The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1918-08-22
From Howard Clark.
France. - "a. -

Dear Daddy:
our outdt has just come back from
four days of hard lighting in the big
push, and believe me. what Sherman
said about war leads me to believe that
he was Watching it from big hail
several miles away. I know that my
vocabulary fails when I attempt to tell
You what it is like, and I don't believe
Sherman could find words expressive
enough. either if ne had some through
these four days with us.
7 am rather glad. in j way. that
censorship regulations prevent me from
writing good many things I saw, be
cause 7 think you viii be happier Tor
not knowing them. You know. people
who have never seen war speak Of II
in a sort of detached general way. as
something horrible and brutal and are
inclined TO let it 60. more or less, at
that But after YOU have seen your
friends fan at your side. lead platoon
of men up hill under a whitening rain
Of machine gun fire. lain all night III
shell hole with shrapnel and high eX-
plosives shrieking all around YOU. en-
dured the tortures Of hunger and thirst
for three nights and DAYS always forced
to 90 on and on. regardless Of every
thing, after you have taken life To pre-
serve your own-then you begin TO know
what war really is. How I wish I might
forget all I saw and did these four days,
And yet we must so ahead with the
work, until we have finished, and the
kaiser and his barbarians are driven
from the earth. however hard the task
and however sick at heart we are.
We We're scheduled TO make surprise
attack exploiting the successes of an
ether regiment which had made a brill
liant gain the two days preceding. At
dawn we went over the TOP. totally with
out artillery preparation and with no
harTage to announce our coming We
met practically no opposition for the
first knometer. until we entered a thick
wheat field where the bocho had his
deadly machine guns. All OF sudden
they opened on us. and Immediately
thereafter dropped barage Of shrapneI.
high explosives. trench nortars ho-
Vitzers and one-pounders behind us
How any Of US ever came out Of that
field I don't know. I shall never forget
the singing Of the machine gan bullets
whizzing over our heads and the roar
Of the shells as they burst. But thank
God, the american lines held. our ar
t,uery began TO play on the machine
gun nests and after awhile we were
able to advance. took over command
Of a platoon from Lieut.. --. who had
been wounded. From then until the out
Z came out Of action l was up front
can not tell YOU the savage JOY l felt
mp there when al last the boche lines
broke and they began to drop every
thing and run. You can believe just all
SOU read in the papers about the spirit
Of the American soldier. am speaking
&C the men not the oflcers-they are
supposed to push on anyway. It sure
did my heart good TO see how the lads
plowed ahead in spite of all the scrap
iron the boche put over to discourage
them All I had TO do was 10 veil
Come on" and they sure came. They
went on and on. never faltering, never
complaining although they were dead
for sleep and nearly exhausted
Wei. the next three days were repeti-
tions. Of the first. except that when the
enemy once got well started on his re
treat he seldom stopped TO fight back
His artillery and accursed machine guns
however. continued to harass us always.
Finally the word came that the Hun was
routed, so another OUTFIT came up to take
over the lines and our boys were sent
back to set some food. rest and sleep.
Nothing seems to be too good for US
now. We have had so many good things
to eat since we came out of action that
we are going around like stuffed toads
I'll the time. I figure We have II COM
Ing. though because we surely got
pretty hungry while we were in the
scrap. The Y. ". c. 4. and Red Cross
We're right on the job after we came
out Of the night. with smokes and can
dies and kuicll-knaclls for the boys We
also got many new clothes. TOO. which
We sorely needed. Four days of scratch
ing around in she'll holes and woods
sure play the dickens with clothes.
What I hate the worst of all is that
lost my toilet case that Blue got me
for Christmas. with nay razor and all
my shaving junk in it. I also lost one
If my blankets. but I have been issued
another. I am thankful to come out
of II in one piece. 7 am fully persuaded
that a mothers prayers were answered.
Somebody was watching over me. : am
sure Of that. 7 came out whole and well
7 got one tiny nick on the Inuc5le. that
was sll-not even enough to notice
hardly
Il viii never be so hard for US again
Every body comedies that the first time
IN action IS alwaya the worst We have
a''llit ''l.rtiL ana
lessons. but VIC now know vastly more
than We did. Just now We are resting
feeding up. and getting ready to give
the kaiser another crack when - comes
our turn again. We are bivouaced at
present in thick wood. Il IS all RICH,
except when it rains. and then It isn't
so nice. Our major was wounded and
the battalion is I'm command Of lieu
fenant-cOlOnel. He is good old chan
and we get along splendidIy. 1t Is get
ting along towards supper time and tho
cook tells me that he has apricot Pie
1t VIII be good. but nothing like this
Pie I used 20 get at mother table Gee
how 7 would like 70 have one OF mothers
famous cherry PIES, I am happy and ir
.ho best Of health. 7 send YOU my bes-
love daddy. HOWARD.
From "Blackie."