Bisbee daily review., 1918-11-19

rear. Avertt was the machine gunner of his tank while his buddy" ran the engine and steered the tank.
 "I was so near a number of Ger mans encountered in shallow trench that I could see the terror on their faces when my gun began to let fly bullets almost in their very faces, " Sergeant Avertt said. These were the first boches l ran into on this drive and I certainly let them have 1t as fast as my old machine could fire, and that was some fast, and l just kept going ahead and pounding away until every last one of them was stretched out on the ground.
 Passing beyond this hastily dug trench, I, in the meantime watching my brothers on my right and left and at the same time keeping tab on the doughboys coming up, l got sight of a little batch of Germans behind a hump in the hill along the roadway. or what had been a road way before our heavy artillery opened up that morning. These were ma chine gunners, l soon learned. and bullets began to splash off the tanks sides, particularly those who struck a glancing blow.
 "I ordered my tank buddy at the wheel to keep after those gunners if and We went up after them sort of it cost us all four wheels. He did. sideways, and l got around onto the side of that hump. and my brother on the other side was doing the same and we wiped that bunch out in a jiffy-I believe it was by enfilading fire, as the officers call it."
 Sergeant Averett explained that the tank men. all of whom were Ameri- cans using two-men tanks invented by the French, always watched each other closely. or endeavored to, the idea being to keep a hundred yards or so apart for their mutual protec- tion, and it being important also that they not get too far ahead of the infantry.
 Just beyond the hump was a clump of woods, and we began to pour bull lets into that Sgt Avertt continued. and for a time there was some smoke arising above the tree tops so we knew there were bOches in there. About four of us opened up in full force and showered that woods with lead.
 "The machine gun answers were pretty stiff for awhile, as we went forward, but I just kept peppering away and talking to my buddy all the time and telling him what we were going to dO-clean out that woods. My 'brothers' on either side some way had the same hunch. The doughboys back of me too were firing right along with us and the boche in that thicket must heave thought all hell had broken loose, because first thing l knew the firing virtually stopped and I figured all the boches had been killed or had decided to beat it before we all got there in force
 "Along about this time l noticed that the tank boys on the right were swinging around the side of clump of trees and from the position of their guns and the speed of their tanks I judged that they were giving fits to some Fritzes running away. l then switched so as to run alongside the thicket, at a distance, and joined the tank boys going around the end.
 Just about that time there was a voiley of machine gun bullets, and some anti-tank gun stuff, too, from a hill a bit to my left; suddenly my tank just began to tremble or some thing, and then stopped. and shud- dered all over. I looked down and my buddy was limp in his seat. One of those damned bullets lad come iD through my 'buddy's' peep hole and hit him square in the face.
 My buddy was dead. His final clutch on the throttle shut off the gas and the old tank stopped, and there I was, and the other boys went on. That's about all l know about that fight, or whatever it was, and I'm waiting around now for another tank and another buddy to take me up front again where things are do- ing every minute. This tank busi- ness is great business for the boys who like to shoot"
 Avertt said that when he went into action he deterimned to keep count of the number of Germans his machine gun touched off, but when he be- gan to use his gun he could think oi nothing but a purpose to spread death and destruction and that he quickly lost count of the number he