Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-03-05
WAUSAU BOY IN
AIR RAID OVER PARIS

The Pilot is permitted to print an
extract OF a letter from one of our
soldier boys in France, giving a most
vivid description of the personal ex-
perience, observation and impression
of the air raid over Paris, France, a
few weeks ago.
you will be interested to know
about the air raid the other even
ing. AS you have probably read the
whole thing in the papers long
while ago, it will undoubtedly be dead
news to you. We had gone to bed
and were asleep when / awoke and
thought 1 heard some queer sounds
outside. Gradually the shrill, harsh,
sounds of the siren whistles became
clear, the rush of machines out in
the streets increased, horns honked,
whistles blew, and the unforgettable
drone of the aeroplane motors filled
the air outside. Above this could
clearly be heard the sullen b-o-o-m-b
of the anti-aircraft heavy guns. l
jumped out of bed, went in and routed
out-tried to rout out Major Ander-
son and Major Keasby. They called
me all sorts of a fool and told me to
go back to bed, said / was dreaming.
Well, | went back, rapidly proceeded
to dress and pretty soon Major Reas-
by said, BE CORY, | do behave the
lads really heard something L
yelled out, you will believe me, will
YOU Inside of the shake of lambs
tail, both of them were out jumping
into their clothes and soon we were
in the street. We saw and heard
things that were awe inspiring and
never to be forgotten. The sky was
full of French aeroplanes, they are
lighted up to protect them from their
own guns. They few here, then there,
then some formed in groups and flew
together. Abave this, once in a while,
could be distinguished the heavy
drOne of the German Gotha machines.
Honestly, it's enough to drive one
frantic, that heavy insistent drone;
then you get terribly angry, feel that
if you could only get your fingers on
the throat of one of those devils, and
then afterward you feel sort of gen.
orally filled with an inSistent and con-
tinual determination to keep at this
thing over here until all such ruth
lessness, as it is, is wiped off the
earth forever. Newspaper Hate
Raid Death toll is now 45, and in
jured list swells to 207' Killed, As,
(31 in Paris and IA in the suburbs;
IL women and children.) Twenty
bombs, torpedoes and incendiaries fell
in one suburb alone.
A youth was killed on the thresh-
hold of his home, who had just left
work in the factory. In one house
a man was injured and his two chill
dren, aged three and seven, were
killed A baby girl perished and forty
persons were injured in the house and
its vicinity. Imagine Baby Mary be-
ing that baby girl Well, that's
just it. The BRITISH hunnishness of
it all is eternally ingrained in one.
saw women and children gather un-
der arches for protection. Then would
come the whistle of a torpedo through
the air and Immediately after ter
rifle crash and resounding echoes
everywhere. 1t was enough to make
anyone wish to put such thing out
of the world forever. And until one
experiences it, you cannot begin even
to know the horribleness of it all.
But in spite of all this, few French
pOOp1S WSIO Oh IllC oCICOto, duu IuOoO
that were seemed utterly unafraid,
except for the older people, women
and children. The tenor of the French
in Paris on such things is surely won
derful. So paid the Kaiser his deadly
compliments, and so did 1 first pass
through my baptism of fire. 1 i'm
agine l feel much more keenly about
this than a Frenchman would because
it was my first experience, while it is
almost a common event for them.
They only say 'C'est la guerre-it's
only war! Whereas l was thinking
of mother and father and--and--
when, this was occurring, if they had
been here and among the victims!"