South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-11-10
CRUM WRITES Of
GREAT BARRAGE
Says He Was in 1t About Four
HourS-WitneSSed Some
Terrible Sights.

Many Of the exciting experiences
of a sanitary train with the A. E. T.
are told by Weldon Crum, 14Sth
ambulance company. 112th sanitary
train, in a letter to his grandparents.
Mr.. and Mrs Albert p. Slusser, 402
r. Dayton st.
Dear Grandparents:
1T may seem to you that ] have
forgotten everybody back home. but
we have been up at the front for
about two or three weeks and we
are now headed for another. We
are back on a, rest. you may call it
that, we move about every three or
four days.
we were in the biggest artillery
barrage that has been put up on
any front 1t started at 2:30 o'clock
in the morning of Sept. % and last
ed about three or four hours. Then
we followed the doughbOys over the
top.
MY first sight was an American
soldier with his head shot OFF, and
that sort of took the pep out Of me,
but after we got into it, that is ban
daging ND and liLtering patients
back TO our dressing station. we
were all so busy that we had no
time 70 think of dead fellows.
Charge of Hun Prisoners.
"I had a number of German pris-
oners carrying in our wounded and
believe me I sure did work the
dickens out of them.
Il hardly know what TO tell first
Of my experiences. have seen
shell holes put up by our barrage
that were big enough for one to
place an ordinary house in. We
drove the boche out so fast that in
their dugouts food and clothing were
plentiful. Some of them were as
comfortable as a soldier could ask
for.
AT the first town we captured
we carried our dressing station on
litters about "a kilometers and be
lieve me, it was some work, too. I
rested one night and slept on a swell
stone bed with an Irishman and a
Scotchman but gee, the bed seemed
Just like a feather bed, slept sound
as ever.
When out on the fields you shave
10 look out for snipers. and also for
stray shells the boche throws over.
Seemed that they would shell one
town about every afternoon and you
sure have to either scatter or flop in
a shell hole for shrapnel doesn't
look good to me have seen some
~.
safe is my motto and I do. too.
Boche Machine Falls.
There was one exciting thine
happened just as we came in our
place to set up our dressing station
There were three Of our planes
up battling with two boches and we
ducked into the woods just in time.
for one of the boches started ma
chine gun fire at US but didn't do
any damage. Well. he got HIS. for
our planes damaged his engine, I
guess. and he made several spiral
dives and then swooped down at us
but made il too low. He buried his
machine and himself in the ground
about three or four feet. The gun
ner and pilot were all mangled and
cut up. 1 got a souvenir off the
plane.
After we got all our patients
evacuated out OF our sector we start
ed up here. We got into the range
OF the boche artillery, or they got
sight Of Us through their planes. and
they made US beat it. Then we hid.
About three planes started firing at
US but did no damage. dropped a
bomb about 10 feet from the rear
end of our train in a grave yard.
but didn't hurt US.
Sure have had some exciting
times. and haven't any kick 10 make
at all, only this-hope the talk about
peace will be settled soon and
guess good old Pres't Wilson Will
do his share. say give the Dutch
- until they surrender. for II we
lie down now. why Germany will
get a chance 10 reinforce her troops
and then that Will make the war
last that much longer"