Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-07

vacation now as we are up here
where the shells go screaming over
head and everything is war and va
cations come last. We can't spend
cent here as the nearest Y. NJ. C. A.
is about two miles away and it's a
wild road to travel on.
Did you ever live like a field
mouse? Well, that's what our home
resembles now We sure have dug
In and you would too after hearing
"whiz bangs" go over you and shrap-
mel fly all around. The night after
we reached this place two lieutenants
from the medical corps. who were
connected with the hospital nearby,
received orders to beat it quickly as
the Huns were shelling the hospital.
They told Russ and 1 we could have
their dugout and the two cots in it
If we wanted 1t. We took posses
sion the next morning. 1t sure is
cozy little home for being below the
ground. We have quite a few mice
with us and in the night they run
all over us. They're polite little
devils as they never run over our
face.
Under Fire
We are dug in on what was No
Mans Land a few weeks ago. No
one can describe No Mans Land.
Shell holes all around and graves
scattered here and there. Each grave
has a wooden cross on made of two
limbs and an Identification tag hang
ing on the cross and some graves
have the soldiers helmet on the head
end or his gas mask. Unexploded am
munition and useless war material
nj 4
around too. 1 wish you could see
some of the elaborate dugouts the
Huns were forced to give up without
time to destroy.
Well, l have been under fire every
day since being here and to tell the
truth sort of like It, Those shells
sure do scream and moan as they
pass. We prefer the ones that moan
as they're farther away. When the
shells go off you should hear the
roar and see the dirt and shrapnel
fly. You should also see us throwing
ourselves fiat or diving in an old
shell hole to get out of the way as
its bad stuff to stop. I thought
had little thickness to me but /
have discovered l haven't as l sure
can make myself thin when I'm hug
ging old mother earth. The other
day the Hun was shelling the field
hospital above US and three pieces of
shrapnel went sailing over me and
dropped about twenty feet away. 1t
sure did send dirt flying over me,
too. When one of those boys come
screaming by the only thing to do is
duck" and pray to the Lord to keep
them high.
l am a great sight yesterday a.
m. Two Hun planes started on a
sightseeing trip over our lines. They
had no more than gotten up when one
took a pitch and scrashed to the
earth. He fell just as a bird does
when shot while flying. The other
plane sure did beat 1t for home. [
also saw two observation balloons
go down in flames and the observers
jump with their parachutes. I'm see
ing and doing and lodging real
things now and 1 wouldn't miss this
experience for money. The boys back
home don't know what they are mis-
sing. 1t gives a fellow a chance to
find out what he's made of. And, If
anyone ever tells you that it's the
shells you hear that don't hurt you,
but the ones you don't hear that do.
you tell them they're all wrong for
] know. l have heard them coming
and just had time enough to fall fiat
before | heard the shrapnel whistle
or had dirt thrown on me. It's a
great old life and I'll have lots to
tell you that I'm not allowed to write
about.
Talk about noise last night. |
never heard such continuous racket.