The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-14
SCENE AT FLORENCE CETNENNIAL


 o right: M. M. Striplin, mayor; Miss ga Coffee, Annie Rowell Hood and over here. Everything has been pleas
 ant and agreeable so far. Love to
 all the family,
 LIEUT.. ROBERT B. LEARY.
 The following is letter to pr. ".
 B. Crumpton from his son. Lieut.. Rob-
 ert c. Crumpton. Somewhere in France:"
 July 1s, 1918.
 Since my last letter we've been awfully busy both night and day and now we are enjoying a little rest
 but in two or three hours we may be up to our ears in work.
 While walking through one of the wards few days ago, one patient said, Well, if it ain't Crumpton! Turned about and there was one of my classmates at Rush, and also room- mate at the Cook County hospital. He had been up at the front and had 1 been in the battalion aid station for about six weeks. The last day he was there he received orders to return to | his former unit and that night tre- ! mendous gas bombardment was put 1 over and he was "gassed," so they | brought him here. His chief occupation at first was picking off cooties" which he had begun 10 look on as ola friends. It made me vince and While haven't had any yet, I've been scratching ever since talking to him. He said that in the sector where he was the air was dominated by Ger man airplanes-so close was their vir- gil that it was not safe to smoke in the woods at night as the air planes fairly skinned the trees" Fi- nalIy about July 1 about 6 a. m, some 20 or 30 American avians ap- peared and Mr. Boche left in a hurry and has confined his activities to night visits pretty high up. You see US pretty risky for one squadron to engage another one at night as they get mixed up and are liable to shoot down their own planes.
 when the marines went in above here they were sent to the second line as s,1p port for the French first line The Ger mans were coming through and the french were terror-stricken and retreat. ing After our boys took their places the French first line was ordered to retreat and as they reached our positions they ordered them to retreat also Our boys yelled out. We came over here to ngnt and we won't retreat" The French Kept retreating back to a hillside and left our boys with no supporting troops at all, and gazed in awe from the hill- side at the battle. The Germans were moved down in droves and from that tune on they haven't gained one foot. The boys were So overjoyed when our aVians appeared they leaped over the top and with no artillery preparation what ever, charged the Germans who had oc- cupled a small railroad station-they got the Germans on the run and kept them on the run and took the hill on the other slde or that town. I think when we get enough men over here. and they are sure coming fast. this whole thing will end as quickly as it began. as there's no ques. ton at all about the Huns morale weafa ing down very rapidly.
 One of the wounded prisoners was brought in to us, and under his coat he was concealing something. 1 | got suspicious and ordered him to open up, which he did, and here was a half loaf of white bread, stale and almost of rock-like hardness-he had picked it un somewhere back of our lines and was so afraid I'd take it from him. When l gave it back, the poor devil was over- l Joyed and tried to kiss my hand.
 AhSocs PooI CIidpS are not responsible but the typical Prussian this boy was | Polsh) is hard hearted, cruel and mean. | The Bavarians are very ignorant and | marvel at our kindness to them.
 The boys at the front say that all the i birds have left the region of the lines | except the doves, which fly about as free ly as ever It may be symbolic.
 We had quite a day of it July 4. The French certainly showered us with flow Tn oa- tery the graves were buried with pro- fusion of flowers-lttle tots with armfuls Of flowers going from one grave to an f other. The Frenchmen all got drunk and we had great difficulty in keeping these drunks from talking our patients ,ti) death. They naturally talk great deal and a little win blanc'' or some other vile mixture seems to stimulate their vocal cords into spasms of talking and peals of singing, they seem to alternate), and they are so polite, too you are afraid of offending them. Tomorrow is July 14-Frances Day. We'll return their felicitations, but not theif 'bibulous joy" It's on Sunday and they are that much more carefree
 One of our American boys got mixed up on directions a few days ago and drove his ambulance right across ths lines. A few days later our boys saw our ambulance in the Germans employ.
 One of the strictest things about mill tary life is the change of divisions re- ievng each other. This country is with spies and when one division went up one night long ago and relieved another one. the next morn ng a paper balloon came down in the first line from ~the Germans with this Hello. No. =. Good-by No. -" They actually had the correct numbers If these divisions and some of our own nen at division headquarters didn't know tbout it beforehand. I' Woe betide the chap in the American lrmy who is ever caught giving informa- ion to the enemy! can't believe that my of our boys would do 1t. but you snow we have men from everywhere over here, ROBERT. Mobile Hospital No. l.