Evening star., 1919-01-24

lights Of North Capitol street. 1t
isn't as wide a street az the Champs
des Elysees, but how good 1t looks
to u.s.
These were the sentiments Of three
former members of the old Sd District
of Columbia Infantry on seeing
Washington last night for the first
time since they went to war against
the Huns. They had all been wound
ed in the heavy fighting in and
around scissors and at Chateau
Thierry. These boys, alfswearing the
wound stripe and two of them
bearing results of German gas, ar
rived in this country on, the trans
port Huron at Newport News last
Sunday.
They are Privatks Joseph Clements.
81 Virginia avenue southeast, OF
sion: Daniel H. Campbell, 1915 10Th
street northwest, wounded and gass-
ed at Chateau Thierry and the
Marne, a member of Company II, 9th
Infantry, I'd Division. and Sergt- Rob
ert Newton of Ballston, Va, Company
days with a hole in his side from
machine gun bullet before being
taken back to q first aid dressing
station.
trict of Columbia Regiment passed
night on their way to Camp Meade
for rehabilitation. They were re-
leased yesterday on twenty-four-
hour furlough to visit their parents
Say They Passed Through Hell.
A reporter for The Star found
these men at Camp Meade and got
their story from them. They all
agreed that theirs should be some
story.
"For we have been through hell and
have seen death stalking by our side;
have seen our buddies stricken down.
and have viewed the devastation
caused by the Germans" was the
verdict Of these veterans of the war,
who had been fifteen months in
France. but none Of whom was over
twenty-five years of age.
"Sixty days in a trench in the
front lines. Not the rest areas where
an occasional shell strikes, but the
actual front line, with 'Heinie' con-
tinually popping at you when you
poke hand above the TRENCH" was
one Of the incidents related by Sergt.
Newton. Sixty days straight, with
tha hair on my face so long that
when the barber finally shaved me
he had to remove the heavy growth
with scissors before using the razor.
We slept when we could. and don't
believe we averaged two hours out Of
/ the twenty-four. My pal, Clements,
over there, although he was attached
to different unit, was in the same
front-line sector and went through
the same experience. Over the top
did you say? Yes. I've been over the
top Ave times and have gotten my
putchman, but 1t isn't the pleasantest
with three-foot pigsticker. How
ever. it was us or them, and usually
they got theirs.
AT the second battle of the Marne
was guiding a platoon around a
small hill toward a particularly mean
machine gun nest that had been CIV
ing trouble. We were not advancine,
but were merely sounding out the
enemy. when something hit me in the
side and / was dead to tho world for
the next ten hours. Eight days 1 lay
there waiting for help. During that
time my weight dropped thirty
pounds, pounds ana when ! got out Of the
that was all right. figure I'm lucky
to have come out alive. Clements
over there will tell you Of the nights
We sQuatted down deep in the bot
tom Of the trench while the sky over
theirs, passing overhead ia an endless
stream. No mans land during the
second Marne fight waa literally a
place Tor no man to venture forth,
Between. enemy flares and the light
me Foa s ahsI reason i was 1t rPp ap
patrol work was almost impossible.
and the battle turned into one Of
straight out and out lighting"