Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-08-14

,"teO SoOrteen-tncn Gun ] scored
Three D's"
to hlm-unless you happen to see him
within bayonet distance of Fritz.
The French sailors, sleep between
decks In hunks, instead of hammocks,
and as had not slept in bunk since
my Southerndown days, it was pretty
hard on me. So I got bold of some
heaving line, which is one-quarter-inch
rope, and rugged up hammock. In
my spare time taught the others how
to make them, and pretty soon every
body was doing it.
When I taught the sailors to make
hammocks, I figured, Of course, that
they would use them as we did-that
Is, sleep In them. They were greatly
pleased at first, but after they had
tried the stunt Of getting in and stay
Ing In, 1t was another story. A ham,
mock is like some other things-it
works while you sleep-and If you are
not on to it., you spend most of your
sleeping time hitting the floor. Our
gun captain thought I had put over q
trick hammock on him, but did not
need to; every hammock is q trick
hammock.
Also, taught them the way we
make mats out of rope, to use while
sleeping on the steel gratings near the
entrance to stoke holes. In cold wealth
er this part Of the ship is more COM
Portable than the ordinary sleeping
quarters, but without mat it gets too
hot.
American soldiers and sailors get
the best food in the world, but while
the French navy chow was not fancy,
1t was clean and hearty, as they say
down East. For breakfast we had
bread and coffee and sardines at noon
boiled dinner, mostly beans, which
were old friends of mine, and of the
well-named navy variety; at four in
the afternoon, a pint of vino, and at
six, supper of soup, coffee. bread and
beans.
Although the French "seventy-fve''
Is the best gun in the world, their ma
val guns are not as good as ours, and
their gunners are mostly older men.
But they will give youngster a gun
rating If he shows the stuff.
Shortly after I went aboard the Cas-
sard, we received instructions to pro-
coed to Spezia, Italy, the large Italian
naval base. The voyage was without
incident, but when we dropped anchor
In Spezia, the Italian port officials
Guaranteed us for fourteen days on
account Of smallpox. During this period
our food was pretty bad; In fact, the
meat became rotten. This could hard
~ have happened on an American ship,
because they are provisioned with
canned stuff and preserved meats, but
the French ships. like the Italian, de-
pend on live stock, fresh vegetables,
etc., which they carry on board, and
we had expected to get large supply
of such stuff at Spezia. Long before
the fourteen days were up we were
out of these things, and had to live on
anything we could get hold of-mostly
bareback, coffee and cocoa.
We loaded a cargo of airplanes for
the Italian aviators at the French fly
ing schools, and started back to Brest.
On the way back we had target prac-
tice. In fact, at most times on the
open sea, it was regular part of the
routine.
It was during one Of these practices
that the French officers wanted to
find out what the Yankee gunner knew
about gunnery. At a range of eight
miles, while the ship was making eight
knots an hour, with a fourteen-inch
gun scored three d's-that is, three
direct hits out of five trials. After
that there was no question about 1t. As
q result I was awarded three bars.
These bars, which are strips Of red
braid, are worn on the left sleeve, and
signify extra craftsmanship. I also
received two hundred and fifty francs.
or about fifty dollars in American
money, and fourteen days shore leave.
All this made me very angry, oh,
very much wrought up indeed-notl
I saw a merry life for myself on the
French rolling wave If they felt that
way about gunnery.
I spent most Of my leave with my
grandmother in st. Nazaire, except for
short trip. I made to star-shell fac
tory. This factory was just about like
one I saw later somewhere in Amer.
lea, only in the French works, all the
hands were women. Only the guards
were men, and they were ''blesses"
(wounded).
When my leave was up and I said
good-by to my grandmother, she man
aged a smile for me, though I could
see that It was pretty stiff work. And
without getting soft, or anything like
that, I can tell you that smile stayed
with me and it did me more good than,
you would believe, because it gave me
something good to think about when !
was up against the real thing. !.
hope a lot Of you people who read:
this book are women, because have
had It In mind for some time to tell all
the women I could a little thing they
can do that will help q lot. I am not
trying to be fancy about it, and I hope
you will take It from me the way I
mean It. s..z.. tn #. 81. .. SD :-zE
rs When you say good-by to your son
or your husband or your sweetheart,
work up q smile for him. What you
want TO do Is to give him something ne.
can think abOuts over there, and some.
lsthipg he win Ike to think shout InsroI
-