The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-08-10
Shell Lands in West Dunn
merston Boys Sleep
ing Quarters
WRITES HOME FROM
HOSPITAL IN FRANCE
Americans Tapped Wires and Learned
of Enemy Plan to Shell Town Aus
trian Long Range Gun Smashed by
Artillery Fire.

Artillery Fire.
Private Walter J. Phillips of tho
lOlst q. s. engineer train has written
the following letter to his mother. Mrs.
j. A. Phillips Of West Dummerston.
dated in France June 27, written in a
hospital where he was taken after being
wounded by shell explosion:
Dear Mother:-
1t makes no difference where I am.
mother, | never forget to drop you
iIne | am now in the hospital, but not
very sick. Am getting along fine. and
hope to be with my company soon. I
am sick of this place, and will be hearth
iy glad to be back with the bows again.
Tor 1t Is no fun to be lying in a hospital
| saw George Willard in this place. too.
1t IS the hospital that the lo1st en-
gineers built when we first came to
France, almost year ago.
The second Sunday in June I was
guarding the trucks at 4 a. m. l could
Just see the German lines, also saw four
derman observation balloons up. Then
a German plane came right over NV
head and dropped two smoke bombs
near the generals place. Soon after
that the shells began to arrive. At 40
the first shell landed in this little town
that had not been shelled in over two
years. That Sunday morning thew
shelled US for half an hour. Thev sent
over between 30 and As shells. then
gave about the same to some other lit
tie towns around us.
we have some pretty good men in
our regiment and they found out we
would be shelled at noon and at 4 in
the afternoon. They had tapped the
wires, and at noon exactly the she'll
ing commenced with big eight-ineh
shells. Two Frenchmen lived in a
corner house, and the first shell got
them both. One was lying in bed, and
~ pieces of she'll went into his BODY.
The other was standing up shaving, and
a piece OF shell as large as my hand
went through his heart Ten horses
were killed at the same time Every
thing was terribly torn up.
Near o clock our sergeant said we
would be shelled again. Another fell
low said we would not. The only thing
that talks IN the army is money, so so
francs were put up. We were all wait
ing for 0 clock, and at one minute of
the top sergeant looked at his watch
and said shell will soon be on its
way to this little town. He had not
more than said that, when we heard the
explosion of the Hun artillery. Then
we heard the shell.
We all made for the fields. The Ger
nhsaruatiar, l.JI
going down the road, and followed us
with their shells, but they did not get
any of us that time.
We were told that we would be
shelled again at s clock and 10: but
by good luck chance shot from our
artillery got their gun. 1t was an
Austrian long-range gun on a railroad
1t would come up near the lines, then
go back again, but we got it going
back, train and all.
That stopped them for two or three
days and then they shelled us again
at $50 IN the morning. AS it was still
early another fellow and ] went back to
bed. 1t was not much of a house we
We're In, but we were up one flight.
About an hour after we went back to
bed German shell struck the place and
instantly killed my chum five feet from
me. The same she'll got me, too. l new
er saw him carried out He was fine
fellow, and did guard duty with me
IN New Hampshire year ago last
spring, and we had been together ever
since. His name was Vinel. Your sis
ter and her husband in Lowell, Mass,
know his people well. That was the
only shot that came over at that time.
After the shelling was over in the
early morning, and before we had gone
back to bed, we went all round the
place, inspecting the damage done. The
cook house was near where / was sleep
ing. One shell got the cook house. 1
just wish you could have seen it.
One of the K. p. was sleeping right
back of the cook house. When the first
shell came over that morning he
jumped and ran, with his clothes In his
hand. There is a little bit of woods