Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1918-08-02

and, believe me, I was as pale as q
sheet, Just scared to death. l think
every man Is when he goes over for
the first tlme-every time for that
matter. But I was glad we were going
TO get some action. because 1t is hard
to sit around in trench under fire
and have nothing to do. l had all j
could do to hold my rifle.
We ran across No Mans Land. I
cannot remember much about It, But
when we got to the German trench
fell on top of young fellow and my
bayonet went right through him. II
was crime to get him, at that. He
was as delicate as u pencil.
When | got back to our trenches
after my first charge I could not sleep
for long time afterward, for remem.
bering what that fellow looked liki
and how my bayonet slipped into him
and how he screamed when he fell.
He had his legs and his neck twisted
under him after he got 1t. thought
about II lot and II got to be almost
habit that whenever | was going TO
sleep | would think about him and
then all hope of sleeping was gone.
Our company took German trench
that time and along with another
company four hundred prisoners We
had to retire because the men on our
sides did not get through and we
were being flanked. But we lost lot
of men doing it.
Whny, rAN. a. r.
our outfit was simply all In and we
were lying around in the front line,
Ike a bunch of old rags in narrow
alley. None of us showed any signs
of life except working party that
was digging with picks and shovels at
some bodies that had been frozen into
the mud of the trench.
used to think all the Germans were
big and fat and strong, and, of course,
some of the grenadier regiments are,
but lots of the Boches / saw were
little and weak like this fellow "got"
in my first charge.
1t was good piece of work to take
the prisoners and novelty for me to
look them In the face-the fellows l
had been fighting. Because, when you
look Hun In the face, you can see
the yellow streak. Even If you are
their prisoner you can tell that the
Huns are yellow.
Maybe you have heard pigs being
butchered. 1t sounded like that when
we got to them. When they attacked
us they yelled to beat the band. /
guess they thought they could scare
us. But you cannot scare machine
guns nor the foreign legion either. So
when they could not scare us they
were up against 1t and had to fight.
! will admit, though, that the first
time Fritz came over and began yell
ing l thought the whole German army
was after me, at that, and Kaiser Bill
playing the drum. And how they hate
bayonet! They would much rather
sit In a ditch and pot you.
l admit l am not crazy about bayo-
net fighting myself, as a general prop
osition, but will say that there have
been times when / was serving a gun
behind the front lines when wished
for rife and bayonet i'm my hands
and chance at Fritz man to man.
1t was in this charge that our chap
lain was put out of commission. As
we were lined up, waiting to climb on
to the fire step and then over the par.
apet, this chaplain came down the
line speaking to each man as he went.
He would not say much, but just n
few words and then make the sign of
the cross, He was in black cassock.
He was just one man from me MS
we got the word and stood up on the
fire step. He was not armed with as
much as a pin, hut he jumped up on