Tombstone epitaph., 1918-09-22
PAGE SEVEN


 countered very little actual danger; they had an easy time as compared with soldiers fighting at the front.
 We soon reached the cathedral and reported 10 Lieutenant Elm. He also had defended his fatherland at safe distance and here in the city. freshly shaved an! in immaculate attire he loof.so very presentable
 The contrast was vivid as he stood before Us Wi.o were torn. dirty and cov- cred with blood. with unkempt hair. wI'h hrardS grown and caked with mud and Girt.
 w "cr" naliGed "a wait so we sat down and looked around us. The "hp-' D was full Of wounded: many iie'i nidrr thc hands Of the doctors. They were carried ont to make room for others, The dead were carried to one side. where whole rows of corpses lay W" counted more than sixty
 On orr way to vitry we had begged some .rc.d. hut We were still hungry and -9r iicl'! kitchens were nowhere in sight. Tac crews of our field kitchens as w",i a, "ur forage officers and non c"n.:i!SS ,Ir"d officers prefer to defend ''riI faiaprl8nd many kilomcters be- h.nd n" hat,le fronts. They did not Care ah"ut us as long as they were nui obliged to go within range of the artillery fire. C0mradeShip has it's Limitations with them.
 bthcr field kitchens were near by They had prepared more food than their companies needed Many for whom they had cooked will never eat esain We were Invited to come and get whatever we wanted.
 We had scarcely finished eating when We had to march on. Presently we were joined by more members of our company. Our captain appeared. One of our officers reported to him the number missing. He stepped in front of tho company and said cheerfully, Good morning, men" although it was seven o'clock in the evening. A growl was the only response. We were then ordered to go to the wagons standing at the north side of the town where each man was to supply himself with
  We gathered at the wagons at 9 30 o'clock ana each man took 800 car tridses, h.s three grenades and matches to fight ilen. on the way to the wag. ons we ss" everywhere formations be ing hast..y organized from stray sol dferS ani we received The impression Of sor.c great activity in preparation.
 d rents. As We took our places we saw the streets filled win troops wearing special uniforms to protect them against the weather. These uniforms consisted of n suit of weather1,roof clothing. cap. such baggage as lnust be taken on march. d tent cloth. tent sticks. dishes and. with the pioneers, trench tools. Thus equipped. we stood in the rain and waited, ignorant of what lay before us.
 We were ordered to take the breech locks out of the guns and put them in our bread bags The guns now were no good for showing We now began to understand That lay before us. A night attacl; was planned w:,h
 
 measures which hai been taken wer> taken SO tha. we would not shoot at one another in he darkness
 We stood and waited until eleven o'clock. when the order suddenly came [" go into quarters. We did not know what to make of this after all the preparations. We cnu!d tel from the ,Irt fra h.. .l ,yIn .l that the battle had not leSSeneh in violence. The sky elowed, ilumined by the burning villages and farms.
 On the way to our quarters We heard fhe officers saying among themselves that final trial had heen intended to defeat the French This had been the reason behind the prepare; ;ions for the night attack which had now been called off.
 Headquarters apparently had de cided otherwise. Perhaps 1t was known there that nothing could he accom- plished by attacking and the order was given fo heGin ihe ret eat which was T-:t info effect the next morning at six o'clock. We did not realize then that this was tO he our last night in Vitry.
 We were sheltered in a shed for the night. As we were very tired, we soon were fast asleep. We were aroused at four o'clock in the morning. everyone was given a loaf of bread and ordered to fill lis canteen with water. after which the march began. Although we were ignorant of our destination. the inhabitants of Vitry seemed to under stand where we were going and they stcod on the streets throwing us sig nificant glances.
 Everywhere the feverish movement was on. We stopped fin front of the town hall. Here the captain told us that because of difficulty in the terrain our troops had to vacate their posi- tions and retire to nearby heights and occupy new defenses. With that he turned around and pointed to a ridge on the horizon.
 There we shall make a stand and wait for the enemy" he said. No will arrive today and in a few days we may send picture postal cards to your homes from Paris"
 ID he Continued