Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1918-07-13

must be won before a member of tn
h. f. G. is allowed to hunt the Hun
on the western front.
This was in May, 1917.
BY August l, most of us were full
fiedged pilots, actively engaged at vari
Gus parts of the line In daily confiic
with the enemy.
BY December Is, every man jack Of
us who had met the enemy in France
with one exception, had appeared or
the casualty list. The exception was
Ill. *. Boysen, an American, who al
last report was fighting on the Italian
front still unscathed. Whether his
good fortune has stood him up to this
time / don't know, but If 1t has / would
be very much surprised.
or the others, FIVE were killed In &C.
tion-three Americans, one Canadian
and one Englishman. Three more were
in all probability killed in action al
though officially they are listed merely
as missing" One of these was an
American, one Canadian, and the
third Scotchman. Three more, two
of them Americans, were seriously
wounded. Another, a Canadian, is a
prisoner in Germany. I know nothing
of the others.
What happened to me Is narrated in
these pages. | wish, instead, | could
tell the story of each of my brave com
rades, for not one of them was downed.
| am sure, without unfolding the best
traditions of the r. F. c. Unfortunate
ly, however, of the eighteen who
sailed on the Meganic last May, |
happened to be the first to fall into
the hands of the Huns, and what befell
my comrades after that, with one ex-
ception, ] know only second hand.
The exception was the case of poor.
brave Paul Raney-my closest chum-
whose last battle I witnessed from my
German prison-but that is story
shall tell in its proper place.
In one way, however, / think the
story of my own big adventure" and
my miraculous escape may, perhaps,
serve purpose as useful as that of
the heroic fate of my less fortunate
comrades. Their story, II is true, might
inspire others to deeds of heroism,
but mine, / hope, will convey the
equally valuable lesson of the folly
of despair.
Many were the times in the course
of my struggles when 1t seemed abso-
lutely useless to continue. In hostile |
country, where discovery meant death,
wounded, sick, famished, friendless,
Of miles from the nearest |
territory the frontier of which
was so closely guarded that even if /
got there 1t seemed too much to hope
that / could ever get through, what
was the use Of enduring further
lgony?
And yet here I am, in the land Of
iberty-although In q somewhat OBJ
'cure corner of 1.-THE little town of
Momence, ILL.,, where / was born--not
'ery much the worse for wear after all
we been through, and, as I write these
words not eight months have passed
dnce my seventeen comrades and I
sailed from Canada on the Meganic.
Can 1t be possible that / was spared
o convey a message of hope to others
Who are destined for similar trials?
I'M afraid there will be many of them.
Years ago / heard Of the epitaph
which is said to have been found on q
hild's grave:
If was so soon to be done for
What, 0 Lord, was ever begun for?"
The way 1t has come to me since
eturned from Europe is:
"If, O Lord, / was to be done for
What were my sufferlngs e'er begun
forY
Perhaps the answer lies In the sug-
estion have made,
At any rate, If this record Of my adj
entures should prove instrumental in
others who need encourage !,
nent, shall feel that my sufferings ,
we're not in vain. /,
1t Is hardly likely that anyone will
ute duplicate my experiences, but
aven't the slightest doubt that many
gill have to 60 through trials equally
and suffer disappoint-
lents just as disheartening.
1t would be very far from the mark Z
D imagine that the optimism which /
m preaching now so glibly sustained
lie through all my troubles. On the ,.
ontrary, am free to confess that l
frequently gave way to despair and :.
ften, for hours at time, felt so de-
ected and discouraged that l really :
idn't care what happened to me. In
eed, l rather hoped that something l
'ould happen to put an end to my
Misery.
But despite all my dependency and {
the worst never hap
ened, and | can't help thinking that |
ny salvation must have been designed |
show the way to others. S
CHAPTER II. S
! Became Fighting Scout.
/ started HviDu In Chioo on In 1910 {