The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-04-21

the Canadian fighters like a game bird
hates a red dog-for they know them
they know that they shoot to kill, and
that their creed is mo prisoners" The
Hun dies with his boots on and the
Canadian gets his boots, if you please
and believe me, from what Sergeant
Cormack says there have been times
when he Canadians needed them.
II recall an incident" said Sergeant
Cormack, about a young fellow from
a western regiment-the boy was from
Montana This was in the early stages
of the war Our equipment, our boots
and toys were as inferior as the worst
like so much paper done up into wearing
apparel. We envied the Germans their
stolid, well-buit boots and we envied
them so much that we went after them.
This young westerner l speak of, was
sent out on duty to one of the listening
posts-a shell hole nothing more or less
I've seen them within 80 yards of the
German trenches. The pictures shown
in Birmingham this week will give you a
glimpse of them at 200 yards range. The
westerner didn't return; it was an awful
interval and the platoon officer became
very much alarmed about the boy we
waited and waited for some sign of him,
and four hours passed before he re-
turned, and when he did and was asked
marked:
Il went out to that listening post to
get a pair of boots and had to kill nine
Germans before l could get a pair to
fit me- -
II have all my life and so has every
body else, heard of the lack of humor that
the Englishman is accused off, Sergeant
Cormack said, ''but 1 want to relate a
little incident which. to me, reveals the
Englishman as the possessor of very
clever and very appreciative sense of
hurnor One day in London there were
three of us-one of Pershing's men. my
self. a Canadian, and an Englishman-
talking. The Englishman had been in
since the first day of the war; he had
been .over the top 10 times he was relat-
ing this when the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
man-said: How many times did you
say you'd been over the top? Thirteen
or IA replied the Englishman sauvely
On the level? asked Pershings man,
still playing the role of doubling
Thomas Well drawled the English
man, 4 wouldn't exactly say that, don't
| you know; there were few shell holes
here and there. For humor, could any
thing be more delicate or dainty
| you've asked me- said Sergeant Cor
| mack to tell you about when and now
| was wounded. 1t was all very simple
| One afternoon I was walking about at
tending strictly to my own business, not
| bothering a mothers son of German
| on the face of the earth. smoking my
| flag, when suddenly a burst of shrapnel
completely swallowed us up. My pal,
good, old Bissell, rigt near me, was done
| IN with SO pieces of the stuff ground into
| him, while the unlucky 10 fell to my lot
| The next thing / knew | was at the
clearing station, where Y of the pieces
were ripped out; the thirteenth had land
ed and meant to stay; it went into my
| stomach; right at the pit of the stom-
| ach between the pit and the big vein
| leading upward. The clearing station
| shipped me on and when l got to Kings
Canadian Red Cross hospital, London
via the Edinburgh war hospital, Ban
sour, Scotland, the physicians decided
| they would feed me UP bit and get me
| in better physical condition before they
| operated. During my time at the nos
| pital / was enjoying myself tremendous
lly: eating all 1 could get and flirting
with the pretty nurses. wien one day the
| King. who was at Windsor, commanded
| that 20 noncommissioned Canadian Off
| GERS from the hospital be sent to dine
with him L was chosen and WENT but
4 the day proved too much for me, Tor the
| intense heat, too much to eat, too much
Iexertion, and / was right back where
4 + came from-in bad physical condi-
| ton and unable to be operated on
"Being invalided back in Canada,
and staying in the hospital at WINNIE
peg for sometime" Sergeant Cormack
! said, Il finally got to New York; |