The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-31

fellow struck squarely on the upper front of our kitchen with crash not to be described, tearing down the whole structure and wrecking every thing in the immediate vicinity, and wounding sevVral soldiers in the street. When the smoke and dust cleared away we found one of our secretaries lying with one leg horribly mangled, and his head seriously bruised He was given first aid and hurried into an ambulance bound for the nearest hospital I have never heard from him. He was fine fellow-a Methodist Episcopal preacher from Vim, Ark.
 You wonder what became of me? We'll, the same old story. When I got up from where I had fallen found
 not bruise, no injury whatever, but badly shocked. I gave thanks to God and went to work to relieve the suf-
 ferers I could recite many instances some worse than this. where my life 1 has been spared most wonderously. The old Twenty-t third division has more than done her part in the win ming of the greatest battle in the worlds biggest war, or the biggest bat l tie in the worlds greatest war, just 1 as you will.
 Am glad I was there, though there are some things I pray to forget. | I have tramped through mud and
 rain day and night, lay in shell holes
 and ditches without food or water; half 1 frozen and more than half crazy, until
 I feel like there is rest coming to me. One night after three days and nights | T yay,f a N n
 line farm, a distance of two miles, to 1 find a little sleep and something to eat. | I found a little shed 20 or 30 yards
 back of the old demolished farmhouse, where I spread my blankets to sleep. It
 was a dark, cold and rainy night, but
 when I had gotten safely wrapped in my blankets and had congratulated
 myself on my good fortune and had offered up prayer for my dough
 boys who were less fortunate, I went i to sleep But I was too close to the main road to the front and the Boches
 were always shelling the roads. I had slept about an hour when they began
 Ito fire on the old farmhouse, already
 destroyed. I was awakened by 1858 as they went screaming overhead. I lay still and thought of my two girls at
 Judson and hoped I might be spared ] again, as I had been so many times be- fore.
 Very soon I heard one other big fell l low coming low down. l said, This one will just about do the job" But it didn't Just over the top of the trees 1 it came and dropped 10 feet behind my shed, with scream and crash unlike any other noise outside of hell. It lburied in the soft earth, exploded. tore a great hole in the ground and filled
 the walls of my little shed with shrap- mel holes I counted g holes in the wall next to where the shell struck
 some going through the wall on the op- posite side.
 Tho fact I was lying on the ground accounts for my escape. It also ac- counts for the terrible shaking up got | for the concussion was awful How ever, I refused to more my quarters thinking one place was as good as an other. '"The angel of the Lord encamp. eth round about them that fear Him. l I didn't sleep and more that night
 and not much for many nights thereaf- | ter.
 Judge wilkerson, first lieutenant came down from Germany with me. He left yesterday for Birmingham. He die
 a brave soldiers part in the fierces' fighting of the war How he escaped
 death on many occasions is miraculous Not many months until twill be with you.