The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1918-08-08
FIGHTING IN FRANCE
VIM. {. VECQUERAY
Writes Another Very Interesting
Letter
ruRITIJNG EXPERIENCES
shelled by Huns, Bombed by Air
planes, Attacked With Poison
Gas, Decorated for Bravery by
British General.
Co. &C." 9th U. S. Engrs,
American E. F.
July 28th, 1918.

AlllGIlCdl E' l. =
July 28th, 1918.
Dear Mr.. Jordan -
[ promised to continue an ac-
count of some of the things that
our company has been doing IN
the past couple of months, so here
goes.
After We had returned to our
billets in town, as told you in my
last letter." Jerry" began to make
things rather interesting in that
neighborhood. There were a large
number of cavalry in the woods
adjoining the town and "Jerry'
started to shell them pretty heavi-
ly. His aeroplanes, which before
that time had merely contented
themselves with flying over us for
observation purposes, or else on
their way to drop their bombs
further back, got nasty habit OF
dropping them on or around us.
That was when we began to de-
eide that discretion was the better
part of valor and when we heard
him coming we would leave our
billets and hike for the trenches.
There is one thing that helps IN
this case and that is you can hear
him coming for some time before
he gets overhead and usually have
plenty of time to get under cover.
1t is quite exciting for time, the
anti-aircraft guns and machine
guns all open up on him, but u.s.
uallv he keeps right on coming
and first thing you know you hear
a shrill whistling followed by
heavy explosion, and you realize
that "Fritzie" is sending down a
few of his visiting cards, and then
YOU begin to wonder where the
next one is going to fall and If
you are in the way of 1t when 1t
does come. The explosions of
aerial bombs have a particularly
terrifying sound, and I have yet
to meet a man who claims he does
Mt "get his wind up" when "Jer-
rvs" bombing aeroplanes are
paying a visit. These aerial bombs
are awful weapons. | have seen
cases where they have fallen all
the way through house and pen
etrated into the cellar before ex-
ptoding; then what is left of that
house isn't worth salvaging. L
have seen holes in open fields
made by them, so large that you
could almost hide team and
wagon in them. But the best
part of it is, that it is far from
easy to hit the object you aim at,
and most of his bombs do practi-
cally no damage except tearing
up the earth. But they are not
pleasant visitors.
It is quite exciting to watch the
anti-aircraft guns shooting at hos
tile aeroplanes. The shrapne;
bursts all around the aeroplane,
but they keep coming right on,
dodging from one side to the 9TH
er. diving down or rising higher
to spoil the aim of the gunners. 1t
is a mighty hard matter to make
a direct hit and have not seen
one made yet. They do succeed
however in making them keep up
in the air at a respectable dis
tance, and sometimes, if the bar
rage is heavy enough, Jerry
decides that he has gone far E.
nough and turns home again. The
first day that we arrived in this
town that ! am speaking of, we
saw fight between an Allied and
a German aeroplane, which ended
when the German gave up the
scrap and came down and Surren-
dered, just outside the town. Both
the pilot and observer in the Ger