The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1918-11-07

allowed them to remain until the las.
possible moment, as l appreciated how
they felt.
cat we started forward. During
all the movement l carried rife. and
just after starting the man next to me
had his rifle blown completely to pieces
as he was firing it. Nothing was left
but the trigger guard. l handed him
my rifle and we went on.
after advancing perhaps 300 yards
we entered a woods and here our hell
begun. Dad, if ever a bunch of men
were subjected to a calling fire we were.
The Germans had hundreds of machine
guns in there, their artillery fire was
terrific, ard how any of US came out
alive will always remain a mystery to
me. We started through the woods and
after advancing so yards came to a
cleared space where the Germans had
! Red Cross station. Of course they had
now left it. | reached this spot with
only five men, as many had fallen while
others had become lost in the dense
woods, and started hunting machine
guns which we could so easily hear, but
could never see. Pretty soon we seemed
to be completely surrounded by them
and we could not move-caught in few
shell holes. | still had the five men and
as | could not see any more of our men
coming up, decided to get out if it were
possible to do so and so passed the word
to the men to get back. We went back
one by one, but in doing so two were hit
and slightly injured in the arms. At the
edge of the woods we met some more
) men coming up and again started thru.
Got into the Red Cross hut this time
and there the enemy had three inch
field piece mounted under the protection
of the Red Cross emblem flying over the
building. There were so many machine
guns in the woods that all we could do
was to combat one at time, get it out
and then by that time another would be
at our TANKS, so we did not make much
progress for two or three hours. Final
ly three French tanks came up to help
US. We followed them and then the
Huns cut loose with their artillery and
the first thing we knew two of the
tanks were in flames and the other was
beating it back. We had to drop to the
ground and remain there-some for a
long time. happened to drop along a
bank about two feet high with fringe
of underground by the edge. Here by
me was another lieutenant and every
time either of US would move the least
bit dozen machine guns would open on
US and thus we were compelled to lay for
an hour. Big shells struck all about us
and they were coming too fast to count
until finally one dropped in the bank d.
rectly beneath US, but thank God, it was
a 'dud, or defective. Dad, if that shell
had exploded it would have put US 10
our last sleep. 1t was nerye- racking,
and Notwithstanding all the fire above
and around US we jumped up and beatit
back into the woods with hundreds OF
machine gun bullets flying about US, but
somehow we got through. To me that
is about the most wonderful thing, how
we could lie in the only spot in yards
around that was not Utterly plowed up.
After going back about thirty Yards
| dropped down into a shell hole and was
there but few minutes, when bang =
a high explosive burst over me and |
was through. | was lying on my back
at the time with my arms across nv
chest, my right arm resting on top of
my field glasses and with my compass
in my left hand getting my bearings
when the shell struck. A piece, which
still have, passed through my clothing
and striking my arm just above my
wrist, carried the skin and flesh away
about two inches square and after strik-
ing the bone kept on going and passed
on through my heavy leather field glass
case and smashing the glasses into bits.
Had the glasses been in any other posi-
ton the piece Of shell would have pene-
trated my stomach. | bandaged nv
arm with my first-aid kit as | was leay-
ing the shell hole and had to 90 back
through barrage tie Germans were
letting down. but that barrage was as
nothing compared with what had al
ready passed through. Met up with an
other boy who had been hit, but could
walk, and so we picked up another who
could not and helped him along until he
dropped and we had to go on without
him. God help that boy. He was ter
rlby wounded all over his body.
Il arrived in due time at a first-aid
station and they sent me en- to field
dressing station about two miles back.
then Went back to the regiment as |
thought my injury was of minor char
acter, and remained there all night with
regiment which had been relieved. In
the morning my arm was badly swollen.
so was tagged and started for the hos
pltal. About three miles back | met
our company kitchen and they gave me
hot coffee, the first hot food | had had
in five days, some bread and jam and it
was good: hoped on an auto headed for
my destination and then learned that
shortly after leaving the field hospital
the day before the Germans shelled it
and killed about a dozen of those who
had been wounded in the engagement of
that day. Another thing to get square
for with them. Eventually | reached
this hospital after travelling nv auto and