The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-11-14
IOWA BOY TELLS
Of HE'LL Of WAR
AN INTIMATE AND DETAILED &C.
COUNT OF THE FRONT
LINE FIGHTING
HOW OOUGHB0YS DODGE HAIL OF SHELLS
One American Soldier AZ He Drove
The Huns Back Home

~ uCoCiiVtiOh VI O0SNiO SlNCh W
Roy Shapin, of Sloan, Iowa, ma let
ter to his mother. Interesting and
rich In detail 1t gives a vivid picture
of the life the soldier in the ranks
lives during the rain of shells:
Four different times l have been up
to the lines to do my bit, and each
time has found a great deal Of ex-
element, nervous strain and other in
dications of war. But it vas the last
time that capped the climax. both for
duration and s~evereness. So far, 1t
Is the greatest conflict that the Amer
leans have taken part in, and you
can rest assured that am very proud
to think that it was in the irst great
struggle that l could take my share
of the burden and. to see this war in
all it's bitterness and intensity.
Many times l have tried to write a
letter telling you all about IL but for
some reason l couldn't get down to 1t.
1t brought more wildly than aver the
bitter scenes and at times I feel as
though | never wanted to see such a
thing again. But as each day passes
| feel differently and am anxiously
awaiting our next trip to the lines and
confident as ever that l will come
through safe and sound.
In order that you may appreciate
and understand the situation and the
conditions under which we worked, 1t
will be necessary to tell you the cir
cumstances. In the first place this
front knows OF no such things as
trenches or dugouts for protection.
All the protection, IL such 1t can be
called. that we a possibly have is
the small bitches along the road or
the little holes that we dig in the
ground or the side of a hill. The
fighting was all done in the day time
and took place In the woods, open
fields or an old shelled town. Our in
fantry simply started out for an OBJ
~jective. usually a woods or a town and
regardless of the cost, that objective
had to be reached. All open fighting
and though the sacrifice was great,
more progress was made and the Ger.
mans were compelled to retreat more
rapidly. In fact, u infantry ad-
vanced so fast that it was with the
utmost difficulty that we could keep
up with them.
Just a few days before the last big
drive started, six of us, with a SER
geant, were sent up to a SIN ! relay
station in the woods. The v, unued
or sick who were up in the lines were
brought to us at this station and we
carried them On down to the battalion
aid. 1t all sounds very simple and
easy, but l am telling you that l never
worked so hard in all my life. Those
trips to that aid station are n Of
the things that will never leave my
memory.
The only guide we had was q wire
strung from tree to tree. In the day
time we had to follow this wire and
it kept US busy doing that. but at
night it was about the toughest prop
osition ! ever saw. This part was
filed with massive rocks, over which
we had to climb and carry our patient.
All the time it was being o~bstructed
by falling trees and branches caused
by the Smelling. 1t was muddy, slip
perry and in places full of water and
mud up to our ankles. Not only did
we have all these physical obstruc-
tons. but also the most intense and
heavy shell fire, gas and high explo-
sives. 1t was these last three things
which took all our nerve and kept us
on the go every minute that we were
out with a patient.
We made those trips in just about
as quick time as 1t was possible and
with a litter patient that was pretty
slow. For ourselves, as we'll as the
p~atients, we had to go slow and care
fuuy. Many of these trips had to be
made in the dark, and always n fell
low had to guide us while we fol-
lowed. We would return so exhausted
and worn out with the nervous strain
that 1t would take hours to get back
to anything like normal condition.
Those heavy shells take every ounce
Of your strength, and unless you have
something left in reserve you are
simply out of luck. The shrapnel from
these shells is worse to contend with
than the shells themselves. They fly
in 100 different directions. and how
they do cut and mangle. l must adj
NIT that a little prayer and a most
intense desire to see all Of you again
has kept me going and gives ms the
strength Of body and mind to keep
going and never give up. Every time
I have been up u has been with the
utmost confidence that I would return
(Contiuued on Pare Column u.