Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-10
TELLS HOW YANKS
FOUGHT UNTIL THE
COMING OF PEACE
Former City Newsboy Says
World Quieted Suddenly
After Last Terrible Blast

How the Americans fought with
determination until the very minute
that the armistice became effective
after living with eager expectancy
during three days of deliberations, is
related by Samuel Boss, former Har-
risburg newsboy, in q letter to his
mother, Mrs. James Boss, 7O2 East
street, in one of the first letters to
reach Harrisburg since the cessation
of hostilities. Private Boss is serving
with the Second Battalion. Twenty
ninth Engineers.
He says:
Dear Mother: guess by this time
the people have quieted down about
the armistice, but l certainly would
have liked to have seen how the folks
had taken it in the States.
Mother, L will try and relate how
the boys took it at the front. For
three days we had been awaiting the
outcome of the conference, and three
hard days of fighting were going on
in our sector where our boys were
pushing forward. and the Germans
were contesting every inch of ground
with machine guns. On Sunday night
the fighting was at its height; guns
were pounding like they had never
done before, shells were flying in
steady procession at the German
lines. The Huns were putting up a
stiff fight to hold the woods that
our boys wre trying to take. Wound
ed men were passing through our
village and at s o'clock the prisoners
started coming back.
Guns Keep Firing
Men were out there dying. All
through that long night the guns
pounded furiously, and machine guns
kept up their rat-a-tat All through
it was a strange night. We had
strange feeling in the darkness, and
the quarter-moon showed through
tn dense fog in a weird way; troops
wre moving to the trenches, guns
were moving to a forward position,
and supplies were moving forward
like peace was years away, and
through the night the guns kept
pounding. There were rumors that
the Germans would quit at IL q. m.
tomorrow. With that feeling we
went to bed.
when we arose the next day, the
guns were still pounding furiously
take their places in the trenches;
peace seemed a long way off. Pris-
oners were still coming in, Red Cross
were hurrying about with |
their wounded. During the night u
heavy fog had fallen, making it i'm |
possible to see, more than a few feet |
ahead of you, and the guns kept |
pounding furiously, when at Ill
O'Clock, Monday morning, Novem Der |
IL, as if by the hand of God, every |
thing became a deadly silence. Not |
a gun fired, everyone said peace was
declared.
Cheers For Peace
Everyone had a smile on his |
face, cheers that the war was over |
were heard everywhere. We didn't
know what to think; n few min !
utes ago there was a living hell out |
in front of us; now it was like a |
cemetery. 1t seemed too good to be |
true, and, mother, if you ever saw
happy expressions. you ought to have
seen the Frenchmen bubbling with |
joy. The day that they were long
looking forward to was here. Several
hours passed and not q shot was
fired; the men were coming back
from the trenches. all wearing smiles.
That afternoon Germans came over
into our towns and talked to our
boys and our boys went over into
their towns and talked to them. They
said they were gSfng back immedi-
ately and certainly were glad the war
was over. That night the lights shown
from the windows for the first time
in over four years as they always
had to. KEEP the windows closed for
fear of air raids
Automobiles went around with
headlights shining; it seemed like a
new world; so passed the day in our
sector"