The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-13
GADSDEN COMPANY
 RECOMMENDED FOR
 CR0|X DE GUERRE
Officer of Company F Says His Unit Had Five Killed and Twenty
 Five Wounded

Gadsden,. September 12.--(Special. )-com- pany F, 1s7th infantry, Rainbow division, the Gadsden company, has been recom- meRded for the French Croix de Guerre. according to letters received from First Lieut.. Loui Greet, by his mother, Mrs Alexander Greet of this city. Lieuten- ant Greet declares that in the fighting in, which this company was engaged five men were killed and 25 wounded. Ex- cerpts from the letters are follows:
 we've been in some mighty hot cor ners; the one I got wounded in was the hottest we had been in up to that time, and feel thankful that I got out as light as I did. I was knocked flat twice by artillery fire before I was hit by a ma chine gun bullet.
 After I was wounded and being car- ried off the field, the Boches picked out the group which were carrying me ana fired on 1t with both machine gun and artillery, wounding one of the stretcher bearers. Finally when we reached the first aid station 1t had been forced to move on account of the smelling, and when we reached it's new location and got fixed up, they began to. shell 1t. From what I can learn, every first aid station along the front was shelled that day and every day for that matter We! are fighting an enemy that is absolutely without principal. ~.
 Tell the Red Cross women that never realized what a great work they were doing until had it brought home to me. God bless them. Their work will prove monumental The amount of supplies contributed to this one ward is sufficient evidence of their activity. "
 We went into the fight. the morning ! was wounded, with six officers and came out of it with one. There was one killed, and the other four of us were wounded. The men fared better than the officers.
 "There is quite a, wound in my hip, where they had to hunt for bone frag- ment and fragment of the bullet. The doctor says he will be able to close my wounds very soon now, and then [ hope to be on crutches. For four or five months 1 will be in hospitals and recu-
 prsaAi8 knows what war really is aAs Sys mere subjected to one of the
 
 ar 99r s8 hours and then stopped the 1.ese on sur sector. He did not gain ae lRsh og 8und and was driven back With heavy losses.
 "The men were splendid. They acted more like they were shooting rabbits than anything else. Several of them told me that they had more fun than they ever had before in their lives. They fought him with grenades, rifles and fpr al
 We lost five killed and twenty-five wounded ss
 The Boches gave us little of every thing he had, gas, high explosive, shrap- mel, machine gun. rifle and grenades and tanks and aeroplanes. The tanks were stopped by the French auto tank guns, so we did not get to see them.
 At one time there were 8 aeroplanes over our company sector, each blazing away with two machine guns at us. The moral effect was great at first. but soon wore off when the men saw that they were doing no harm, for not man was wounded by these 70 guns, each splitting a flame of bullets
 'The artillery and machine guns on our side did perfectly wonderful work. The Boches lost 617 of his men by artil- lery and machine gun fire before we had a chance at him, they preceding the in fantry.
 "The French on our right and left fought with their usual dash and spirit. The greatest thing in France is her army the next is her old people, so cheery, so bright, though many of them have lost their all; they never forget to smile and many are extremeiy old. sometimes think Methuselah must have neen a Frenchman.
 Company r has been recommended for the Croix de Guerre on account of the way we fought.
 q was where I could see the infantry action, but the two platoons in the front line held so that the enemy did not get back to us'' this was eight days before Lieutenant Greet was wounded) '3ov wards away. The two platoons who did get really to fight with them are the envy of the rest Of the company.
 1T feel like the backbone of the war is broken now by the failure of the latest offensive.
 "A French doctors family sent our ward a beautiful bouquet of roses ana asparagus, and it is sitting opposite me as I write. They are mostly crimson ramblers, but right in the center of the bunch is beautiful Marschal Neil bud. | wish could see the roses back there now-I know they are beautiful