The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-08-23
WOMEN CHAINED
TO MACHINE GUNS
Vivid Story of the Battle
field Told by a Soldier
from Athol, Mass.
THREE LEFT OF Al
WHEN SHELDON FELL
No Thought of Retreat Although the
Little Band of Americans Was With
out Food or Water as They Pushed on
Desperately.

| ATHOL, Mass, Aug. 23.-One of the
most vivid accounts of the part the 26th
Division took in the first six days of the
Franco-American offensive on the Marine
! front is given in letter from Sergt.s Rex
i Sheldon of b Co, l03d Inf, in a letter
to his mother, Mrs. Agnes Anthony. This
regiment is composed mostly of Maine and.
New Hampshire men and in this battle
| it was fighting side by side with the 10th
| for the first time.
/ His is the second letter to mention
women chained to German machine guns
I'VE could not shoot them" he writes.
1 He. went into action with IL men When
he was wounded there were two left be-
sides himself
4 His letter, dated Aug. l, follows:
/ Il have been through a burning hell,
llf ever there was one OF course, by read
ing the papers you know something as to
i where we boys are My regiment and
i the regiment which Includes our town
d (1Githl have been through it together and
all have done great work. For the first
time since L have been over here, our out
fit was side by side, and we have suffered,
Tor we were where it was the hardest
| will never forget the awful days we
put IN on that front. The boys will always
remember the terrible sights and toll
Which were paid for the gains we got, and
the terrible licking we handed the Boche.
We suffered to be sure and lost heavily.
! We kept at him and finally got him on
the run, and he is running yet, but he is
lighting every inch with machine guns
Nearly every Boche has machine gun
and We have to keep going till VIC get it,
Tor most of the Boches are chained to
thc machine guns and are told to stay and
kill all they can. They are chained to
make sure they stay.
The first daynsc started i had Al snip
ers with me and our lieutenant We. were
sent ahead TO cut Out the machine gun
nests and | will never forget the time
we lay in wait for the order to start out
across the wheat field We were in a
ciump OF pine trees and the Boche had
spotted us, and was sending hail of bull
let's and shrapncb cutting the pines of
Just like reeds. The spot | was in IL men
were lying down. Four were killed out
right and seven badly wounded | was
the only one not hit badly. had my pack
all shot TO pieces, which consisted Of
corn, willy, aud hardtaek -
At last we got orders to go to it and
VIC started out IN the open and then tn,
Bocbe did give us all he had 1t seemeo
as ii the world was alive with machine
guns and shrapnel, and the boys were fall
ing right and left, but what were left
kept 1ght on going and it was no time t
stop aud retreat An American never
heard the word yet, so after Fritz we wen
and about middle way over our lieutenant
j was shot
lie fell beside of me and said. Rex
! ana hit, they got me this time | looked
and saw that he had three bullets through
bis STOMACH picked him up aud carrie,
! him back for FIRST aid, and he was hi
twice. while | was carrying him | coult
4 tell that he was dead, and looked to Sc,
whefe lie was hit the last TING, and foune
that he was hit-in the head and back o
1 the shoulder.
Invent back to where my men were
4 and at last we got over their first line
I and It was an awful looking mess. Deae
Boclies and wounded ones. They had beer
slaughtered az well as we and then W,
4 went On after them and came to a wound
! ed Boche IN i hole. and we lef, him fo
the rear mon to attend to. AS we wen
by, he got up and shot three OF our mel
in the back. What we did to that Boch,
4 was no Joke.
We next came to small dugout and
i snied hre Boehea. | asked how man,
! and they cried 'kamerad We shot then
and went on to a trench. where we foun,
4 y and soon cleaned them up for the,
showed fight with their bombs or han,
i grenades,
I'VE came to four machine guns will
tour women chained to them, and the
had exhausted all OF their ammunition
We could not Kill them for they wer
women When night came we had gon
4 nearly two miles, and | counted our mel
to see how many we had left, and | liza,
4 p ont Of Al aid our lieutenant dead. "
! had no means o. getting water or eats
Int we kept after Mr. Boehe and the mex
day we found piles upon piles OF ammr
milton the Boche had left behind, but h
! took his guns with him.
cat the end of the second day ! ha.
: only nine men, and all in nothing 10 ca
or drink as yet and the sight ne had see
. men tom. TO fragments and blown up il
trees. and legs, arms, heads, all gave
5. terrible siqht indeed, and the wounded or,
: ing Cor water e
I Our outfit kept going. pressing til
Boche lack all the time in the face o
o machine guns and artillery fire. 1t wa
II lenough to make man mad
!. 'eIhe next day it was the same no lie
Hp. no way Of getting food from the rea,
n only what we eot from Boehe dead an
: wounded At the end Of the third DAY
h we had only FIVE men left Of the snipers
t. We were getting small and rested tina
might and next morning we ran into
snag. The Boche made a desperate stane
and we lost two more of our men. Or
" three left-a moonshiner from Kentnek
il and boy from Maine, two Of our hes
s shots. and myself; just three still in til
It fight We got orders to go ahead w