Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-12-27
HITTER FROM "OVER THERE"


 
 Mr. and Mrs. E. !. sloan, former residents of Pine nluff, who have rc- c.ntly moved back after a stay of several years in Teyarkana. tngcly pd the follow ing letter from their 5un Sergeant Burton ! Sloan, WhD ii how c.nvalcscing rom recent iniur les received at the hand of the Roche
 France, Nov, T, 1918. ConNalescent Camp (near Neyer5.f Dear Pop Every soldier in the A. F.. F. is duly charged to write 10 hi9 first commanding officer today. The contents to embrace the follnWin" , topics:
 l. How we bcaT th2 Roche. ,. How helped. F What l am doing now 4. When I'm coming horne Bear with me patiently and I will discuss each briefly as time and space forbid me going into detail. The candle is only about an inch | long.
 l l. How we beat Fsritz.--By sheer nerve and grit, indefati2ueahlp Cner- 2y and dash. They could not shoot us down fast enough and we wore them out by giving them no rest. An ] American soldier is extremely reck- l less. Gernany'S strategy was not prepared to cope with this emer- /, geney. Their most terrific barrases and hottest machine gun fire all went to no avail. It broke their heart when We drove the last Roche from tn, Argonne forest and then across the Mouse river. I left the front just as the boys crossed that river
 Flow l Helped'-Now this is a very hard topic to discuss without in ulging herocs. ID be real frank, my contribution towards the mag nificent result was very small--a negligent quantity. At St. Mihiel | commanded a platoon that reached it's objective fn good shape and gen. orally played havoc with the Ger mans. Also this same platoon held q sector for many days om that front At Argonne 1 had risen to top ser seant and the second day found me second in command of the company when we went lover the top". had nothing to do with the tactical disposition of the company, With him in command. In case he fell, it would be up to me, of course. but the gods were with me so there was nothing to do but dodge shells and machine gun bullets, and watch the boys give them hell. They did. 'Twould he easy to thrill you with some unbelievable stories of several escapes I had, but will only mention one incident Was knocked flat one day by shells about three times, and the last time stunned. When 1 aWoke only two scratches from shrapnel passing bit too close for comfort resulted. Then. too, they knocked sne out with dihposgene gas. This leads to the third-"Where am noW"-
 In convalescent camp just itching to get back to my outfit This is a good camp with lots of congenial fel- lows around. three squares per day and only three hours drill. All cas- uals here and many will return to the States soon This place is abont 32 kilometers from Meyers. which you can find on map of France The weather is very cold just now but does not bother one much. To. IuOIIOW l SAul SOlllS LO SCl pdos and go to a nearby town. Peace is so well established now that France is getting lonesome to me. Want tC get back to the States to see all o1 you.
 "When I expect to be home"-
 Soon 1 hope, but God knows wher that will be. anyway. George will .bt home. All the family will be pres ent at the Christmas dinner but the soldier who fought in France under General Pershing. He. will be there in spirit. This should reach yol by Christmas day.
 Many homes mourn the loss of On' or more sons. brothers, and perhap; 6 father. Those who sacrificed thei1 lives on the altar of Liberty died no in vain, because we were victorious -gloriously so. After the passage of many years, no act of mine Ol the field of battle will be an unpleas ant memory. only made war ol Boche who showed fight. Must clos' now. .....
 SGT. BURTON J. SLOANE,
 Annex. Co. "K", 359th Infantry TT H00sE,nDA vVEl