The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-12-21
1he Terrific, Ear Splitting Silence
That Succeeded Barrage That
Pounded Hun Positions
to Dust.
KAHoKA MAN IN AT END
Lieutenant Ben e. Turner Writes His
Aunt in keokuk One OF Best
Descriptions of Last
Hour Of War.

"Well the curtain mas Deen rune
down on the last act of the biggest
show ever staged, and all that re
mains for us to do, is to see that
The crowd gets out in an orderly
manner and clean up the house a
bit" writes Lieutenant Ben e. Turn
or of the 18TH infantry, four days
after the armistice was signed.
lieutenant Turner had principal
mart IN that big show and got at
least one ovation for bit he did in
# Every big paper in the United
states once carried the story of his
heroism in covering his men when
thew found themselves pocketed in
town swarming with Huns. His is
one of the names of the world war
that get into the school books for the
next generation.
He is the son of a very prominent
Clark county family. educated at
Knox. Missouri university and LON
bard, college football player. fine fel-
low and known to thousands of
people in his home county. His
mother was of the noted Hagerman
family and the letter was written to
his aunt, Miss Linnie Hagerman, of
Keokuk. Part or IL is:
The Last Hour Before Metz.
The last hour found us holding the
line before Metz, all set for big
punch, with artillery lined up in al
most solid tiers behind US.
If the Hun had not come to terms
properly and promptly. l believe we
would have shown him one of the
worst tossing exhibitions he ever
saw.
We received the news about 8
o'clock that everything would cease
at o'clock, but, at that time Jerry
was SO busily engaged in dousing our
positions with gas, that we didn't
pay much attention to it. However,
our own artillerymen soon decided to
see the war out in blaze Of glory
and started one Of the most terrific
barrages i ever saw which completely
silenced the Hun and reduced his
positions to dust.
Every Man Shot a Shell.
This was maintained right up until
about five minutes to IL o'clock art1l-
lery officers, non-coms and privates
all taking turns in pulling the trigger
cord until every one of them had
fired at least one shell.
Then a series of rockets were fired
from command posts all along the
line, and almost within the tick of
watch. there was silence-terrific,
ear splitting. nerve racking silence.
The doughboys were not long in
plling out of their shelters, and away
back at regimental headquarters, the
band began to play, though it was so
far away that we could not hear It..
l heard 1t, as was on the phone
IN answer to a general alarm call
winch was rung to announce peace
TO every unit commander in the line.
Hope to Stay In Germany.
We are now wondering whether we
are to be sent into Germany as a
part of the army of occupation. We
feel that this division has won that
honor, though that those in authority
send in some of the divisions which
nave not been cut up SO badly. Most
OF us have seen the scrap through
thus far and would like to be allowed
70 go into that country in the beat
Ing of which we feel that we hare
mad SO important a part. But what
ever comes to us, we are darned glad
mat we were here and had chance
TO do our bit.
am staying now in German built
ougout that is quite the most elabor-
ATE thing / have seen yet. 1t is a
mai moth affair with walls of steel
ana rock three or four feet thick.
inside is series of rooms, kitchen,
ulning room, office and orderly room,
with trunks and two very commodi-
gus ped rooms with beds. The fur
iiiture, tables, chairs .and an enor-
nous sideboard has all been built in
tne rooms. The walls are papered
ana paneled, the woodwork is paint
ea' and everything even to stoves
ana electric lights and telephones
speaks of its recent occupancy by
some, ., German of very high command.
ihe Germans held undisputed posses
,lon or this part OF the country for
our years. and with his capacity for
'rganlzation, he certainly outdid him
sen IN this place-but he left in such
: hurry that removing their electric