing.
oyer and bombs dropping About
I this time we were attached to ma
tibnal army outfit, and ordered into
the war zone, where-xWe built sub
stantial roads for constant use.
One day we saw aFterrific battle
between 65 airships right over our
heads. Have been in any real
1ahting? Wen / should say. Wei
were in the late drive SO far as to
cut the wires ON 4stNo Mars Land,
top We were in so far as to go
over with the first men two kiIome- |
tafs iHto German lines, and bring |
back five prisoners from wood held |
bI Germans Tn so far that I had to
run fer my life in No Mans Land |
and II was some sprinting.
E"0ur little band Of 16 pioneers |
were the first Americans to enter al
Little town just evacuated, where the
people had been held. 5 by the Ger
nj ans for four years. We went IN /
UnY two hours after the Germans I
Isft.s In their haste they had aban-l
don Cd ggns clothing and even meals
when the women and chidrenf
found we were Americans their Joy +
was pathetic. They threw their arms
around the boys necks, crying and |
kissing them. The men could not
understand a word they said, but
their happiness needed no Interpreter.
"The Boches were fixed up as if
they had expected to stay. Some
houses we're furnished with every
convenience. Many concrete dug
outs had electric lights, etc. In one
house was a room with sheet music
lying about, as if a band practice had
been interrupted, and the place from
which a piano had been hastily re-
moved was evident. Even their dead
had been left unburied. 49,
"We found one man with the pic
ture in his hand of a woman and two
children. We gave him a decent
burial.
"It was this way: One day, accord
ing to orders, two Of us with two
squads of 16 men each, left our camp
at 4 p. m. and hiked until 10 p. M;
then stood by the side of road in
six inches Of mud under heavy
doWnpour Of rain until a. m, not
knowing where we were, nor why we
were there. At 1:15 o'clock I was
told to be ready to go over the top.
The men were given wire cutters.
We had never been. in the trenches,
but we pulled ourselves together and
started to find them. From one line
to another we hiked for three long
miles. These trenches, only three feet
wide, were already occupied by the
infantry. Water in them sometimes
ran over my boot tops. The Boches :,
were sending over gas and shells,
which kept us lodging into the other {
men or the trench sides, but on and [
On we went until we came out right
IN the front line trenches. Over our I
heads was the most wonderful display {
of fireworks I ever saw Star shells
made the night as bright as day, and |
colored signals shot from the air. {
ol Anes while we stood shivering be- I
side the step; counting the time when
We; should go over and face death. I
The feeling is indescribable Under S
GOV er Of the noise I whispered, Load |
your guns In another moment we t
vent over the top, and [ found No t
Mans Land just like any other land. S
"Our job was to cut the wires to
'pen way for the infantry to go a
through, which we did, and the b
roops poured through the passage f
which we made, in the midst of a a
errible shower of gas and shrapnel Il
II attached my 16 men to the near t.
st platoon, and went with them into n
he battle and it's terrible experiences
\ shell burst nearby, wiping out two t.
nen. picked up a gun and revolver u
nd went On. Every nation under the A
I'm was represented in these troops. :: f
During these days at the front, our t.
ioneers sent back 220 prisoners, in D
luding several officers, one major. {,
We took seven machine guns, some "
y going right up on them. ..-.. 8
AT one time we were she1led by
hree machine guns from dugoutE e
y1ng a Red Cross flag. Now what ii
o you think of that, But we got r