New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-08-12
All Are Anxious to Return
to Front Lines to ''Let
Boche Have It"
One Calmly Eats as
Injury Is Dressed
British General, Seeing Our
Men in Action, Only
Wants More of Them
(By The Associated Pyesa)

FRANCE, Aug. 1o.-"This way to the
war;" some soldier wag had written
with piece of charcoal on a battered
house beside q shcll-torn road between
the Somme and the Ancre, just to the
rear of the ground over which Ameri-
can and British troops have been fight
ing so stubbornly to gain their objec-
tives in this battle of Picardy.
1t was up this road that the Ameri-
can soldiers pressed on their way to
the front, and it was in barn near by,
neatly cleaned up for dressing sta
ton, that some Americans and Britons,
who had gone that way had been
brought back in ambulances to have
their wounds attended to as the CORE
srondent visited them.
Wounds of Little Worry
These men, who had stepped blithe-
~ forward to the fight and had been
carried back not because they wanted
to come, but because thus it must be
were in as high spirits on returning
as when they went, and were showing
it in both manner and words.
Not only Americans were here, but
wounded "Tommies" and occasionally
a grayclad wounded German prison
er, all of them, however, receiving at
tention from the American hospital or
derlies.
Inside the dressing station one
American, who spoke with pro-
nounced Swedish accent, was sitting
on stretcher having his foot dressed.
His head also was bandaged, but in
one hand he held sandwich and in
the other cup of hot chocolate, and
it was evident he was paying more at
tention to his food than to his wounds.
He finished eating, looked up, smiled
and said:
All He Wants Is "Cig''
eff I had Gig now would feel top
hole" 4ns - r., s-o5~nt et ssvt.
He, like all the Americans here, had
been trained with the British and had
picked up much of the slang of the
British soldier.
The appearance Of case full oil
American cigarettes brought reqlues ST
for one from every slightly wounded
man in the room and the contents OF
the case disappeared in less time than
it takes to tell it,
The soldier just MENTIONED, after
giving his name, which cannot be re-
peated now, talked freely of his expert.
ences.
There weren't manv Of u.s." he said
"but we went up on the run and got in
the thick of 'em quick. The first thing
knew the bullets began to sing around
US from a rise in the ground. We
halted a moment to let them have il
and then went on.
Boche Prisoners Hit
my platoon leader led us to the rise
where we came upon five Boches hiding
out in shell hole, and collared the
lot of them. All the time the bullets
were whizzing around US, but we didn'
mind them. They just made me mad
der than ever.
"The platoon leader told me to take
some prisoners back to the rear, so
placed 'em in front of me and we
started across the rolling ground.
got on top of little hill and the bull
lets began to rain around US. One
prisoner was hit on the head and killed
and another was wounded, while two
bullets hit me, one in the foot and one
alongside the head. The four prisoner:
that were left and myself got away
quickly then, and here I am, all full Of
bullet holes and the fight still going
on. Rotten luck!"
Stretcher bearers came into the
room at this juncture bearing a long
legged German sergeant, who had beer
wounded in the body. He was place.
at the end of the row, alongside ar
American.
This tow-headed son of Illinoi:
looked at the German hard and heare
him mutter something. Then he los
no time in calling, "Hey, orderly, thi:
Fritz is sick"
The summons brought bearers to the
aid of the German, who was removed
into the farmhouse near by, where the
American surgeons gave him their at
| tention, for a wounded German looks
just the same to the American surgeons
as any other wounded man.
One American, talking to comrade
across smiling "Tommie" on {
stretcher, asked: what do the Tom
mics call these things we got, George 2
George answered: "Wounds-just reg
ular honest to goodness wounds"
That was not what the questione1
wanted to know. He said: mo, no.
mean the slang" Then, after a pause
he answered his own question: ooh
yes, I remember. It's Blighty, George
That's what we got--Blighties."
Got Two Blighties
George replied: "Blighties is right
got two. made up my mind
wouldn't stop Till got two and I 60
'em. Say. Dusty, do you suppose WI
might get to Paris or London or som,
place with these? I'm tired of The
/ 10 - s.,