Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-02-19
SOLDIERS IN The MAKING
Gunshy Rookie Has a Try at the
Target.
JUDGMENT IN HANDLING OF Men
James D. Grist Gives Humorous Ac
count Of HIS First Experience at the
Rifle Range and Tells Of the Re-
demption Of a Soldier Who Was
About to be a Failure

Correspondence TIE iOrkNiVe Enquirer
camp SEWER. Feb FL went ont on
th, rifle range Yesterday ana shot q
sure enough. man killing rifle Tor thu
first time in my life II WAS Il lIniIir
experience and on" that shall not for
get soon. There were several hundred
oi us who had that experience yrstrr-
my time Ia ~ into the firing line ! laid
down aS directed and apparently took
aim aS directed: hut frankly didn't
have my mind ON my business very
murh hrrauSr couldn't help Tut Won
der how much tn" gun WAS going 1"
kick aS well as To prospect on IN"
probability oi my growing 80 nervous
and rXrir,,i aS To Kill IN" man lying
shooting next 10 mr. IL" fired before !
did and zip | jumWrd Il foot III III"
air while the sound ui the shot which
WAS fired within four feet ur my head
WAS louder than cannon crackers us"d
Ia sound al Christmas time when som"
misrhirvuus companion would Hing on''
un my head from y second story win.
,!ow Just Tor fun. To SAY that WAS
gun shy" on my initial trial on IN"
rang" does moi express II. WAS
SCARED. Before ! went into IN" firing
trench | noticed Il hig ambulance roll
up on the rang" field ana several
hospital intrrnrs roll out. ! ASH Il on
or my "huddi,S"- IN old soldier. why
the ambulance Was there and h" told
me that every now and then som" i"l.
low shouting on the rang" for his first
time shoots himself instead oi th''
target. said "solly" sort of under my
grip un my rifle.
Lying IN tn" firing trench hrSld"
each man firing was Il sergeant or cor
po.;,l detailed To coach IN" green men.
\ sergeant WAS detailed Ia keep m''
from hurtin. myself and h. did - good
iub of il.
Use the peep sight" hr said. "ih''
range is 100 yards. Lie fiat on your
belly. stretch ont your legs. get your
rifle in Il perfectly straight position.
watch your sight 10 see that !h"rr is
:; small showing uf white between il and
the hull'S eye. squcrZ" the trigger SLOW =
IL like YOU would your girls hand II
you had tn. chance and then Let her
go"
a 4 l.. tn, al a
that WAS not sure whic' '53rAI"n III"
rifle was the peep and sea as how
could ascume The positiI-la and
hold that rifle as he directed. Finally
| got fixed and he cooked the piece.
Two of us were shooting at the
same target No. 80. and my shooting
cumradr had already fired. received his
score and WAS waiting for m" To fir"
i'm order that hr might proceed with his
second shot. And ] kept wondering
how the kick compared with that of a
shotgun. while visions Of an amhnlanr"
and bandagcs and white rnamcl"d beds
and nurses with white bands around
their arms hearing a Red Cross kept
rising before my eyes.
Alright Let her CO." said the ser.
grant who was coaching me- in Il some
what impatient tone.
{ took one more look N the target.
pushed tn" rifle barrel u little further
over the diiy paraprt. saw or Imagined
| saw. u it'll, bit OF whit" under IN"
bulls eye through the peep sight AMI
lrt her go.
"l,nm---. II didn't Kick u lit and
there was no patient for the hospital
gang. ! had fired a killing riff"
for the first time and was pleased with
the experience. The target pmllrl
pushed u white Indicator up. signiiyinG
that had made a hull's eye. My SER
the shoulders with u thmh-"All right
huddir." h" said. "yOn amt ever dm"
To lr gun shy again. don't know how
in the hell yOu done il: hmt You made
Il blamed good shot for rookie. You
got four more Of them things in yonr
piece. Take your time and aim like
that black mark over yOndcr was
f'ritZ's head. Now 20 To it,"
Each man is allowed five shots al n
trial. \ hill's eye counts tiv" points
shot within the first ring of tn" tar
get counts four. a hit within the sec
ond, three. etc. II the rif1rman MISSES
the entire target. the fact is indicated
10y the display OF u red flag.
fired my five shots and scored %
out OF a possible -. After We got back
TO camp last evening my friend the
top sergeant" who is always after mi
with his badgcring sarcasm. told IN"
for the hundrcdth time that maybe
after several years OF hard work.
would develop into fair soldier
didn't crow any over heating him
three points in shooting. His scor'
was 20. II wouldn't have been good
policy TO rub. him about it: because
whether YOU know il or not. top
sergeant" is a pretty influential mem
hcr in an infantry company and it pays
To take lot off OF him.
Different mcn--that is TO say. males
over u, like children, have TO h
treated in different ways in order "a
engage their attention and interest and
bring out all that. Is in them. little
incident illustrative OF the fact has
come under my observation. There
came to Camp Seveier in one OF the
North Carolina contingents fellow by
the name of-well. we'll say. Ernest