The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-08-22
YANKS BURY DEAD
THAT ENEMY LEFT
EVANS THINKS THAT QUIET SEC.
TOR is NOISY ENOUGH
TO SUIT HIM
FIVE WEEKS TRIP TO BOYS N CAMPS
Story OF Things As They Really Are
In The American Army Right Be-
hind The Battle Line
BY H. C. EVANS
Copyright 1879

AT the front Win the American
Army, France have just closed a
five weeks speaking trip among Unit
When the boys are at 1.-The front" they
are usually in three groups-the first
in the front trench, the second group
in the support or second trench and
the third group in rest camps. which
are just behind the second trench.
These groups alternate between po-
sitions every seven or eight days Y.
NJ. C. A. men are stationed at all rest
camps, which are in fact the third
trench, although this trench is not
clearly defined. Here there are vari-
Jus schemes of d%efenses, however,
and as a rule this third position is
shelled as much as the others.
Communicating trenches connect
the positions and through these the
boys come and go wlen shifting
places, ard through these the "Y'
men and supply men pass back and
forth serving the boys. Miles behind
the rest camps are the reserves, sup
plies. ambulance and supply trucks.
artillery guns, hospitals, etc. Through
this kingdom of hell on earth, from
front trench back to hospital. I have
been passing during these weeks.
have seen little of actual combat
at the front trench, for they call this
a quiet" sector. But if this is quiet
then have l misunderstood the mean
ing of the word.
If to live constantly amidst the
roar of cannon; If to see men hunt
other men with all the craftiness of
a gunner stalking : deer; If to sec
trees in the corners of woods literally
torn III root and branch by great
shells; if to see buildings RACED to
the ground by bursting bombs; if to
see the fragments of mems bodies
scattered to the winds; if to see air
planes fighting like demons in the air,
and men plunge thousands of feet to
the ground; if to pass among tens Of
thousands of armed men, ambulances
filled with wounded, ammunition wag-
n drawn by frantic, plunging horses
If these things contribute to making
a place quiet" what must be the con.
ditions where the real battle RACES?
OF course the word quiet" is used
only in a comparative sense. All
points on this thing called "the front"
are quiet where there is not the daily
impact of infantry against infantry in
large numbers, resulting in many cas-
ualties.
A common sight is to see one or
more enemy planes crawling high over
camp and field, like an eagle with its
wings taut in the pale blue of the sky.
surrounded by the white puff of shrap-
mel from anti-aircraft guns. One can
not withhold a secret feeling Of adj
miration for the bravery Of the air.
man who dare the dangers of the heav-
ems far beyond their own lines over a
hostile territory. There may be seen
our own planes coming out of the dis
tant sky rushing on the trespassers.
Or perhaps from some nearby spot
you hear the b-r-r-r Of a rising plane.
making a deafening noise as it takes
the air, resembling that Of a startled
pheasant. One seldom sees the finish
of an air fight. for Don the machines
are beyond your vision. Twice, how
ever. | saw a machine plunge to the
ground, but so far away it was impos-
sible to tell whether friend or foe.
At night the villages and towns and
camps lie lightless beneath the cold,
u%nfriendly moon. Over the roofs in
the towns and cities may be seen the
long beams of searchlights sweeping
across the sky IN slow and lingering
search. The thud, thud Of the bar
rage of anti-aircraft guns is heard in
crashing chorus and the star-strewn
sky is illumined with bursting shells.
and occasionally through all this noise
is heard the distinct, laundering crash
of bursting bombs, dropped from the
raiding airplanes.
The particular job, and the only
Job, of the ammunition drivers is to
get their loads of shells to the gun.
ners. No matter what the enemy is
doing, whether he Is Smelling the
roads with shrapnel or gas shells or
dropping bombs from airplanes. the
ammunition must reach the guns. They