Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1918-12-20
in VERDUN SECTOR
OTTO PLETTL, WOUNDED
FRANCE, TELLS OF SOME
J.. EXPERIENCES

toned at the hospital at Fort Smelling
where he is recuperating from wound
in the arm and shoulder received while
in action in France, arrived Saturday
evening and spent Sunday and Monday
forenoon with friends.
He, as all the boys who return from
France, had many interesting tales to
to tell of his life overseas and methods
used in fighting the Boche. =.
Plettl left this city for Camp Dodge,
Ia, with contingent Of Morrison coun-
ty men on Feb. 26, 1918. He was assign
ed to Company K, 139th regiment which
was made up mostly Of Missouri and
Kansas men and was known as the
"You Gotta Show Us' regiment.
On April "a his regiment was sent to
Camp Mills, N. Y. and en- May z arrived
in Liverpool, England. From Liverpool
Plettl was sent to Winchester, England
where he got a five days. rest before
sent to Southampton from which place
he crossed the English channel, landing
at Harve, in Northern France. Here he
trained with the English forces for six
weeks before being sent to the front
He arrived in the front line trenches
on July 20 and fought in the Argonne,
St. Mihiel and Verdun sectors.
T 'The drive in which he was wounded
was i'll the Verdun sector and started
at $3.50 in the afternoon of Sept. 26.
The country in this district was cut up
10y ravines and gullies and was covered
by growth of thickets. These thickets
were thickly habitated by German Ma
chine gun nests. Under these conditions,
however, the Allies advanced 10 miles
capturing four towns and a large num-
ber Of prisoners.
Plettl's company suffered severe
loses in this drive, almost the entire
company being casualties. Plettl was
wounded in this drive in the early part
of October. ...,.
The Allies were advancing too fast
for the barrage with which the artillery
was covering them and it was on this
account that so many men appeared a.
mong the casualties.
On the day Plettl was wounded his
company was sent ahead Of the regi giment
on scouting duty. They were slowly
advancing when high explosive shell
burst near Plettl wounding him in the
left arm and shoulder and killing the
Major Of the company who was short
distance from him.
Plettl laid on the field for two hours
waiting for stretcher bearers to take
him back to the trench. No aid came,
so regardless of his wounds, he walked
back to the trench where first aid was
administered. He was then put into an
ambulance and driven to three different
evacuation hospitals before one could he
found to accommodate him. He was op-
ated upon at the evacuation hospital
and then sent back Of the lines to a
base hospital where he remained until
he sailed for America.
Base Hospital 26, the unit Del Batters
Row Turner andSteven Simonet are with
is located just across the street from
the hospital in which Plettl was confin-
ed. Simonet, Turner and Leo GRIMES,
who hadSbeen gassed and were at Base
hospital 26, were in to see Plettl on sew
eral occasions. They were the first OF
the Little Falls boys he had seen since
leaving Camp Dodge.
In speaking Of the Red Cross, Plettl
stated that this organization is the'best
on earth and that the workers do every
thing in their power for the men.
He wears gold stripe on the right
sleeve signifying that he has been
wounded and gold stripe on the left
sleeve which donates that he has seen
six months service.
He was with one Of the first contin-
gents of wounded men to land IN New
York from France. He landed there on
Nov. "a where he stayed about two
weeks before being sent to the hospital
at Fort Smelling.
He returned to Fort Smelling Monday
afternoon where he will be confined un-
til his wounds are healed enough to per-
nit rebreaking and setting Of his arm
which had started to knit improperly.
A,lunst Ed1inp substituted in the COM