Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-07
K. OF,C, SECRETARY
SEES ACTION OVERSEAS
Letter to Friend at Camp
Meade Tells of Bombing
and Casing
Camp Meade, Md, Aug.


Joe McInerney. who used to b~ one Of
the K of c. secretaries at this can
tonment. but who went overseas few
weeks ago. has been getting red-hot
reception from the boches over in
France A letter from Joe received by
one of his friends in camp shows that
he has been in the thick of things over
there. He has seen men killed about
him, has been shaken up q bit by shell
explosions and was deprived Of the use
Of his voice for three weeks as re-
suit
That must have been some punish
ment for Joe. There's nobody in the
world who can beat him at long distance
talking as hundreds Of persons who nave
heard him lecture can testify.
Joe packed a lot of news in his little
letter as can be judged by pefusal ol
it. 1t reads as follows
II suppose you think that I have for
gotten all about the boys at Meade.
II have been kept quite busy since l
saw you last have seen quite little
action in the air and have spent fe"
hours in a dugout during lombard :
ment / have had a smell of gas ana
can assure you that the after-enects are
not very nice.
Five boche avions came into town the
other night, spraying the roads with
machine gun fire. When they got across
the street from me they dropped two
500 pound bombs on the railroad station
and killed five Frenchmen who were
sleeping in the station. Five Americans
in the next room escaped with a severe
shaking up. | got slammed around IN
| good style but luckily escaped.
"The Sc boches met with quite little
success in the next town. They blew
| hell out Of one Of our hospitals and
| killed several of the patients.
when boche sees a Yank opposing
| hin, he loses all interest in the war We
| have them bullied on the water and they
| won't fight man to man in the air. When
| YOU see Yank regiment sending 500
| prisoners through in one day 1t begins
/ to look as if the spirit of the Germans
| is very low. When the prisoners go
through, they all seem glad that 1t Is all
over.
Here's hoping for an early finish and
a trip to the land of good clean water
and soap and good placer to go to wher
you have little time off. Best wishes
- a,l JOE"
The news Of the loss of Joe's voice
| came in an indirect way to Bernie
Flynn, general camp secretary of tht
|
all right.
Joe was one Of the tallest men in camr
when he was here He stood six feet
three and was built in proportion. HI
would have had good company in Private
]. p. Hurley, of Springdale. w. Va, Il
he had remained behind. Hurley stands
six feet seven inches in his stocking
feet and weighs 210 pounds. He wa!
a farmer at home He was also schoo
teacher for six years in a little Wes
| Virginia town and incidentally the stal
baseball pitcher in that section. Thus
Hurley already can tack behind hi
| name school teacher, farmer. baseball
| player and soldier.
Some Of the men want Tommy Glib
bons, the boxing instructor at Meade
to try to develop Hurley into a contende
for Jess Willard's honors. Tom ha
some hankering after those honors him
self He has challenged Jack Dempsey
who fattened out Fred Fulton. Person
in charge of the big Salvation Arm!
benefit in Chicago would like to see Tom
my and Dempsey get together ol
August IA in the windy city.