Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-06-02
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION
OF LIFE in TRENCHES
American Sergeant. lnvalidcd Home
Gives Account Of Unpleasant Side,
Including Myriads of Lice.
FRENCH STOVES IN DuGouTs
Mule Driver Swcars When lie Dis
covers Taat lie Is Unhurt--Sol.
dierS In France Travel in Box
Cars.
ny GUY CARPENTER.

BALTIMORE, MD. June l.-Scrs cant
FioyG NJ Clark, wounded in France
and invalided home 20 Fort Mciienry
HOSPITAL, to-day told the story OF the
men General Pershing led to France
as the vanguard of the American ex~
peuttionary force.
II enlisted at Fort Slocum. New
York, and In June, l?li. went down
u Galveston and was signed in with
the Twenty second Infantry. 1t was
on the. WAY down that | got acquainted
with Duck Smith. He's or the books
new rs Sergeant Merle q. Smith, from
Dukoise. Pa. which is out near Pitts
burgh, But he's got such short legs
that we just natCherally called him
Duck Hes the best pal man ever
had He's got hear; Of gold ana
from the very first OFF we've shared
and shared alike. And he is sure some
talented. He's natcheral born mu-
sic!an Roy. YOU should hear Duck
blow n bloody cornet. He can play
any instrument he can pick up. 1t
dc,.'t make any difference what the
instrument is, give him five minutes
ana he begins TO get real music out
O. it
He's always got guitar with him.
and ha knows all the music there is,
all them deep Spanish songs YOU hear
OF Blues BY tho time he gets
through with the Fritzies he'll know
all the music in Europe. too
Along in 1916 they organized the
Thirty-fifth Regiment. and twenty OF
us were taken from each company Of
the Twenty-second TO help make il UP.
Then, in the spring of 1917, we were
transferred 10 the Eighteenth Regi-
mert, and went III The headquarters
company. | was made a sergeant just
before we started across.
In May the word wen! around that
we were at war strength, and from
that time on we were getting the hot
news every day that we were going
across. or that we were going to be
moved North, or were going 10 San
Frcncisco or some other place.
But nothing happened until the first
week in June. when we got the order
to pack up. The dope was that we
were going into camp At gettysburg
or at Syracuse. Nobody ! knew had "a
hint that we were going across. OF
course. everybody wanted TO 20 across.
but II they had let out where we were
going, II would have cot around in
no time.
We had fine train with Pullman
cars: they sure gave us Il fine trip.
In France you're lucky 20 get n ride
in freight ear. We went along easy,
and STOPPED in Il lot Of small towns.
They never stopped in tho bis places:
we went through most Of them At
night Finally we got to Iorncll
y. y. And that was where We got the
real dope. The word came around that
orders had come to hold up the trains
because tho ships had not reached their
docks. Then we knew we were going
over and. boy. I'm telling YOU there
was some cheering.
we went Oh board about II o'clock
at night, and that same nigh, we
started out but were later held up
for several days. l don't know what
we were waiting for, but when we
started out we had convoy of war
ships In our company we had a
Danish lad whose father was a sea
captain. This Dane kid had been In
every port in the world. Just as soon
as he saw the port he says: We are
going into the port Of - Tina,
didn't mean much TO US. hut he told
us il was in France
Wen. boy, | want 10 tell you II is
the prettiest place in the world 1t
looks just like picture. 4 hand
painted picture. II is the prettiest
town ever want 10 see.
We were a; TIA: camp fourteen
DAYS. and while We did quite lot of
drilling, we cot liberty to 90 back
-. the town. And xvi began TO learn
their lingo. they wou!Gn', let ms snond
mncn money. and a, that time they
didn't know how much money we got.
so prices were cheap. They though,
me soldiers got the same pay as their
soldiers and they didn't start to send
the prices UP for some time
me boys got 80 they could talk
pretty we'll Duck' was bear and
could make signs and hahler 10 beut