Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-03-11
NEAR DEATH ON
FRENCH FRONT
Harrisburg Boy Has Exciting
Time Facing Boches
"Over There"

! Gordon L. Werner, who was grad
uated from the Technical High
| School in the class of 1917, is now
with the colors." lie is a son of
George A. Werner, 214S North Fifth
street. He tells wildly of life in the
trenches, and of his experiences. in
a recent letter TO his brother, Leo A.
Werner, 514 Mahontongo street
His letter follows:
FEB. Is. 1918.
Dear Leo:
Haven't written you as vet
though, I've received quite a few
from you since landing on this side
A person doesn't feel like writing
much here, because the things of
real information and interest are
tabooed' by censor regulations. I've
been asked in some of my letters to
tell something about myself, and the
duties l perform. Well, soon after
coming to this camp, | was placed
in the camp surgeons Office as or
derly, which job I've held ever since
| am dispatch bearer to the different
headquarters in the district and
these errands quite frequently re-
quire the use of a horse. NY knowl-
full to me. as it is frequently neces-
sary TO visit various French outfits.
l believe / have been fairly success
full as the Major put in my recon-
mendation for first class private to
the chief surgeon. This will in
crease my pay by three dollars, but
stand in line l am told. for further
promotion. Have had the oppor-
tunity lately to be assigned for tenn
.l,aNw 4 Il
and on the front. Was absent from
camp about three weeks. My ex-
perience while there was such that
it won't be forgotten in a hurry. ]
feel sure | missed death on two oc-
feel sure / missed deoth on two oc-
casions, once, during an air raid on
Paris on the night of (cenSored) and
again, when a French ammunition
train was blown up, killing twenty
six and injuring two hundred. Now
don't think I'm lying or exaggerat-
ing, for I'm not. One of our officers
here at the hospital was there also.
In the case of the air raid. we hap
pened to be quartered right in the
bonn barded area. In our immediate
vicinity, twenty people or more were
killed outright. The affair was very
exciting, without doubt. I may say
here that l have taken out the max
imum amount of insurance (ten
thousand dollars.) I do not know,
but that / may be disabled for life
a person never can tell-and in that
case, I'd have monthly income to
depend upon. I've made fifteen
twelve months. Guess he's received
the first allotment of it by this time.
SavagneSs
An interesting incident, indicative
of one kind of people fighting, oc-
Cured at the village of (censored)
on the front. An English Sanitary
officer on his daily inspections was
conscious of a peculiar odor in the
hut of a Bornese soldier. He did
not mention the fact till a few days
later. when the odor became posi-
lively sickening. He made a search
of the place, and what do you think
he found? Five putrefying German
heads done up in blanket. Well
that savage put up an awful fight
before the cause of the trouble was
finally removed. He seemed to be
keeping those heads as souvenirs for
the folks back home. These people
and the Zulu's of South Africa are
more trouble than they're worth.
One day they fight the French and
the next day Germans.
AS near as l can tell. this war will
never be decided by fighting. 1t is
all very well for the people back
home to say the Dutch are licked.
but just the same they held every
thing from Antwerp to the Darda-
nelles. If they are starving. the
healthy robust prisoners that we
take. show no i'll effects from it. I
/ ,hink the Allies would do we'll to
try starvation if it would give their
men the physical appearance of
these Germans, / see every day.
They don't worship the Kaiser like
our newspapers back home say they
do. All they think Of is Won Hin
| idenburg and Won Mackensen.
I have talked a great deal with
them, that is, as far as my limited
knowledge of the language would
permit. ! find that quite few of
them have relatives in the u. s. Re-
Gently. however. orders have been
enforced forbidding us to have any
intercourse with prisoners of war.
| They regret this a lot because of
the tobacco and food we used to give
them. These fellows are alright, but
they're fighting for a bad cause.
Well. I'll close for tonight, but will
| write soon again.
Cf.aaA..nIx