Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-10-27

1t lasted from a. m. until but
| was so busy that the time passed
IN about thirty minutes at a quarter
to we all took one last. loving
smoke and got set for the stroke OF
b. A few minutes before 3 crawled
on TO tho parapct so that | could he
ahead Of the platoon when we start
| ed and Just then the machine gun
barage opened up. The guns were
so much closer to us and their rate
or Tire so much more rapid than the
| artillery that we Immediately forgot
the Smelling.
Everybody ready? Let's go" To
a man everyone wem with pleasure
What happened has doubtless been
| told In detail In the press. My pla-
toon being In the first wave had
only to continue to 20 ahead. stop
| ping only when absolutely required
to, The troops behind took care OF
prisoners. Boches hidden in dug
outs, etc. All objectlves were taken
on schedule time, or better, with lit
tie resistance because we stuck so
close TO our own barraRe that we
beat tho Boche to his own gun po-
sitions and they lost their last OPP
portunlty to fire until they were
surrounded--then. "kamcrad." How
ever. most OF the Boches are only too
glad to get out OF action--and this
Includes hundreds OF officers.
AT no time-while waiting TO go
over-whiie In the midst Of rain
or shells, during the advance, or
while under machine gun fire did I
experience any emotion but the
thrill of combat And than that
there is no finer thrill.
Captured Hun Clothes.
After two days and a night OF
fighting we stopped to dfg in. BY
that time ] was wearing Boche boots
and a Boche overcoRt. I'd hung up
my own In the German wire to make
the going easier and / had ditched
my shoes because for two days be-
fore the drive I'd been in trenches
everywhere ankle deep in watr and
many rods Of them knee deep there
In.
About p. m. Of the first day we
found a Boche reglmental supply
warehouse and obtained dry socks,
boots, overcoats and hlankets-not
to mention helmets and revolvers
for those who would burden them
selves with souvenirs. One pair OF
socks I retrieved bore this name,
John Downing Johnson, jr.' You
know very well these socks were
never knit for a Heinie. They were
wonderful sOcks--hcavy and almost
to my knees Two days later dis
carded my Roche boots for French
shoes and puttees found In another
captured village. ! was glad TO have
the Hun product off my feet.
THE two days in the water and
cold before we went were Just plain
hell for misery. The two days Of
advancing were days OF heavenly ex-
element. The eight days during
which we came back to a bath and
clean clothes were purgatory. Dirty,
tired, cold, hungry. sleeping in a hole
In tho ground. eating out OF can
continually under shell fret was
no fun at all.
World Man in Drive.
Franks division came up in n
position to our right but was not
long enough in reserve to get TO see
him. (The Frank" referred To Is
Frank Murphy. who was member
Of the Worlds editorial staff at the
time OF his enlistment IN May, 1919
After an eternity OF consolidated
misery in the rnire we were notified
that we were to he relieved from tho
front and 20 back where we could
get a comparative rest and a bath
and three hot meals day
"By thta time I was in command
Of the company again (our 9. q. had
gone to the hospitaD and the Boche
we're firing high explosives at us
but the Irish luck OF the company
commander made six hours Of whiZ-
bang crash on the part Of the Huns
quite Intellectual
THAT night we dragged our weary
bodies and exalted souls TO the re-
verse slope Of an old BoChe position
and slept as we hadn't hoped 10
sleep again.
"I'll have a very inexpensive gold
stripe on my arm when come home.
The Boche landed a shell splinter
on the top Of my head and con-
slider that got the gold stripe
cheap"