The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-10-22
LIEUT.. MENDENHALL'S
EXPERIENCES ON
Tlk BATTLE FRONT

allowed us to publish same, for the |
information it contains |
about the exciting experiences Of |
Lieut.. Mendenhall on the battlefront. |
The letter follows:
September %, 1918,
Co. E, 7th U. S. Engrs.,
American E. F., France.
Captain and Mrs. Herbert D. MeL-
denhall, A. P. o. 705, France.
Dear Hero and Clara:
Don't get alarmed and think | am a
prisoner in Germany when you see
this paper. 1t just happens to be some
got in captured German dugouJ a
few days ago and as I have no ether,
will write on it.
Well l have been in the first great
AllAmerican show. You have prob
ably read in the paper the details of
the drive and it must have been a
great surprise to the Boche Also, /
have been under almost constant
she'll fire ever since the eventful
morning of the drive.
My first taste of shell fire was the
day before the drive. happened 70
be on wagon with about 10 wagons
ahead of me. The leader of the col
umn was captain and his orderly
On horseback. We wound around
from out Of hollow up on hill.
The head of the column got on top
OF the hill and we were in the hollow
when there were several sharp cracks
and the column stopped. A she'll hit
the captain and killed him and seri-
ously wounded his orderly. 1t also
killed six horses. A horseback rider
came riding along by us and said.
Boys, for your own good, keep =
long interval between wagons, be
cause the captain just got hit by
she'll" We didn't need any second
bidding. The column started agar
and when my wagon got just on the
exact spot where the six dead horse:
we're, I heard "whoosh" and shell
hit Just go feet back Of us and DIDN'T
EXPLODE. Can you beat It? l salt
to the driver: "Come on, let's 60.
and we moved along quite lively. An
other one came and hit close enougl
tc a pack mule to blow him down an
Immediately there were mules goin
in every direction over the landscape
n But finally we got to small villag
4 where the various outfits separated
j. The Military Police said: Get you
outfit out as soon as possible becaus
> the Boche shells the devil out Of thi
village every night ! looked aroun
and there were some dead horses an
4 a couple Of fresh graves nearby an
s soon we moved.
s We camped. Then it started a dri2
e cling rain, as usual. There was a
v old dugout nearby that had some
N inch logs laid over 1t, but 1t had bee
y hit twice by shells and caved IN
: two places. Nevertheless, I campo
in it and the rain leaked through soal
, ing all of, us to the skin. Then, tt
n Poche shelled the road about |,
,e wards from us, and we didn't kno
I whether we were booked for the ne
ID world or not.
One o'clock a. m, Sept. 18th, a
rived and hell tore loose. l new
knew there was so much artillery
80 the world. Also we couldn't Il
whether the Beche was sending oa'
"a a counter barrage or not. We we
ia soon confident, that he was no., no
ns over because, we figured, he was q
n. ting his guns out before they we
ur captured. The infantry went oV
to the top at daylight, but met with We
re- little resistance. At noon anoth
nd lieutenant and 7 went over what h
y been mo Mans Land" that mornil
There were very few dead, but t
number of prisoners captured "
large Fritz" didn't want to hf
= ! AID TBdont blame him much with Il
harrage pouring down on him. Nj
of the enlisted men prisoners W.
," Of the butcher" and "cobbler' ~
= which we have in the U. S. The
- Ncers. however, were very intellig'
We looking men, except that they haC
elf very insolent and proud air abb
BY them. That will possibly be tai
We cpt Of them before long : Most Of .
ex -..ouors sgbich 7 cav we're very g