Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-06-02

/ the band, Hablcr means to talk the
| other guys lingo.
| Well, we got the kinks out or our
selves during the two weeks we stayed
ut that camp. ] guess there must al
! been more men coming over. bccaus,
/ one night we gets the word TO lie
ready to move on the ncxt day. .r-ney
moved us In box cars. We were two
Gays and two nights on the road, and
must have gone about $50 miles: /,
was swell trip The country looked
, great at that time of the year, and ie
were loaded down with flowers ali
the time.
I'VE went into camp at - which
is about four miles behind the front
line trenches. We were billetcd in
barns and stables from Saturday until
Monda? night. when we took our first
trick in the trenches. Our division
was feeling fine, and they all wanted
to get chanc at fighting right away.
There were -four regiments In uu:.
crowd. and one battalion from each
regiment was sent up in the first re-
lief My battalion was chosen from
the regiment. We had about 5000 men
going up the first time. We took up
front about II mile long.
MUD IN TRENCHES
UP TO TOPS OF BOOTS
Well. there was some grooming
they had handed us. They. had mud
up to your shoctops and they were
lousier than cuckoo. We went in at
night, and spent the first few hours
getting our dugouts fixed up These
du20uts are shorcd up with timbers
ana that's where you spent n lot OF
time. They were the lousy places;
they were so alive with lice that they
almost moved
This ii'si trip in the trenches was
only for ten days. But we were glad
to get the rest. when it came time for
us 10 be relieved. We wanted the
CHARGE TO get Il bath. When you go
in for only ten days you only carry
one outfit in: that is. YOU only have
IN foi longer stay YOU carry two
suits. The extra suit you keep
wrapped up tight, and the lice don't
get III it; that is, not many of en-
Our trenches were only 500 yards
away from the FritzeS. and we could
see them fine. During our stay in
there we got a chance TO try some
shooting. but there wasn't much doing
except the Smelling from the German
trenches. In our battalion in that
STAY we lost sixteen men killed and
wounded Two of them were killed
by ipcrs' bullets and the other seven
by artillery fire.
It's FUNNY thing about that she'll
ing About the first day we were duck
ina: all the time. Whenever we heard
sEcll come over we all wanted TO
Know where it struck. After about
IA" first day we got so used to it that
wed never even look around to see
where ii went Most of the Smelling
was done early in the morning or late
in the evening. AT first, the most of
us had the shakes somewhat. You
felt all quivery all ovor, and YOU
couldn't stop, no matter what you
thought about.
The only thing that helped out was
DUCK and his guitar. How he kept
that guitar with him all through ]
don't know. You wasn't supposed 10
carry anything along that was break
aE,e But Duck kept his old guitar
JUS the same. and sometimes when il
puicted down he would give them
FrtZies Il real treat. singing Spanish
songs At them and giving them Il line
OF blues y guitar is great music.
especially in Il little dueout on a damp
night.
our dugouts had little French
stoves in them. Them French stoves