El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-03-16

TEW YORK, March 16.-COuntlng
M two months in the hospital. he
\ was IN the British army five
months. He was OF those who held
a front line trench at Tpres five
weeks without relief With rifle or
bomb he went over the TOP so many
times that he lost contour times
in one boiling sumner week. A speck
Of shrapnel pierced his right hand. A
German dubbed musket smashed his
shoulder IN ruined house at St
Julian, and his chum shifted out the
German he did a mans work;
claims no more and no less BE was
honcrably discharged Tor reasons
which viii appear.
Nothing extraordlnzry about this?
All right; then let him tell why he
especially remembers his 18th birth
day. July -, 1917:
You know the country around
Y pres is pretty W2tery anyway anG
ir had rained Cor seven days and
nights. 7 was walking along a duck
board You know duck boards are
She blanks that they sink into the
500 In the trenches, one plank on TOP
OF another, until there IS sort OF q
solid path. I stepped on a loose one.
the other end flew up and / spilled
into four feet OF mud, that was most
lr water. Sympathy 'Jeff,' sings out
my chum, Tiny Bradford, you been
Eickin' four weeks about not havin'
a bawth, and here's hopin' you're sat
isfied now 7 sWabbed the mud out
OF my eyes. went TO the Q. O.'s office,
where there was a fire, and they let
me hang up my clothes and get them
dry for the first time in an awful
while That's Why 1 remember the
day I was IA
War Veteran at Il
Sidney Jaffe. a New York boy now
back in New York, was perhaps the
youngest soldier in the war. He en-
listed and was accepted az - and
was a British rifleman 165 days.
There is no question OF that. Official
records prove It. The rest Of the
story IS his own British officers here
call Il Incredible. but the boy sticks
TO IT, He says the dreariest OF all
fighting fronts the Tpres salient.
II. Here is his story:
"I was born near London and when
was seven ny father died OF sick
ness brought on by the Boer war
1914 my mother moved us all 20 New
York went 10 public school No.
147, IN East Broadway and then
started in Morris high school. I was
pretty welI satisfied until I took two
days off 70 visit two friends-they
were big lads-WhO were going TO
Join the American army They didn't
say anything but from all their talk
ENL TO AlAAlAllEa II AlAAGt1 A4a-AN
that 7 had come away from England
just when the war started, when
everybody that could ought to be go
Ing the other way. Well, the next
morning after I saw my two friends
off went TO a British recruiting Of
flee here and enlisted II was on
June : last year and I was - and
half years old. but fairly big and my
voice had changed. (Jafte IS about
five feet six inches tail nOW.)
Drafted IN Canada
Il told EN- I was Is and they took
me. ny mother was going to kick,
but as I thought 7 would be training
ia Canada for seven months 7 told
her so. and that the war would be
over by then But g week after I
got 70 Canada I was grabbed for
draft they we're just sending over
end was sent along. I was IN A CON-
uauT. Sixth battalion. the Rifle brig
abe. and later in the 18th battalion
From England they sent US right
over. We were at a French seaport
two days. then Up the line TO Calais
and a four DAYS march 10 Ipres. Gee
that was some march,
we started doing our work, Ike
IN and out Of the lines and going over
the tod occa si0naIT- II was summer
and our bodies were nearly raw from
sunburn. At one stretch we were in
our trench for five Weeks-you know
st times relief was bad and Of course
there's nothing 20 do but stay where
YOU are til IL comes Well. after that
the c o. says-this was in July, /
think-Boys, you're out for a long