The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1918-05-10
BRAVERY OF FOREFATHERS LIVES
AGAIN IN DEEDS OF AMERICANS
Yankee Troops in France Laugh at Shell Fire, lest at Shrapnel
Spraying and Take Whatever Comes With Bold, Courageous
Spirit That Makes Them l~nMncible-Sergeant Braves
Death to Save His Horses.

QuenIly nIIeO with clOuQS OF DrlCk OuSt
and flying bits Of masonry and steel.
just then the great French guns be-
gan to add their boom to the din of
the enemy artillery. One, two, three.
four, five and on up to twenty came
the ripping, tearing detonations. First
a flash, then a whine. then a spongy
roar from somewhere lover there" In
the midst Of the fanfare and scurry a
sergeant-and 1t Is permissible to state
that he came from Acknowledgment
up to the captain. who was directing
his men to places Of safety or to
%neighboring sections, and said:
There are so horses in a very dan
gerous position. What shall be done
with them?"
1T Is too dangerous to risk a trip
leave Them"
Refuses 70 Desert Horses.
The sergeant paused a moment. A
look of disappointment came into his
eyes. l learned later that he has al
ways loved horses.
Il a get them out" ne said. look
ing the captain straight In the eye.
There vas no further conversation.
The sergeant trotted OF up the street
into what might well have been the
pit of death. He disappeared around
q slight curve. A few minutes later
he came into view again behind q gal
Looping string Of horses which shot OF
into u field to join a pack of mules
which slowly and with traditional per-
versity had been moving neare the
spot where shells were falling with
greatest frequency.
And over in the batteries, around
which shells had been falling for sew
eral hours, the ~artillerymen had taken
to their dugouts, where they were sit
ting about like gnomes with their gas
masks in position. Gas shells had been
dropping all about them, but fortunate
~ the wind was such us to Whit 1t
away from them.
With others l moved down the road
a few hundred feet and entered a graz
ing field. where I stood with about
30 boys from various parts Of the
United States. We could see the Ger
man shells falling not far away and
could see the flash and hear the boom
Of the allied guns.
Gazing ut the people moving across
the fields, a soldier from Chicaso-in
every regiment there are men from
practically every state and every bis
city back home-said sententiously:
If the people ut home could see this
and then realize that their " "a.
theirs, mothers and childrenll get the
same thing II the Germans sln't licked
I guess we'd have an army OF twenty
million, huhy"
Shortly there was a lull in the fight
ing. In the period of quiet which came
there was a release Of the tension
which had been quite successfully
camouflaged. Everyone broke out In
comment, much rs does a person who
has just come through n painful dental
operation.
whats the news from back homer
n Of the privates asked me.
"What do you want to hear about?'
l asked.
HAS Grover Alexander gone in thu
army?"
"Where'd they bury Bob Fitzsim
mOns?"
did Teddy Roosevelt get over thai
operation! Z"
rs It true they've cut down the sol.
aries Of baseball players?".
Just News From Home Wanted.
These four questions came quickly
from four different soldiers and wher
they were answered the boys seemed
satisfied that everything at home II
all right.
Unimportant subjects were dropped
instantly when a shell spattered ur
the earth q few hundred feet away
causing everyone to move to a new
region. In a minute the bombardmeni
was f1ercer than before. Down in thu
narrow valley Immediately In the path
Of the shells flight five Frenchmen