The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1918-11-28
'sBUD" HELPS BUST
HINDENBURG LINE
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every few yards. 1t is a wonder to me
that anyone could live in such severe
shell fire. I don't see how a German
in that section got out alive, as we
were putting them over three to his
one and / know how heavy his were.
But I had a Helper, Protector, and
if / asked Him for help once, i did a
thousand times, and it seemed as if
He warded them off US. -
Gas the people in America were
going to and from Sunday school and
church we were wading thru as near a
hell as I ever wish to see-over dead
Germans past dead Yanks, back and
forth on this line we went, missing
death by inches. We were forced to
go into shell hole once just after
we had taken the Hindenburg line
on the other side of it. Shells were
dropping 20 feet apart all over. We
had to wear our gas masks and when
we had to go on / lifted my head and
'phwang! phwang!' ] knew sniper
had located us. We had to stay in 10
or Is minutes longer, until gas shell
lit near and amid the fog of it we
crawled out and ran on.
"At one time we were testing the
line in trench he was Smelling badly.
We were at a trench intersection and
Something was Gods power-told
me to move. moved just around the
corner and no sooner had / moved than
shell lit where / had been before,
made hole you could have buried a
small house in and knocked my line
man and me down and covered us up
with dirt, but never so much as touch
ed us.
81 tell you the truth when / say,
l felt no fear all the time / was out.
It seemed as if all my energy was to
get the line going SO as 70 help us
advance. 1t seemed glorious'to be out
there. / was really happy, not happy
maybe, but glad to be in the fight.
awe sure won the battle. We
busted the old Hindenburg line, start
ed Jerry on a run again from which
ne has not yet stopped and probably
will not stop. There We're many men
wounded and killed. Many of my
friends were carried off on stretchers
and some were left out on the field.
One of the best friends I had in the
company, good old, big-hearted Buck
whom I'd played with, eaten with, liv-
ed with and slept with, was left out
there, a glorious gift to the cause.
But more Boche were there. The line
was lined with them and we brought
the prisoners in by the hundreds.
'That day changed many a boy.
There were more boys got religion
in the hour or two they hoped over
than Billy Sunday has led to Him in
a year. Those boys didn't need to be
told there was God-He was with
them side by side.
zone of the greatest helps that day
was the sY' right up there amid the
shell fire, where two tired Y men
gave us hot cocoa and biscuits when
we came in. They do great, Won
derful work. And all the chaplains
were right out on the field of honor,
helping stretcher bearer carry in his
wounded comforting dying hero
or helping many a boy bandage up his
wounded chum.
/ "Well, it's all over and / am back
far away now. Today was beautiful
sunlit day, just such beautiful day
as October can produce when it tries
its workmanship. We are in a nice
camp now. hope we stay some time.
i 1t is on the bank of a creek near a
wood and I have a nice house for a
billet. hope Kennewick is fine. Give
my regards to all.
| "BUD."