The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1918-05-10
AMERICAN SOLDIERS
HAVE DEVELOPED NEW
SPIRIT OF UNITY
G. L. MCCALL WRITES INTIMATE
e LETTER ABOUT LIFE OF
" SOLDIERS Ar FRONT.
Slaughter Of Germans in Great Often
sive Described by One Who Was In
the Fightino-Engineers do I'm
portant Work.


That American soldiers who left
their camps in this country with a
disposition to look out for themselves
individually have adopted the new
spirit of unity and service to one an
other after reaching the scene of &C
ton in France is one of the striking
assertions of G. l.. McFall, private
first class, 18th Engineers (Railway),
in letter to his father Geo. G. Nc.
Fall of this county. The letter con-
tains many intimate descriptions Of
conditions in France on the battle
front, and was written soon after the
beginning Of the great western Of
fensive of the Germans.
The letter follows:
Somewhere in France
March %, 1918
Dear Papa:
Suppose you are wondering how we
boys are over here this morning and
what we are doing while SO much hell
is being raised in France today, and
has been raised for the past four
days. AS for the 18th, can say that
they are as well as ever, and some
times feel that we are getting along
too well while some of our other boys,
also the French and English, are
fighting SO hard. Still, it is not our
fault that we are kept here, and this
work must be done by some regi-
ment. We do not like to know that
the greatest battle in the history of
the world is taking place today and
that we are not taking some active
part in 1t, although our efforts here
we're yielding results before some Of
the boys who are in this battle ever
saw France. '-'s''' :
Suppose some Of you have been
somewhat surprised by the new gun
the Germans bombarded Paris with
and perhaps thought that it did great
damage, but the damage done was
very small. In one place a shell
struck a building and tore large
hole through one side and the explos.l
ion broke all the windows, but most
OF the shells dropped about in places
where very little damage was done.
was talking to- a boy last night who
had been up near the front and 1t
was real interesting to hear him tell
Of the fighting there. In some places
dead Germans are piled on top of one
another, while in other places they
are so near together that 1t is posi-
bic to step from one body to another.
On some of the British barbed wire
entanglements the bodies were so
thick that the machine guns had to
shoot through them in order to NOW
down the advancing troops, while in.
other places they we're piled up un-
til the wires were broken down. If
the allies can hold them when they
reach their old 1915 trenches, where
the final stand is to be made, and
where it is understood they had made
their plans to stop them, then
think the German people will try to
throw off the Kaiser's yoke, and VIC
tory will be given UP by them.
| We hear quite few incidents of
| where American soldiers have show
ed their bravery, or curiosity, perhaps
| IN some places. In one incident an
air raid was in progress and the
French soldiers were all running to
shelter, while bunch Of Americans
were standing around smoking cigar
cts and watching the explosions
wherever the bombs struck. In an,
other place, when some American SOL
diers were being posted in their
trenches for the first time. a barrage
was let loose by the Germans. One
of the old Allied officers who was es-
corting them through the trenches,
promptly ducked, but the boys stuck
to their posts and held off the attack.
An American hospital is located a
few miles from here. and in it are
some of the first soldiers to be wound
ed at the front. This attack took
place sometime before Christmas.
The Germans seem to have tried out
some OF their new gas on the Ameri-
cans to see what effect it would have
on them before using 1t on the French
and British Some of these boys say
that they did not know they were be-
ing gased, although they could smell
an oder which they took to be from
camp kitchen, and smelled more
like dinner cooking. The gas did not
cause them any pain, and the first
they knew some OF them began to
grow weak and fall like some one
fainting. This gas turns the skin
black and where It is strong. causes
sores and raw places on the skin, 1t
also affects the eyes, causing irrita-
ton and blindness. One boys face
was badly cut by bayonets. He says
that few Americans were cut off
and over powered by large party Of