Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-22
CHAPTER XIX (Continued)
tCopyri0ht, 1918. bv tho Public Led0

CHAPlE ALA (COntlnued)
NNE of the boys who landed war
~ cross was Private Homer whitted.
Of Bessemer. Ala. He came back with
me to America to help boost the Liberty
Loan, SO ! know ali about the stunt that
made him hero. II was his pluck that
checkmated what might have been dis
astrous raid on sector of the American
trenches on the Lorraine front the night
Whitted and three companions were
attacked by a force Of Huns six times
their number. but the Americans routed
the Germans after killing nine and taxi
! ing two prisoners
Homer is modest little doughboy.
and had hard time pulling the yarn
out of him, but at length got It and
| here it is in his own language:
We landed in the front-line trenches
at Ancervile, on the Lorraine front, Feb
/ ruary II, 1918. On the evening of March
snow fell. covering the ground to a
depth OF four inches.
1T was cold and disagreeable. and
when three fellows from my State came
to my dugout and asked me to GO along
with them was none too merry about it.
The men were Sergeant West and
Tesky. They told me they had laison
message to carry from one sector to an
other and were crazy for company
They kidded me about my disposition
until crawled out of the dugout and
went along with them
We had to pass through five gates be-
tween the point we had left to the point
we were, seeking. and as we went
through the last of them. Sergeant West
| ordered me to return for some hand
grenades. misunderstood the order
and thought he said. See II there is any
one between us and the gate When I
reported and he found out the mistake
had made he insisted that go back and
get the grenades anyway.
1T was mighty good thing he did as
later events showed, although at the time
we had not the slightest thought of meet
ing any of the enemy.
Il soon returned with the grenades
and we resumed our journey. At a
traverse we thought we heard voices and
Sergeant West challenged Receiving
I'm the flash we saw that party Of
Germans six times as large as our own
Give them the grenades. Homer ::
II gave them the grenades all right,
and the next minute two big Germans
were running toward me with their
| hands up yelling 'kamerad.'
II showed them behind me as | saw
five more coming over the top Of the
ridge. emptied five cartridges into
them and they came no further.
Just then ! happened to turn and saw
one of my prisoners preparing to leap
upon my back. He knew my gun was
empty. and thought 1t would he easy for
| MN to clean me up. There was nothing
| to do hut give him the butt, and he got
that until he couldn't yell 'kamerad any
more
When the little tea party was over
there We're nine dead Germans and we
were able to get back with two prisoners
| They told our officers of the Forty-second
division that a party of 200 Huns were
preparing to raid our sector that night
We got ready for them, but they never
came"
Equally as thrilling Is the story of
Corporal Raymond Guyette. another war.
cross winner The corporal Is a soft
spoken little chap. and before he got into
the war was a clerk in the American
Brass Companys plant at Waterbury.
Conn.
Orders came to capture two German