The Arizona copper camp., 1918-08-31
For God and France.

foF Zoo anu france.
go over Our officers always led us,
but have never seen German officer
lead charge. They always were be-
hind their men, driving instead of lead
ing. I do not believe they are as brave
as they are said to be.
Well, we went over this time, and
1t strong. We were pretty sore about
the chaplain and the Swiss and all
that, and we put up an awful fight, but
we could not make it and had to come
back. Only one company reached the
Boche trenches and not a man of it
came back who had not been wounded
on the way and did not reach the
trench. They were just wiped out.
The captain was missing, too We
thought he was done for, but about
two o'clock in the morning, he came
back. He simply fell over into the
trench, all in. He had been wounded
four times, and had lain in a shell
crater full Of water for several hours.
He would not go back for treatment
then, and when daylight came, it was
too late, because we were practically
cut off by artillery fire behind the front
line trenches.
When daylight came, the artillery
fire opened up right on us, and the
Germans had advanced their lines into
some trenches formerly held by us and
hardly forty-five yards away. We re-
ceived bombs and shells right in our
faces. A Tunisian in our company got
crazy, and ran back over the parados.
He ran few yards, then stopped and
looked back at us. I think he was
coming to his senses. and would have
started back to us. Then the spot
where he had been was empty, and a
second later his body from the chest
down fell not three yards from the
parados. I do not know where the
top part went. That same shell cut
groove in the low hilltop before it ex-
ploded. He had been hit by a big
shell, and absolutely cut in two.
have seen this happen to four men, but
this was the only one in France.
About seven o'clock, we received re-
endorsements, and poured fresh troops
over and retook the trench. No sooner
had we entered it, however, than the
Germans turned their artillery on us,
not even waiting for their own troops
to retire safely. They killed numbers
of their own men in this way. But the
fire was so heavy that, when they coun-
ter-attacked, we had to retire again,
and this time they kept after us and
drove us beyond the trench we had
originally occupied.
We left them there, with our artil-
lery taking care of them, and our ma
chine guns trying to enfilade them, and
moved to the right. There was
bunch of trees there, about like small
woods, and as we passed the Germans
we retired to some reserve trenches.
We were pretty much scattered by this
time, and badly cut up. We reformed
there, and were joined by other of our
troops, in small groups-what was left
Of squads and platoons and singly.
OuA NoPlet1AA 1du SOC II q hllA t1lACS
meanwhile, but he would not leave us,
as he was the ranking officer. He had
scalp wound, but the others were in
his arms and shoulders. He could not
move his hands at all. =
But he led our charge when we ran
for the woods. We carried some ma
chine guns with us as we went, and
the gunners would run piece, set up,
fire while we opened up for them, and
run on again. Some troops came out
Of trench still farther to the right
and helped us, and we drove the Ger
mans out Of the woods and occupied it
ourselves.
From there, we had the Germans in
our old trench almost directly from
the rear and we simply cleaned them
out. 1 think all the vows were kept
that day, or else the men who made
them died first.
I was shot through the thigh some
time or other after the captain got
back. 1t felt just like a needle-prick
at first, and then for a while my leg
was numb. A couple of hours after we
took our trench back, started out for
the rear and hospital. The wound had
been hurting for some time. They car
ried the captain out on a stretcher
about the same time, but he died on
the way from loss of blood. Fresh
troops came up to relieve us, but our
men refused to go, and though official
Iy they were not there in the trench,
they stayed until they took the cap
tain away. Then, back to billets-not
bullets, this time. believe that we re-
ceived an army citation for that piece
Of work, but do not know, as l was