Mexico Missouri message., 1918-10-17
CHAPTER VlI-continued.

g.
surely wished 1 was the gunner
officer. l would have enjoyed 1t more
n 1 could have got back at Fritz |
somehow. But 1 was not the gunner |
officer and told him so. 1 had to
shout at him quite n while before he |
would believe me. Then he wanted |
me to find the gunner officer, but /
did not know where to find him. If l
could have got to our guns l guess l
would have had another medal for
working overtime but 1 missed the
chance there.
About this time another bomb came
over and clouted out the best friend
had in my company. Before the
war he had been one of the finest sing
ers in the Paris opera houses. When
he was with US he used to say that
the only difference between him and
Caruso was $500 a night.
A poilu and l dragged him into
dugout, but it was too late. One side
of his face was blown off; the whole
right side of him was stripped off
and four fingers of the right hand
were gone.
stuck my head out of the dugout
and there was the captain discussing
the matter with himself, cursing the
Germans from here to Helgoland and
putting In a word for the bombs every
once in q while. All up and down the
trenches you could hear our men
cursing the Germans In all kinds of
and 1 could hear somebody else using
good old United States cuss words,
too. Il certainly did not make me feel
any better, but 1t gave me something
to do. I think that was why all of
us cursed so much then, though we
were pretty handy with language at
any time. But when you are under
heavy fire like that and cannot give
II back as good as you get, you go
crazy unless you have something to do
Cusslng is the best thing we could
think of.
Up the trench the third bay was
simply smashed in and the Germans
were placing bomb after bomb right
In IL and in ours. The captain yelled
out that he was going up to the next
bay to examine it, but no more had
he got there than he had his head
taken clean off his shoulders.
At daybreak our trenches were all
pounded In and most of our dugOuts
were filled up. Then Fritz opened up
with his artillery fire right on US. We
thought they were going to charge and
I we figured their barrage would lift
and we could see them come over.
We received orders to stand to with
fixed bayonets. Then the man at the
periscope shouted, "They cOmeI"
A battery directly behind us went
into action first and then they al
Joined in and inside of five minutes
about eight hundred guns were raising
Cain with Fritz. The BOches were
caught square in No Mans Land ant
our rifles and machine guns simpl!
moved them down. Many Of then
came half way across, then droppeC
their guns and ran for our trenches
TO give themselves up. They could no
have got back to their own trenches
It was q shame to waste a shell ol
these poor fish. If they had been civ
vies the law would prevent you fron
hitting them-you know the KIND
They could hardly drag themselve
along.
That is the way they look when 20
have got them. But when they hav
got you-kicks, cuffs, bayonet Jabs-
there Is nothing they will not do I
add to your misery. They seem
think that It boosts their own c0urag
An artillery fire like ours was gref
fun for the gunners, but 1t was M
much fun for Fritz or for us in I'll
trenches. We got under cover almoi
as much as Fritz and held thumbs fC
the gunners to get through in hurr
Then the fire died down and 1t WI
10 quiet 1t made you jump.
We thought our parapet was bustS
I'D q good deal, but when we look'
through the periseope we saw VIII
had happened to Fritz trenches an
believe me. they were practical
ruined.
Out in No Mans Land 1t looked III
W0Oiworths five-and-ten; everywhe