Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1918-08-09
Continued from page two.)

some trencneS formerly nelO Dy us anu
hardly forty-five yards away. We re-
ceived bombs and shells right In our
faces. A Tunisian I'm our company got
crazy, and ran back over the parados.
He ran a few yards, then stopped and
looked back at us. / think he was
!, coming to his senses, and would have
started back to us. Then the spot
second later his body from the chest
down fell not three yards from the
parados. I do not know where the
top part went. That same shell cut II
groove in the low hilltop before it OK
ploded. He had been hit by big
shell, and absolutely cut in two. I
have seen this happen to four men. but
this was the only one in France.
About seven o'clock, we received re-
endorsements, and poured fresh troops
over and retook the trench. No sooner
had we entered 1t, however. than the
Germans turned their artillery on us,
not even waiting for their own troops
TO retire safely. They killed numbers
of their own men in this way. But the
ter-attacked, we had to retire again.
and this time they kept after us and
drove us beyond the trench we had
originally occupied.
We left them there, with our artil-
1ery taking care of them, and our ma
chine guns trying to enfilade them, and
moved to the right. There was
bunch of trees there, about like a small
woods, and as we passed the Germans
concealed In 1t opened fire on us, and
we retired to some reserve trenches.
We were pretty much scattered by this
time, and badly cut up. We reformed
there, and were Joined by other Of our
troops, In small groups-what was left
OF squads and platoons and singly.
Our captain had got 1t fifth time.
meanwhile, but he would not leave us.
as he was the ranking officer. He had
a scalp wound, but the others were I'm
his arms and shoulders. He could not
move his hands at all.
But he led our charge when we ran
for the woods. We carried some ma
chine guns with us as we went. and
the gunners would run piece, set up,
fire while we opened up for them. and
run on again. Some troops came out
OF trench still farther to the right
and helped us. and we drove the Ger
mans out Of the woods and occupied 1t
ourselves.
From there. we had the Germans In
our old trench almost directly from
the rear, and we simply cleaned them
out. I think all the vows were kept
that day, or else the men who made
them died first.
l was shot through the thigh some
time or other after the captain got
back. 1t felt just like a needle-prick
at first, and then for while my leg
was numb. A couple of hours after we
took our trench back. started out for
the rear and hospital. The wound had
been hurting for some time. They car
ried the captain out on stretcher
about the same time, but he died on
the way from loss Of blood. Fresh
troops came up to relieve us, but our
men refused to go, and though official
ly they were not there in the trench.
tain away. Then, back to billets-nOt
bullets, this time. ! believe that we re-
celved an army citation for that piece
of work, but j do not know, as was
lin the hospital for short time after
Ward. do not remember much about
lgoing to the hospital except that the
ambulance made an awful racket going
lover the stOne-paved streets Of Etaples,
land that the bearer who picked up one
lend Of my stretcher, had eyes like dead
fish floating on water; also. that there
were some civvies standing around the
,entrance as we We're being carried In.
The first thing they do in the hos
lpital is to take off your old dirty band
iages and slide your stretcher under a
lbig electric magnet. A doctor comes
I'm and places his hand over your
wound. and they let down the magnet
over his hand and turn on the juice.
IIf the shell fragment or bullet in you
Iis more than seven centimeters deep,
lyou cannot feel the pain. The first
doctor reports to the chief how deep
your wound is, and where II is stu
dleu, anu lntU nurse tOlueS up 10
you, where you lie, with your clothes
still on, and asks you to take the
pressure"
Then they lift you on four-wheeled
cart and roll you to the operating the
ater. They take off your clothes there.
Il remember / liked TO look at the
nurses and surgeons; they looked so
good In their clean white clothes.
Then they stick hollow needles into
you, which hurt good deal, and you
lake the pressure. After a while they
begin cutting away the bruised and
maybe rotten flesh, removing the old
floth, pieces of dirt, and so forth, and
ecraplng away the splinters of bone.
You think for sure you are going TO
bleed to death. The blood rushes
Through you like lightning, and If you
get sight of yourself. you can feel
yourself turning pale. Then they hurry
you to your bed, and cover you over
with blankets and hot-water bottles.
They raise your bed on chairs. so the