Daily Kennebec journal., 1918-04-27
ouR R.. Us
Write from
OV Err THE r E

A very interesting letter was
recently received by Will p. Winslow
Of Larone, and from a Skowhegan
boy, d. f. Pray, who is seeing service
in France. The following extracts
will be Of interest to the many
friends Of young Dean who has been
promoted to Sergeant.
Behind the lines in dugout,
March IS.
My Dear Friend Will: =
I will tell you something of the
doings over here. To begin with we
are now up on the lines. Not in the
first line but in support. We left
where we were and moved right upon
the line and were put in the first line
trenches. We were there for five
days and l will say they We're very
interesting days and very busy days
as well. l will say the Boche sure
know how to entertain when they get
at it. We have been under some
very heavy shell fire and while on
the line. under machine gun fire all
the time. l had the good luck to be
picked to take the first patrol out on
the front of our wire and it was some
experience, for me anyway. to have
to take a bunch of men out in front
of the wire into No Mans Land
was little nervous until we got out
in front then my nerves settled down
to real business and we started.
Was out for some time and was fired
on by machine guns and they also
shelled us but we got back Q. X.
Since that we have had a little of
everything and we do not mind a few
shells.
Now about the country around
here. 1t is impossible for me to
describe how it is wrecked but | will
write a little for you to judge from
and guess of the utter ruin every
where.
The pictures you sec back home
are nothing to the real thing. The
towns and cities are only a mass of
broken stones and dirt. The trees
and such are broken close to the
ground and in splinters. I have seen
places where beech trees two and one
half feet through have been shot
clean off the stump by one of the big
shells. Not a tree of any kind is left
standing on all the country have
been over behind the lines. Great
large buildings and castles are re-
duced to only heaps of stones. Hills
are made into hollows which form
small lakes. Wherever large shell
has hit it makes a hole some twenty
feet wide and ten to fifteen feet deep
and in most cases these are filed
with water. While / am writing of
water I will say that while the shell
holes and trenches are filled with
water it is impossible for fellow to
get drink as the water in the she'll
holes is poisoned by gases and all
ponds and brooks by the Boches.
Where We now are there is not q
civilian for over fifty miles to our
rear. All We see are soldiers. SOL
diers, soldiers. I will be walking
along and up will pop three or four
French soldiers right from the
ground where they are under every
tree root and stump thirty and even
forty feet under ground. At the
PcoeHI tilfie L df1 ABOUT tnlftE-nNe
feet under ground and the air outside
is full of shells and flying debris. A
man could not live outside. Some of
the dugouts are regular palaces.
Some Of them captured from the
Germans will hold thousands Of men
and in them were found pianos and
many comforts. But all Of them are
not like this but are mostly stuffy
little damp places. but all this IS in
days work and we do not mind il.
! have not vet seen Yep. as they
are mostly kept at home since the
Allies bring down so many. But the
small planes are out every day and at
first we did not like to see one fall
but now we are used to it and when
a Boche falls there is a cheer but it
Is very quiet when one of our boys
fall. They say fellow has ninety
nine chances to one of getting back
nome SO Well take the chances TO get
pack to the good old L. S. A. and
then we will talk it all over. On this
line the boys say we have a new lob
over here and that is pushing daisies
up for his Majesty the Kaiser, The
pay is poor and we don't like it,
some time we will be back in Dear
Old Maine.
SERG'T D. z. PRAY.
SOmaw horo