The Dickson County herald. (Dickson, Tenn.) 1907-1979, 1918-06-21
cHAprsR v.

-@~S<~-~
Mud, Rats and Shells
] must have slept for two Of three
hours, not ths refreshing kind thai rc~
suits from clean sheets and soft pill.
lows, but the sleep that comes nom
cold. wet and sheer exhaustion
Snddenly. the earth seemed 10 shake
and a .hundTrriap burst In mY ears. l
opened my eyes~-l was spiashsd all
over with sticky mud. and men were
clicking themselves NJ from the bottom
at the trench. The parapet oa my loft
hxd ,oppl=d into tho tr~neh, completely
blocking II with q wall Of tossasi-up
earth. The man on my left lay still. !
rubbed the mind frdrn my fars. and NH
awful sight met my gase-his haad
was smashed to a puip. and his steel
helmet was fuli Of brains and blood
A German "Mlnnis" ttrench mortar1
had exploded In the nett traverse. Men
were digging into the soft mass Of mud
IN 4 frenzy ~ haste. stretcherbear
ers came up the trench on tho double.
q After q, few .npin.nses nf dlgg.ag.. thrge
still. muddy forms on rretchers were
carried down the COMMUNICATION
trench To the rear. Sooa they would
be resting somewhere In France" with
ltttie wooden eruss over their hcada,
They had donc their bit for king and
country. had died without frtng shut.
but their seryiees were appreciated.
nsvettheless.
Later on. found aut their nAlnea.
They belonged 10 our drafs
was dnsed and motianisHs. Sud
evniy a shovel MA pasirt, suta u4J
haa.ls. ana Z rough but kindly voice
said:
~iisr~. my lad. lend hand clearing
The trsach. but keep your head down.
and leot out for snipers. one Of thu
rritx's ~ daisy. and he'll get you II
you're not careful"
Lying on my belly on tho bottom Of
che trench. I nlled sandhsss with the
,atiesy uaua. tAey wrrs dspgxrd to ny
rear by the other men. and the work OF
rebuilding ths parspct was on. The
har,isr worked. the better I felt. Al.
though the weather was cold. was
soaked win sweat,
ocea sionnlIy u bullet would crack
overhead. and machine gun would
Kick ~ the mud ca the hssh~siin para.
pet At each crack would duck and
shield my face with my arm. one Of
tho elder men noticed this action Of
mine. and whispered:
'pent ducs at mo crack Of a bui.
let fanS To" danger has passed ycu
u~ver hear tho one that wings you.
Always rrmemher that II ron are going
60 get Il. ycu'll So, II. 80 never worry"
This made erea, Impression on me
at the tIrnr, ana from then on. adept
:, cf' nsa taaryr. "f,.yaufs guthg To tkcr n.
yeaH get L.
l, helped rne wonderfully Used II
81 often afterwards that some az my
mates dubbed me, III you're kulnx to
get Il. ycuii gct IT,"
After an hours hard work. ali my
nervousness len ms, and Was laugh
inx and tos.ng with the rest.
.,. AT ssas .os.lssck. 1saasy eanaa up In
the form ot a dixie Of hot stew,
it>oked for my canteen. n had
fallen OK the Ora ssvr, and w~s half
buried IN the niad The man On my
iett noticed this and told the CORPORAL.
disasns cut the raioas 10 pus my
share In bis mess tin, Then he whis-
p~rpd ~ Na. Always take care Of your
mess tin. mate.~
had learned another maxim Of the
trenches.
That stew tasted nne WIS a.
hungry as hear. We had ~secon>.s."
or another hslpinS, because three OF
the men had ~gons West" Killed by
the explosion Of tho German trench
mortar. and we ate their share. but
still WIS hungry, ~ flled In with
huliy beet and biscuits Thea drained
my water hottie Later "a I learned
another maxim Of the froot Tine, Go
eysrsassy WITH yca- water" THO enl.y
bet made We thirsty. aad ~ tsa tiaae
VAS iytaS fw 4 drink. hrs nay pride
Svala MT allow me to sak MY mates
tW water WAS fast learning the
ethics az the trvacAcN
Tia, night was pu, ecSxsaed with
an csgsw man, We stosd % the ars
stsp with eur Aanas ever the tv'yA peer
tAs cut into No Mans Land II wac
nerveus werk tor me- bat the ether tei-
lew SEEMED to take II - rArs ot ths
nisAt.s routine,
Then a,Greth!nS aAcs rast ny cseA
u hart stopped eeatiaS aud tocket
~ ~ helcW tM~ paBanAk A epf0