Connecticut western news., 1918-08-22
The Bombers Were Fishing in Their
Bag and Throwing.

, lay 0iA
for all they were worth. One of them
, had his mask and face blown off ; yet
he was trying to talk, with the tears
rolling down over the raw flesh. He
died five minutes later.
One night, while I was lying back in
the trench trying not to think of any
thing and go to sleep the bombs began
to get pretty thick around there, and
when l could not stand it any longer
I rushed out into the bay of the fire
trench and right up against the para
pet, where it was safer.
Hundreds Of star shells were being
sent up by both sides and the field
and the trenches were as bright as
day. All up and down the trenches
our men were lodging about, keeping
out of the way of the bombs that
were being thrown in our faces. It
did not seem as if there was any place
where it was possible to get cover.
Most Of the time was picking dirt out
Of my eyes that explosions had driven
into them.
If you went into a dugout the men
already in there would shout, "Don't
stick in bunch-spread out!" While
you were in dugout you kept expect
ing to be buried alive and when you
went outside you. thought the Boches
were aiming at you direct-and there
was no place at all where you felt
SAFE.
But the fire bay looked better than
the other places to me. had not been
there more than a few minutes when
a big one dropped in and that bay was
just one mess. Out of the "a men in
the bay only eight escaped.
When the stretcher bearers got there
they did not have much to do in the
way Of rescue-it was more pallbear-
er's work.
A stretcher bearer was picking up
one of the boys, when q grenade land
ed alongside of him and you could not
find a fragment of either of them.
That made two that landed within
twelve feet of me; yet was not even
scratched.
When I got so that I could move I
4. went over to where the captain was
standing, looking through q periscope
over the parapet. I was very nervous
! and excited and was afraid to speak
to him, but somehow I thought I
ought to ask for orders. But I
could not say a word. Finally a
shell whizzed over our heads-just
missed us, it seemed like, and 1 broke
out: "What did you see? What's all
: of the news?" and so on. I guess
chartered like a monkey.
Then he yelled: you're the gunner
officer. You're just in time-rve To-
! Gated their mortar batteries"
! surely wished I was the gunner
officer. I would have enjoyed it more
/ if / could have got back at Fritz
somehow. But I was not the gunner
! officer and I told him so. 1 had to
| shout at him quite a while before he
would believe me. Then he wanted
me to find the gunner officer, but
did not know where to find him. If
I could have got to our guns I guess
would have had another medal fol
working overtime, but I missed the
chance there.
| ABOUT LnlS LlIue duOLuer DOuD Cdut
over and clouted out the best friend
had in my company. Before thu
war he had been one Of the finest sing
ers in the Paris opera houses. Whe1
he was with us he used ito, say tina
the only difference between him ant
Caruso was $4,000 night.
A poilu and I dragged him into (
dugout, but it was too late. One sid
of his face was blown off !; the who'll
right side Of him WAS sstrinned- OF