Norwich bulletin., 1918-05-02
sheIled on St. Patriek,s Day.

One of the New Britain soldiers, Corporal Fleischman, who was in the company located on guard duty in this city last spring. but now in France, writes the following letter to a Nor wich friend: Some Where in France.
 April 3, 1917.
 Dear Friend: I have little time to spare, so I made up my mind to drop you a line. l am as well as usual, so are all the Company 1 boys.
 On St. Patrick's day we were at the front and for greetings the Boche gave us 9 heavy shell gas attack for 24 hours straight, But our own artil- lery gave it to them good and prop CT. The same night I was carrying soup up to the front, with shells burst . ing all around, gas and shrapnell, but none came near enough to hit. It was pitch dark nights and with my gas mask on walking on the side of a com munication trench that ran to the front Ine, 1 couldn't see a. thing, with five loaves of bread in my arm, there was, practically as helpless as a child. My arms full and trying to find the way, I fell four times in a trench full of water and mud But 1 finally managed to get out and on my way again. The next morning it was clear and fine and a number of Ger man aeroplanes flew about 250 feet over our head I came out of the dugout to see what was going on and I heard machine gun fire in the air There he was shooting down into our position trying to mow Us down. There our men opened fire on the Hun and he flew back to the lines as fast as no could travel. It showed one night while we were up there and the ,shelt holes covered with snow looked like a wide spread ocean.
 Everything in sight is destroyed by artillery fire, trees all shot. to pieces, villages, everything in ruins. Graves here and there and some of them are shell holes at present. You may think the Fourth of July night is noisy, but here for days it is the same, day aft CT day bombarding every once in a while. machine guns tapping away and bullets singing over head. France will never be worth anything for years to come, Dead are lying around the ground it is just like as if there was an earthquake, all you see is holes trenches dug up, one mass of destruc- tion. Barbed wire all around equip ment of all kinds lying around, am- munition, German and French guns bayonets, everything in mess. In holes gas still remains; if a farmer wanted to blow the fields where bat | ties have been fought they might | strike a grenade or shell that had not l exploded and if he did then he is apt | to he killed. We were warned be- l fore we went up to the front not to | touch any of the German grenades as they may be fixed so as to explode and kill one or more of us. For in- stance I heard a story of a British Of ficer who picked up a German gren- ade and wanted 10 bring it back fol a souvenir. He put it in his pocker and jumped on his horse and rode away. The shock of riding set the grenade off and killed him on the spot So you can see how they are set. Wher, we were the Germans once occupied those positions and there wa: all kinds of German ammunition 1T the dugouts, which they left on theil retreat. But we kept our hands off fol we heard enough of the Boches tricks l They may be foxy but they didn't foo l the Americans. They have been or the front sometime and haven't triet any of them yet.
 1 I must close now. Best regards tc all inc,uiring friends and to the Hal | family
 CORP. F. FLEISCHHAUER, Go. I, 102nd U. s. Inf.
 A. E. F.