The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-06

l is either a liar or fool If a man had no sense of fear he would deserve no particular credit for being cour- ageous. Moreover, the prevailing idea that a man becomes accustomed to danger and forgets its presence Is er- roneous.
 I've always noticed" says this ath- lete-soldier, that doughboy has lots more respect for the second shell he hears coming than for the first. He knows what it means. And the fur ther he goes the more careful he is in seeking protection. That's what makes him a good soldier
 Hank smiled reminiscently as he said this.
 You remember, of course" he added, the negro soldier who was be- inS, told how the German artillery bracketed a position?"
 did. This darkey doughboy, new in the line, had listened several min utes to a non-commis officers explanation of the system of searching out a target
 You will notice," the non-com said, that if the first shell goes too far the next one will shift to the right and then one to the left. The fourth will very likely fall short. Then you better watch out. He's got you bracketed and one of those ITS is liable to make direct hit. Do you get the idea?" he inquired, pointing to the darkey doughboy.
 "Oh, yas, sir. I gifts you all right. But femme tell you one thing Dem Germans doan have to do so much fiS- urin'. If ever one of dem shells fails close to me you kin jes go and bet the Eext one is goin' to fall short. I'll be too far away for 'em to even bother bout firm de next two"
 The two cases of extreme nervous ness admitted by Gowdy were the worlds series baseball games in which he took part in 1914. when the Boston Braves played the Athletics. The sec ond was what he calls the real world s war series. beginning in the Cham pagne region of France right after the Fourth of July last year. Hank had been in other actions prior to that, but in importance and punch none of them compared to that terrific assault by the Germans when they tried to break the back of the allied line in July
 'I was almost as nervous in begin- ming that worlds series in Boston," admits Hank, "and I came out just as | lucky"
 If Hank was really nervous in that series of games the big league mag mates would do well to take steps to put all players in that frame of mind just prior to a big event. Hank was not only the hero of the series by his hitting. but his bat was so effective in it's moral effect that the Braves won four straight games. the most com- plete victory of it's kind ever known in baseball
 As there Is much dope and discus sion prior to a baseball worlds series there is necessarily many more rumors preceding a big military event and a great deal more of hard work and pre- liminary practice. It is necessary to relate the progress of this that one may understand just what 1t meant.
 EVERY SOLDIER KNEW PLANS
 In this historic battle of the Cham pagne every soldier in the Forty-sec- ond division was made to understand exactly what was planned and conse- quently what was expected of each of them. It is peculiar trait of the American soldier that he always fights better when he understands why he is doing it. This is not altogether true of other armies. The German army, particularly, never considered it nee essary or beneficial. The German pri- vate soldier is neither so curious nor so analytical as the American. He is content to leave all that to higher command. The American doughboy
 
 In the last article of Hank Gowdy's story we left the 166th infantry on board a transport bound for France. The tedious process of disembarking, receiving new equipment and entrain- ing for the training area nearer the front is too well known for repetition here. All divisions had practically the same experience
 Suffice it to say that early in No- vember Hank Gowdy found himself billeted with his regiment in what is known as the Vaucouleurs area, with in sight of the gun flashes and in plain hearing of the detonations as the heavy artillery harassed both sides along the line north of Foul. The bil- let is usually a room over barn or a stable. It is never very clean and IS always cramped. Tn France soldiers do not live in tents on a field as in America. They take up abode in the extra rooms and outhouses of the various villages There were never any cots. The men simply spread out their bed sacks if there were any, and covered with a blanket or two. slept on the stone or brick floors
 Near where Hank Gowdy heard his first artillery fire was the birthplace of Joan of Arc. Occasionally a few of the soldiers got chance to visit the little house in which she first saw the light of day. The thoughts and the oft re- peated history of this remarkable char. acter helped lot in inspiring martiar spirit among the crusading Americans.
 The work was very hard during those cold. damp days, but the Forty-second stuck to it and on December Il their hopes of moving into closer action were rewarded. In the meantime Hank Gowdy had been made non-commssioned gas officer of the regiment. It became his duty to instruct the men in the use of their masks and drill them into recog- nizing the smell of the poisonous gasses and how to give the alarm. In case of gas attack it was Hanks job to make his way along the trenches and by oc- casional sniffs to determine whether or not the danger had passed.
 He would inform the men when they could remove their masks. This was a very exacting and. at times, dangerous job. It was given to Gowdy because there was no work for him to do as color sergeant. The colors are never carried in battle Pictures that we often see of a soldier waving the colors ahead of a line in attack always gives the doughboy a laugh The only time he ever saw an American flag in France was at review or some ceremony while the division was at rest
 Sergeant Gowdy and his comrades will never forget the march they made dur ing Christmas week. The snow was heavy on the ground, the air from the Vosges mountains cut like knife. To make it worse, another snowstorm be- " A~odo~u