Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1918-10-30
France, Aug, 1918.

letter but trust you will pardon me
cause we're in the army now" and
that must cover multitude of sins
and transgressions. Well we did
some hike again; pulled out at 100
a. m. without any eats or sleep. had
breakfast at a. m. and then straight
on from a. m. to 4:3O when we pull
ed into beautiful woods and pitched
camp. Did IS kilometers or about 40
miles, rs miles of it with packs. Had
a good hot supper and Topped on the
ground. About 10 O'Clock it began
to rain so had to pile out and put up
our Pups. Up at 4:30 and on the road
IN the rain at $50. Pulled in about
2:3O-about 20 miles-got orders to
move that night but colonel reported
both horses and men unable to traV-
Ell so laid around next day and night.
Following morning we did about 12
or 10 miles in the a. m. and here we
are for few days or longer, we don't
know. We are in a sadly battered viii
lage and spent the first night in an
ADrl (cellar) or underground hotel:
rooms 1Ox12, perhaps 25 or 80 rooms,
wood floors and fairly dry and com
Portable. Next day we looked around
and now about 20 of us are up on a
hillside in another Abri built of ce-
ment and "A inch of steel. 1t is cut
INTO the hillside and two stories high.
i live on the top shelf. We are within
shell range but our location is such
that it is impossible to hit us so they
sing overhead. There are four rooms
each about 40 feet long, 10 wide and
8 high, with oval roof.
This whole country is thick with
trenches, natural caves, dugouts and
all manner and means of habitation
and protection. We cut straw from
nearby over-ripe wheat field and
are coy as can be- Yesterday I got
out on the cement roof, laid out ev-
erything / had down to my bare hide
and summed and dried out, washed sox
etc. Everything | had was wet and
my clothes had grown to me. Believe
me 1t felt good to be dry and war al
again. How in the world we 2 ahlgG2m
and resist the weather anPend-j stand
flies without serious sisf pd filth and
yond me. Why Ihohoolc kness Is he
thought OF the lAde11n croak at the
mere we are riio ike in civil life but
you get itrnI IGNORE or less fatalists-
ne car, F1nR or you don't If one does
,neFtne ~ worry and if one doesn't
z ta,e $ naught to worry DER.
rs Received letter of July % and a
Herald. Enjoyed DR.. Fowler's "Trip
in the Air" We see coolies of planes
here of all nationalities but mostly
Allied. One morning we saw AZ go
over in one flock besides a lot of
single planes. The air is full of them
day and night. Seems we are never
free from the roar of the motors.
Then there are observation balloons
or sausages, often a dozen or Is up
within range of the eye It's great
sport to see plane get one. The
plane sneaks over high in the air,
then makes dive of several thousand
feet. When within range they open
up with their machine guns and gen
orally accomplish their purpose The
bag becomes a mass of fire and down
goes the observer in his parachute.
A "CroiX de Guerre" for him if he
lands safely. The first dozen cart
ridges in a planes machine gun belt
are tracers, emitting a trail of smoke
so it is easy to correct ones range
and sight, then every fifth bullet is
incendiary and that's what gets the
night now Fritz comes over with his
bombs and generally drops two or
three loads before morning-"lays
his eggs" We have grown to watch
for him about nine o'clock, not so
much in fear of the eggs as he gen.
orally tries to get the roads in or
der to obstruct traffic, food and am
munition going to the front. This is
hut 4ho
est spot is the spot Fritz aims to
hit" so he doesn't damage our roads
much but we enjoy searching the sky
with our glasses aided by the lights
Now a plane carries flares with a
small parachute attached. One OF
these will light a square mile of ter
ritory as light as day and will hang
in the air ten or fifteen minutes
lighting all below but not above
while one on the ground reverses the
process and lights the air. But the
prettiest is the red battlefield light
which makes one think all the hori-
zon is af1re. Then there are the
searchlights. From where we are To-
Gated we can see seven of them. They
are about as large in diameter as
am tall and oh boy, what shaft of
ugnL Lney 90 SuOOC Clear from CHS
horizon to the zenith. Some l know
must be at least ten miles distant and
the rays blind one even at that dis
lance The hills are alive with anti
aircraft guns, so combining their
flashes and bursting shrapnel in the
air, the heat lightning" flashes from
the artillery on the front, the search
lights. flares, rockets and all it makes
a show we'll worth attending only it
all gets so monotonous and tiresome.
I expect you have noted that 1 sell
dom speak of what we do in retalia-
ton. Well Fritz has never yet had
the satisfaction of making a Badger
run. ITO the rear March" is a Passe
command.
Gen Pershing has twice compli-
mented our division on its work.
don't believe you people know what
divisions are doing the business as
the papers simply couch everything
into a general term, American, but
some day you'll know where the boys