The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1918-12-06
FACED THOSE HOT SHOT
O. W. WALKER TELLS STORY
OF THE battlefield
Gassed; Wouldn't Give Up Until
He Was Slowed In An
Ambulance


Somewhere in France October 81
1918. My Dear Mr.. and Mrs. Robel:
| have thought of you folks many
| many times, especially since l re-
eeived letter from my wife stating
you had pulled down the first prize
at the state fair / knew you could
do it and that you would do it if
Nicollet county would let you have
your way about it, and you are to
| be congra- Ilated to the highest degree.
Yes, you, you won the prize not Mic
ollet county. We all admit including
yourself that there is better counties
| in Minnesota than Nicollet, but not
| better people than Mr.. and Mrs. Ro-
bel as they and they alone did win
the first prize at the greatest state
| fair in the good old U. S. A. Well,
let the good work continue and the
| Lord will reward you if nobody on
earth does.
Well, mere is brief sketch of my
! trip and time since last June. Spent
| five weeks in New Yory City soldier
ing ard studying French; two weeks
! in the ship crossing overseas; eros
sed over England by rail; ten days
in London; crossed channel then to
Paris; one week in Paris and saw
| many sights of interest. Then to
the front IT, the trenches with bat
TALON of infantry; remained two
weeks Their. the whole division in
Guiding my battalion was moved to a
very fiery front midway, north of the
| most noted city on the battle front
Il am aciEg as hut secretary The
divisions are moved by rail to some
extent, but as rule the last forty
| miles is hiked by night and rest by
day in the bushes and timber. |
liked with the bunch many time to
80 and 2:30 and to day light in the
| morning. The worst part is that it
drizzles rain here most every day and
some times six times day.
Three weeks ago tomorrow even
ing our division cleaned their guns
and every mar got ready and we
| made the last seven mile hike into
the front battle line. First day we
went over the top and drove the en- =
envy back three miles and kept it up.
drove them all in the first nine days
seventeen miles back, captured 300
prisoners, and hundreds of cannon
and guns. 1t cost us very heavy,
most of our officers were killed or
wounded but they were nervy and
many fought or with finger shot off
all day. l stayed with them nine
days and nights, only slept three
nights out of the nine in a German
dugout twenty feet underground. Say
it's some sport to be out on a lively
battlefield but it takes some nerve to
stand up and see the sights, dead
and dying in great numbers, includ-
Eg horses and mules. My job was
o encourage the boys and serve CT
CARS, cigarettes, chocolate and to-
bacco which | did day and night.
Carried it one and one half miles in a
sack on my back and oh. my, the
boys did enjoy it.
Well the ninth day they got me
With gas and l crawled off into a dug
ut where twenty or thirty soldiers
nd became so sick and then uncon-
ciOuS for three -quarers of an hour.
he boys claimed that | vomited up
vcrythirg but my boots, and the
oldiCrs all got scared and was sure
| heir "Y" man was going to die so
hey got an ambulance and hauled
me out eight miles back to the first
gas hospital where they kept me two
nights ard one day and then they
wanted to serd me ten miles further
back to another hospital. | said no.
| Get me some shoes and leggings AMI
| [ want to go back to the front So |
| Jumped into a return ambulance and
went back to my boys for one day,
/ but l couldn't hold out. l went back
twenty five miles and tried to get
well in a soldiers billet but no use,
so they sent me into Paris to recover
and build up. l am all right now only
| that | have lost flesh and am weak
but l will soon mend up and away
| go again.
| Say, wher fellow is on the battle
field he never gets hungry, sleepy OF
tired, but it cuts on a fellow finally
Well, they say it's great game if
one don't weaken.
! Well, l have all kinds of souvenirs
German helmet, belt, bayonet, trench
knife. "Gott Nit Uns" belt buckle
Prussian belt buckle, rocket gun, Ger
mar mark ard silver Austrian money
/ and many other things My boys
would get me anything l wanted.
paid a German soldier for his money
and patted him on the face. Just q
young boy about eighteen years anG
seemed good hearted, had only beer
on the line one day and gave himself
up.
! Everything indicates that we will
close up the game yet this fall. The
lpeople over here of all nations won
Ger how America drilled soldiers 81
quick and efficient. AS the Prussiar
prisoners have said why you have
soldiers that excel ours and we
would have to drill them five years
TO equal your fellows. And vol
Americans shoot so fast, how do you
do it? We can't staEd under you
artillery fire, we have to go into oul
dugouts or be killed" And thu
French keep coming around telling
the boys rot to shoot so fast as the!
will burn up the gun. He'll, let i
burn, that's what we came for so here
she goes. Wher the infantry goes
over the .op they boiler and yell like
a bunch of CoEmanche Indians ant
that scares the Germans so the!
, raise both hands and commence tt
''holler" kamerad. Three of ou
boys found ore in dugout entrance
and sent him in after the rest. H
brought out 211 so that wasn't sucl