Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1918-06-21
MACHINE GUNNER ,5ERNNdM FRANCE
| 0I9i7 bY |
It.RIhUR GUY EnHYl

One dark and rainy night while on
guard we were looking over the top
from the fire step of our front-line
trench, when we heard noise imme
diately in front of our barbed wire.
The sentry next 10 me challenged,
Halt, who comes there?" and brought
his rifle to the aim. His challenge was
answered In German. A captain In the
next traverse climbed upon the sand
bagged parapet to investigated brave
but foolhardy deed--"Crack" went
bullet and he tumbled back into the
trench with hole through his stomach
and died II few minutes later. A lance
corporal in the next platoon was so en-
ragged at the captains death that he
chucked Mills bomb I'm the direction
of the noise with the shouted warning
to us: duck your nappers, my lucky
lads" A sharp dynamite report, II flare
In front of us, and then silence.
We Immediately sent up two star
shells and in their light could see two
dark forms lying on the ground close
to our wire. A sergeant and four
stretcher-bearers went out in front and
soon returned. carrying two limp
bodies. Down in the dugout in the
Pickering light of three candles. we
saw that they were two German Off
GERS, one'a captain and the other an
"unterofizier," n rank one grade higher
than n sergeant general, but below the
grade of lieutenant.
The captains face had been almost
completely torn away by the bombs
explosion. The unterofIiZier was alive,
breathing with difficulty In few min
utes he opened his eyes and blinked in
the glare of the candles.
The pair had evidently been drink
Ing heavily, for the alcohol fumes were
sickening and completely pervaded the
dugout l turned away in disgust,
hating to see man cross the Great Di-
vide full of booze.
One of our officers could speak Ger
man and he questioned the dying man.
In faint voice, interrupted by fire.
quent hiccoughs, the unterotiiZier told
his story.
There had been drinking bout
among the officers I'm one of the Ger
|
champagne. With n drunken leer he
Informed us that champagne was plen-
tifu on their side and that IT did not
cost them anything either. About seven
that night the conversation had turned
to the contemplate" English, and the
captain had made Il wager that he
would hang his cap on the English
barbed wire to show his contempt for
the English sentries. The wager was
accepted. At eight o'clock the captain
and he had crept out into No Mans
Land to carry out this wager.
They had gotten about halfway
across when the drink took effect and
the captain fell asleep. After about
two hours of vain attempts the inter
oflizier had at last succeeded in wax
ing the captain, reminded him Of his
bet. and warned him that he would be
the laughing stock of the officers mess
If he did not accomplish his object but
the captain was trembling all over and
l insisted on returning to the German
r lines. In the darkness they lost their
, bearings and crawled toward the Eng
: llsh trenches. They reached the barbed
wire and were suddenly challenged by
D our sentry. Being too drunk to realize
a that the challenge was in English, the
: captain refused to crawl back. Finally
n the unterofiizier convinced his superior
n that they were in front Of the English
:. wire. Realizing this too late the cap
q tain drew his revolver and with IA nut
$ tered curse fired blindly toward oul
r trench. His bullet no doubt killed oul
e captain.
j. Then the bomb came over and there
he was, dying-and good job too w
It thought. The captain dead? Well, hi
IS men wouldn't weep at the news.
Without giving MS any further infor
Is nation the unterotiizier died.
We searched the bodies for identiti
cation disks but they had left every
thing behind before starting on thei
II foolhardy errand.
- Next afternoon we buried them /
~ our little cemetery apart from IN
n graves of the Tommies. If you eve
Is go into that cemetery you will see wv
a little wooden crosses In the corner
.. the cemetery set away from the rest.
They read:
n Captain
German Army
~ Died 49, 1916
NJ, Unknown
a. X. 4. L.
r. UnteroffiZier
N German Army
Died - 1916
Unknown
II. |. L.
N CHAPTER XXI.
ID About Turn.
r The next evening We were relieve
by the til brigade, and once aga
le returned TO rest blllets. Upon arriviT
d. at these blllets we We're given twent
Dr. four hours I'm which 10 clean up. / IN
he just finished getting the mud from II
uniform when the orderly sergeant i