The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1918-10-16
YANK SOLDIERS
COOL, WILLING;
ANDDE'1ERMINE:D
Our Doughboys Mean Business
When They Take the First
Line Trenches.
Their EFFICIENCY EVIDENT
Veterans Before They Enter the
a. Trenches, by Frst-Rate Military
Training if Not by Experience
Every Man in Line Has
Personal Grudge to
Settle With Huns.

Every Man in Line Has
| 5. Personal Grudge to
Settle With Huns.
! With the American Troops in Alsace-
LOrraine.-By the dim light of the
moon you could barely see the stream
of dOughboys pouring out of the shell
tering woods. and scraping over the
dusty French road toward the trenches.
They said very little and trudged along
with that measured swinging tread
which enables EurOpe's veterans to
carry their heavy packs almost I'M
heard-Of distances.
The stream seemed unending, as the
United Press staff car picked its way
from squad to squad without using
! lights, without falling in bitches and
without touching a single doughhCy
| Finally one section of the human
stream halted in Il ruined village The
press car stopped. too, for beyond this
point everything except ammunition
and food goes on foot
The officers gave the order to rest
and lot of packs dropped to the
ground, followed by doughboys. Thei,
rifles they never dropped. In the moon.
light you could see the ground covered
with resting soldiers, mostly sitting.
There was Il clicking of rifles and
sounds of Tightening packs. and bits OF
gossip which could come only from
group heading for its first night in the
trenches.
Indifferent to Danger.
These We're Uncle Sans citizen sol
diers, new men just over from "th0
states" as they have Il habit of calling
home when over here. A few ques'
lions revealed the fact that a year aga
these boys We're clerks. carpenters
= students and whatnOt. in civilian
clothes. Six months ago they were id
n training camp. Now they were sol
diers in France, and tonight they were
making their genuine debut into the
war for civilization.
There was no wild enthusiasm nor
: any evidence of fear or even appre-
: henSiOn among those citiZen-soidiers
as they rested before making the last
Ian into the trenches. There was a
. naryer-of-fact sort of confidence prev.
: alent. and every man was making the
f mo- Of the breathing spell 20 see th:t
he was 100 per cent ready for battle
Interest and talk conferred around the
clicking rifles and other equipment.
: "1hiS old guns sure going to do
S some work from now on" said one
!, doughboy to his pal, as he played with
: the rifle fondly. ITS the best gun in
: this army"
+ Say, You never shot this gun" re-
. piled the other. "Nobody ever did, ant,
!. nobody will but ME. It's some BOche-
n getter 1t was made for me specially,
BO."
+ Officers went through the crowd. Civ
q ing final warning about use o. gas
masks, and attention centered around
masks for moment. A lot Of chaps
tried them on again. Then packs again
= were adjusted, and the group of dough
! boys streamed slowly on.
=. Ready for Business.
AS they got nearer the front trenches
! the word was passed to walk more
y quietly. Conversation except in un-
; dertones stopped, and they descended
y into trenches. All you heard WAS the
steady knock Of hObnailed shoes on
l. the trench duckboards, as these new
arrivals were quietly initiated to the
trenches in France. Quietly and with
out cOmmotion the officers stationed
II their men. with lOOkouts watching
Il across moonlit No Mans Land, the
T. former occupants of the trenches left
= and the relief was completed.
le There is something about the fear
"a less quiet way these new dougbhoys
q take the trenches that makes yor
lie feel they know a lot about warfare
a They are veterans before they enter
the trenches, by first-rate military
training if not experience. Their dis
'e cipline is fine, and their efficiency tell:
lie you they are ready for business
I'd meaning whipping Germans.
10 "Well, you can tell Kaiser Bill were
st here to fight" said one dOughbOy, a:
IS he took his station. "Hear the Ger
t. mans say we're just Il crowd of I'm
s. trained boys. Well soon show then
re we're soldiers"
IT 1t 1EdppeIS lIllS uOuSnDOy > pliluoi
at did it very soon. The next night 15t
Ill Germans came over, and fifty of thes'
ly "untrained boys" withstood the attacl
Mt and stuck to their guns. The German
Id who We're still alive and able to run
retreated, double-quick time.
All in Days Work.
l. Speaking of the way the newly er
w rived Americans take to the trenche
20 and to their duties, one brigadier gen
n .eral who had just finished a complet
wv relief, said: "Theyre not exactly gIa'
a.. to get into the trenches. | guess n
~ one is glad of that. But these boy
- all figure it's work to be done, an
i | they're here to lick Germans. They'r
~ keen to get the job done. They're con
!, fident, all right, but not boastful, be
~ cause they know there's lot to learn
- A dougnboy gave his version of hoy
- he and his pals felt while out Their
he