Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1918-10-24
p vli-continued.

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I surely wished I was the gunner |
officer. / would have enjoyed 1t more
4 I could have got back at Fritz
somehow. But / was not the gunner
officer and I told him Sc. I had to
bhout at him quite a while before he
would believe me. Then he wanted
one to End the gunner officer, but |
I'D not know where to find him. II ]
could have got to our guns / guess l
would have had another medal for
working overtime. but I missed the
chance there.
About this time another bomb came
over and clonted out the best friend
! had In my company. Before the
>rs In the Paris opera houses. When
De was with us he used to say that
t$he only difference between him and
fAruso was $1,000 a night.
A pollu and l dragged him into q
ENukout, but 1t was too late. One side
spf his face was blown off: the whole
tight side Of him was stripped Oft
and four fingers Of the right hand
were gone.
stuck my head out Of the dugout
and there was the captain discussing
xhe matter with himself, curslng the
Germans from here to Helgoland and
quitting in a word for the bombs every
bnce In a while. All up and down the
trenches you could hear our men
kurs!ng the Germans Ia all kinds of
languages. Believe me. l did my bit
aud I could hear somebody else using
good old United States cuss words,
Goo. It certainly did not make me feel
Any better. but 1t gave me something
70 do. I think that was why all of
Ns cursed SO much then, though we
Srere pretty handy with language at
amy time. But when you are under
heavy FIRE like that and cannot give
Ut back as good as you get, you go
iefasy unless you have something to do,
Fslsslng is the best thing we could
shhink Of.
Up the trench the third bay was
otrnplS smashed In aud the Germans
Ncre placing bomb after bomb right
IN II and In ours. The captain yelled
Out that he was going up to the next
pay TO examine It, but no more had
he got there than he had his head
faken clean off his shoulders.
At daybreak our trenches were all
pounded In and most Of our dugouts
fwere filled up. Then Fritz opened up
with his artillery fire right on us. We
Thought they were going to charge and
we figured their barrage would lift
1nd NC could see them come over.
We received orders to stand to with
0xcd bayonets. Then the mau at The
Nersscope shouted, "They comet"
A battery directly behind us Went
: Ento action first and then they all
, coined In and inside Of five minutes
> about eight hundred guns were raising
i Gain With Fritz. The Boches were
!, '4canght square in No Mans Land ant
IS our rifles and machine guns slmpl,
!, Elowcd them down. Many Of then
came half way across. then dropped
~ sthelr guns and ran for our trenche!
Ia 80 give themselves up. They could no
: Nhave got back to their own trenches
n " was q shame TO waste q shell OF
:, klhesc poor fish. II they had been civ
ne fvtes the Inv would prevent you from
70 Uniting them--you know tho kind
i, Trhcy could hardly drag themselvc
ma &long.
" That IL the way they look when 70,
at nave got them. But when they hav
~. y BOT you--kicks. cuffs, bayonct jabs-
y Shers q nothing they will not do /
MN y I'D to your misery. They seem {
i'm +kfink that It boosts their own courage
il,% An artillery fire like ours was greu
FUN for the gunners. but It was no
= ! 'bmuch fun for Fritz or for US in tn
'sc. trenches. We got under cover almos
~, y, ~ much Us Fritz and held thumbs fo
.oi: NJ gunncrs to get through In a hurr.
Soc: Then the fire died down and It WI
he ~ Quist It made you jump.
We thought our parapet was hhste
ia ~ . good deal. but when We locke
ass SAroush the psriscope We raw viii
) m ~ had happened to Crlts' trenches an,
e believe mo. they we're practical
,,,c : tkUined.
|, ~ Out "a No Mans Land II looked m
~ 4 1esewoeth's Avs-and.tsa; svsrywhe
lot 10