Weekly journal-miner., 1918-09-11
BOY WHO JOINED
 CANADIAN ARMY /. TELLS OF WAR
CORPORAL VAN DE WORD, THRICE WOUNDED IN
 BELGIUM, DRAWS INTER ESTING WORD PICTURE OF CONDITIONS AT FRONT
(From Saturdays Daily)

ons one of your comrades is drop ping limp in his tracks, take it from Corporal Ernest Van de Word, a Washington youth who during the carly days of the war played a role against stage setting like the one mentioned above. and not only dug the trenches but lives to tell about it.
 The young officer gave very in teresting recital of his war experien- ces to a big crowd at the Elks theatre last night Corporal Van de Words talk was the main event in the bene- lit performance which had been got ten together on the moment by the Chamber of Commerce welfare com
 mttee. The speaker joined the Canadian forces in the fall of 1914 and a few months afterwards was in the thick of things in Belgium. The boys delineation of the phases of the war which came under his observa- ton was rather unusual. His exper- fences in northern France and Bel gium had ranged all the way from adventurous trips in British tanks 10 raids on punches of Hun machine gunners who were found chained to their posts to prevent them desert ing their guns under any cirGumstan- ces.
 \ voyage in a tank over into the enemy lines is muchlH like unto an ocean trip during choppy weather. The tanks do not travel as smoothly as one would imagine from looking at them, the speaker said, but they roll and pitch and one has to strug- gle to keep on his feet. They arc pitch dark inside, too. and the odor from the discharge of the guns and the explosion of the engines is sui ficiently strong to make the hardest ,anE fighter wish at times that he were some place else. When the en- zines and the guns are in action. the noise in the big iron-clads is deafen- ing.
 On one occasion our tank manag- cd to turn over on its side right be- tween the Allied and Hun lines, and we could no longer operate it. We were compelled to remain in our un- comfortable positions until night, when we managed to slip back to our trenches. A few well-directed shots from the British artillery destroyed the tank after we had abandoned it." Van de Word said
 You often hear tales of the treach- cry of the wounded German prisoners toward the Allied nurses and doctors who attempt to care for them,' said the speaker, and I can tell you that I had one experience which fully con vinced me of the truth of these char gcs. After one of the fights in Bel giun. I found young boche who had had his right arm shot off at the el- bow. The blood was squirting out of tine stump, and he looked like gon- ner When he spied me, he called out in broken English, Fix it, Canad- ..an, fix it, meanwhile holding up the stump of his right arm toward me. | did not like to refuse him and in spite of the fact that I had little time, I tied piece of cloth above the el bow and stopped the flow of blood. | stepped away from him a short dis lance with my back toward him, and then for some reason I suddenly turn ed around to see what he was doing With his left hand, he was opening his holster preparatory to getting his automatic out, and I lost little time in coming to the conclusion that he was going to shoot me. I ran my bayonet through him couple of times and his earthly troubles were soon at an end.
 "The most grcwsome experience which I had during my whole period of service occurred shortly after wards. I was travelling about over a piece of ground which had been fought over, and I chanced to find a beautiful metallic helmet which had once belonged to a high German of- tiCcT. IC HClliitl was lOppNu Nith a bronze eagle, and eagerly I seized ii. Removing my own Glengarry Scotch hat, I jammcd the helnfet down onto my head. Then I got shock. The helmet had been shot off the head of Hun officer and part oi his skull and brains had been shot off with it. The bloody mass came oozing down my head. running down my neck and mating my hair. l could not get any water with which to wash off the mess. and 1 was compelled 10 go about my duties for three days with this sickcning stuff cakcd over my head It attracted the flies. and one can imagine the naus- eating situation which prevailed un- til was able to wash up bit. | have been rather shy of helmets since that time"
 Van de Word was twice wounded m ono battle. Two rifle bullets pene- ;ratcd his groin just over the appen- T. Al. Ia. 4rArs1, ,11-nrrra