Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-01-23
NEWS FROM FRANCE
BY Pennsylvania Men Who Are
There.

Letters written home which tell of
actual experiences.
Its about ten bells let loose. re-en-
forced each minute with ten more helIs.'
This is British Tommy's description
Of the war front, the trenches under fire,
and is contained in a letter written by
on eof the boys over there to a friend
in this city. He calls his letter The
Story of a Tommy from the trench to the
grave
Despite this designation of how the
men feel when they are facing the Ger
man guns, he says they go to the front
laughing and joking, with a fife and
drum corps in the lead, as though on a
holiday. The feeling of the allied and
American troops seems to be, as he de-
clares, What's the use of worrying?'
"Out of the mass of letters from the
boys who are getting ready to go over
the top come some that speak of home
sickness that they are bravely attempting
to conceal. They are filled with pathos
despite words intended to cheed those
they left behind. In one of the letters
here subjoined a youth who writes that he
expects to be as tall as his father by the
time he returns. asks his father and
mother to send him their pictures, be-
cause he wants to look on their sun
shiny faces that he may be cheered when
homesick
Another writes that if in some of his
letters there may be a kick against his
lot, it is not real, but means a passing
pang of Inconsistencies and asks to be
forgiven for registering a complaint. Am
well and happy to be serving my coun-
try, writes one and by doing so expresses
the sentiment embodied in all the letters
received"
The sympathy shown in the follow
ing paragraph from one of the men at
the front is typical of the American
soldier
Everything here is moving along
smoothly. We are at the Verdun front,
where we have successfully manouvered
a big offensive, with very slight loss to
the French, their artillery preparation
was so perfect. In fact at our concen-
tration hospital we have almost as. many
German "besses.'' or wounded, as French,
All the Boches are very glad to be pris-
oners. and they have good cause to be,
for they are not only out of the war but
are treated fully as well as the French
soldiers themselves, with the exception of
the fact that they lose most of their but
tons and other equipment to Americans
for souvenirs. A little of the tobacco
that you gave to Clara to send has been
smoked by the German wounded we have
here The poor devils look so forlorn
and frendleSs that we. can not help but
pity them They all seem to have the
starved out. / can speak enough French
by this time to understand fairly well,
and had quite conversation with one
German who could speak some French.
He told me that our fire had been so
terrible that regiment after regiment of
his fellows had been destroyed in the
trenches. and that. when the big rush
started. he was one of only forty men
left to defend a section of the front line,
and that even they were practically
worthless for owing to our destruction
of their communication, lines they had
had nothing to eat for three days"
The spirit of the Boche is well
shown in the following letter by tell
ing of the handling of the wounded
men.
our work. | guess YOU all discovered
by now that my letters are more de-
criptive than personal Indeed. all ! can
say about myself is am well and happy to
be SERVING my country. VIII follow your
advice and do my duty as good soldier
should If at any time a note of de-
spondency or few kicks creep into my
letters, it is Just passing pang of home-
sickness, that must come out and can't
be helped. On the whole, am cheerful
and contented and glad to be here. Wee
all hope to be home before next summer
The Germans are licked now. and when
our men get at them | expect to go with
them right into Berlin.
will tell YOU about how tn ewounded
are u6tQieQ. Jfle outset. WnGn a man
in a trench is wounded if he can walk he
goes to a temporary fist-aid outfit-gen-
orally in a dugout about twenty feet I'M
derground. in the third-line trench. If he
is hit bad the stretcher bearers put him
on a Stretcher and carry him back Right
here I want to state that the stretcher
bearers part in this war is one of the
most dangerous, as well as one of the
most eXasperating, Jobs in the army If
a man is wounded in charge and falls
between the lines in No Mans Land the
stretcher bearer goes out under cover of
darkness and carries him in Some of
them make as high as forty trips a night.
If a glare bomb or star she'll or search
light picks him out he is promptly shot
down by the Germans. The Red Cross
is not regarded whatever. In daytime
they are constantly in the trenches, car
fruausu..s.srsssus.