The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-19
BIRMINGHAM MAN IS SURE ON TRIGGER IN
 HIS FRENCH TANK
Tells of Spectacular Advance and How His Buddy
 Was Killed by a Lucky Shot

With the American Forces in France October 30 Correspondence of the Asso' ciated Press.) )--An1erican fighters in the
 French two-nnan tanks ran into some hot work in front of Romagne during the American arnnYsis advance along the west bank of the Mouse early in October, and Sergt.i James Averett of Birmingham, Ala. with his buddy" did their share in giving the Hun his due Averett s
 buddy was killed in the thick of the fight by a bullet that entered peer hole in the side of the tank and struck him fair in the face.
 It was during the American push in the Argonne sector. Averett's tank went along with lot of other brother tanks in line with the American infan- trymen crowding them in the rear. Averett was the. machine gunner of his tank, while his buddy ran the engine and steered the tank.
 T was so near a number of Germans encountered in a shallow trench that l could see thetterror on their faces when my gun began to let fly bullets almost in their very. faces,7 Sergeant Averett said. These were the first boehes I ran into On this drive, and I certainly let them have if as fast as my old machine could fire. and that was some fast, and just kept going ahead and pounding away until every last one of them was stretched out on the ground.
 Passing beyond this hastily dug trench I, in the meantime, watching my broth- CTS on my right and left, and at the same time keeping tab on the doughboys coming up l got sight of little batch of Germans behind hump in the hill along the roadway, or what had been a roadway, before our heavy artillery opened up that morning. These were machine gunners I soon learned, anu bullets began to splash off the tanks sides, particularly those, which struck a glaneing blow.
 T ordered my tank buddy at the wheel to keep after those gunners if it cost us all four wheels. He did, and we went up after them sort of sideways, and l got around on to the side of that hump, and my brother on the other side was doing the same and we wiped that bunch out in jiffy-I believe it was by enfilad- ing fire as the officers call it.
 Sergeant Averett explained that the tank men, all of whom were Americans using tanks, invented by the French, always watched each other closely, or sndeavofed to, the idea being to keep a lunlred yards or so apart for their mu- tual protection, and it being important also that they not get too far ahead of 1he infantry.
 ""Just beyond the hump was clunp of woods and we began to pour bull AL csk,. AxtA in. led, "and- for a time there was some smoke arising above the treetops, so we Snew there were boches in there. About Jour of us opened up in full force and ,howered that woods With lead.
 'The machine gun answers were pret- y stiff for awhile, as we went forward, put I just Kept pepper1ng away and alking to my buddy all the time and cling him what we were going to do---- Jean out that woods. My brothers on ,ither side someway had the same lunch The doughboys back of me, oes were firing right along with US nd the Bochs in that thicket must have bought hell had broken ioose, because rst thing | knew the firing virtually topped and 1 figured all the Boches had een killed or had decided to beat 1t efore we all got there in force.
 Along about this time I noticed that he tank boys on the right were swing- ng around the side of the clump of rees, and from the position of their .uns and the speed of their tanks I udged that they were giving fits to ome Fritzes running away. then witched so as to run alongside the hicket, at a distance. ond Joined the ank boys going around the end.
 Just about that time there was olley of machine gun bullets, and some ntitank gun stuff. too, from hill a it to my loft, suddenly my tank just egan to tremble or something, and hen stopped, and shuddered all over.
 looked down and my buddy was imp in his seat. One of those damned bullets had come In through my oudy's peephope and hit him square in he face.
 My buddy was dead, His final lutch on the throttle shut off the gas nd the old tank stopped, and there I ,as, and the other boys went bn That's bout all Il know about that fight, or whatever it was, and I'm waiting round for another tank and another buddy too, to take me lip front again there filings are doing every minute. his tank b business is great business for hesboys who like to shoot"
 Averett said that when he went into ction he determined to keep count of he number of Germans his machine un touched off," but when he began ) use his gun he-could think of noth- 1 lg but a purpose to spread death and ! estruction and that he quickly lost | ount of the number he saw fall.