Tombstone epitaph., 1918-05-12

our support lines digging themselves
In several hundred yards away. The
cannon fire ceased. the machine guns
settled down to an occasional fitful
burst and IL was midday Of beautiful
spring day.
A couple Of partridge few over me.
What did they know or care about all
this noise and racket and men getting
up In line and killing each other?
Along about three O'Clock things be-
gan to liven up again. In the mean
time headquarters had been establish
ed in q sunken road with banks about
fifteen feet high on either side Cater
this cut was half oiled with dead).
My aid post was In a dugout near by
end gradually things got hotter and
hotter.
Our men had dug themselves In
and were popping away with their
rifles. The field batteries behind US
were putting up barrage. aIrplanes
were circling overhead both ours and
the Germans. The Germans put up a
counter-barrage. the machine guns
were going like mad. was standing
with the colonel on q little rise OF
ground above the sunken road when
the Germans broke through about a
mile TO the north Of us They could
be plainly seen pouring over the ridge
In close formation.
Tanks Get into Action.
Then the tanks came up. and you
should have seen them run, Just like
rabbits. The tanks retired the
Boches reformed and came AT IL
again. They tell me that al certain
places our men withstood fifteen sue
cessive attacks and that the Germans
went down in thousands. One Welsh
man told me that his gun accounted
for 10 in three minutes during one
wave
Machine-gun bullets were nipping
around me. the shell fire was getting
hotter. and even though It was p won.
derful sight to watch decided dis
erection was the better part Of valor."
or something like that. and got down
In my dugout.
| was sitting there smoking a Gig
arctic when my orderly came down
and said | was being relieved and was
TO go back and work with the ambu-
lance Fifteen hours later the man
that relieved me was captured. But
am getting ahead Of my story.
went back to the advanced dress
ing station through the hottest shell
fire I ever experienced More than
once ! went down on my face when q
shell burst and the pieces went whiz-
zing over my head. spent the night
In a mined village where the advanced
dressing station was located. and all
night they shelled II to blazes. II was
remarkable how few casualties we
had
About eleven o'clock the morning Of
the third day shell blew 10 the side
Of our post. but luckily no one was
hurt We stuck TO II until about four
in the afternoon. when we saw our
men retiring over a ridge in front Of
us, keeping up continuous machine
gun and rife FIRE, and We beat II back
10 another village and opened anorh-
er post.
The 6eorimed Lord.
About ten O'Clock on the morning of
the fourth day Lord Thyme. my col
onel when l was with the battalion,
stumbled into the shack where I was
sitting He looked like q ghost. He
had lost his hat. his face was covered
with four days beard. the sweat
had traced tracks In the dust from his
III nbt 81.
torn and bloody and he had a cash in
his arm where he had been struck by
a piece Of flying shell case.
My God. doe. are you here?" he
said. You GO: ont just in time. The
battalion is all gone. The sunken ruad
| is filled with jead-mostly Huns
damn EN- The line broke on the
right: we were surrounded, and a;
the last We were fighting back am
back Only thirty OF us got away.
So We knew the Boche had broken
through TO our right and our Jeff, and
II was question OF how long II would
he before we. too. were surrounded
| hut we wanted TO stick II out as long
| ~ We could.
] I'LL moi more 'lan Nh nbUr i'tter n
medical officer rushed in from one of
I the hatralions and between gasps for
/ breath told US the Germans were on
the edge Of the village. had shot him
! through The sleeve with machine
/ gun bullet luckily that was ailt. and
/ for us 10 beat IL.
The ninth day. sitting around the
/ fire IN our mess after the best dinner
] we had had in days. the commanding
/ officer handed me some papers and
/ said. Here is something that will in
/ tercst you. Petit. want To say we
shall lie sorry 10 lose you"
e. And this is what IL was: Lieut.
! Roswell T. Peirit. NJ u. g.. is relieved
/ from duty with the British army and
will proceed to the A. r. r.. where he
will report for duty"
leave for Paris in the morning
This has been a long tale. hui the halt
Of IL hasn't been told. ! hope haven't
strung IL out too much.
have Just been Informed that all
my kit had to he burned to prevent u
falling into the hands Of the enemy
] shall probably want you to send me
some things from home. but will see
what ! can get here first. Your son.
! ROSWELL.