The daily times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1902-1936, 1918-08-08
BRITISH AND FRENCH TROOPS
LAUNCH ATTACK AGAINST
LETTER FROM CAPTAIN GED-
DINGS
TO His Brother Mr.. Wayland Jones
of this City.

Dear Wayland:
Your letter came some days ago
just as was going up to the front
line and while there I did not have
time to write anyone except to drop
note to Eva. Writing letters from
here is bad job, since we cannot
write the things that would be Of
most interest to our dear ones at
home. You see the "Hun" is very
smart fellow and might get on to our
plans, etc., so we cannot divulge
them outside.
can tell you of some of our ex-
periences, however. First this job
is an enormous one and it was a
good thing for these countries that
we Americans came just when we
did or else the Hun would have had
this whole outfit in his pockets. The
conditions are too bad to tell about
but since we are here we will drive
him back and then he cannot come
this way again.
Our men are we'll and doing fine
work, up to this time we have had
no casualties although we have mar
row calls often. Sgt. Webb( one of
my End Lets. Holden were out on
raiding party this week and the
hour was 2 a. m. "a very popular
hour at this kind of work. and with
buzzing over the party Sgt. Webb
machine gun bullets, shells, etc.
found German Machine Gun en-
placement and got the whole out
fit. The Germans had fled or else
had been shot and fell back to their
works and Sgt. Webb got their COM
plete equipment, guns, pistols, over
coat and ALL 1t. Holden and Sgt
Webb don't know what fear is and
whenever I have to go out in No
Mans Land I want some of Co. X.
accompany me. They are the finest
lot of soldiers in this army.
We are just back of the line now
billited in our shelter tents just out
of his artillery fire where we have
baths, rest and drill for another few
days and then in we go again" At
this sector the fighting since the be-
ginning has been worse than at any
point along the whole front from
coast to Switzerland. Within a 5
mile radius of our front line station
there have been over 100000 men
killed and the majority have been
buried or dropped into she'll holes all
over the land. The horrible part is
that during engagements when much
artillery is used these shells plough
up the ground and expose the bodies
some of which have only been there
few weeks. The odors are awful
and we who may be in the trenches
or dugouts have no way of moving
around to get out of this, and when
ever it rains as it has been doing
the past few days things are unbear-
able almost.
l have some German buttons we
took from some of the prisoners we
got on our first raid into their lines
and whenever l get the chance I'll
send you some souvenirs to put in
your window.
! We see many many German and
Allies air craft passing over most
any time and l have stiff neck every
night watching for a first class air
fight but the aero guns on land soon
! begin to she'll them and We don't see
a fight finished, for as soon as the
German air craft receives several of
our shell from below they start back
to their lines and as soon as ours
receive some German shells ours
come back our way and all we then
get is rain of pieces of shrapnel
from away up above, when we put
on our iron hats" or crawl into our
shelters at night is when the
"Jerries" get in their dirty work with
their bombing machines dropping
bombs into towns, hospitals, military
dumps, etc, We can tell quickly
when he is coming as his machines
make a noise just like the buzzing
of bee or yellow jacket, and then
they come in waves Of some or
10 and several waves which is con-
fusing to our guns, so when they are
over the searchlights, very lights,
rockets simply light up the whole
heavens for miles and we can see
the shrapnel bursting like so many