The Butler weekly times and the Bates County record. (Butler, Mo.) 1918-1950, 1919-04-17

SOI val 81, 1SAS'
Sunday afternoon.
Dear Dad:
Last letter ! wrote you ! did not
tell you very much that was going on,
or of what had gone on before. But
now that everything is over and it
will soon be time to kill the fatted
calf, | guess had better write you a
little. Am going to describe to you
the route we have taken and what we
have done since we left New York.
Dates may not be concise but that
does not matter very much. We
sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey,
May Goth, on the X. NJ. S. S. SaXonia.
Steamed up, to Halifax, NOVA Scotia
There we joined a convoy of 10 other
transports and lett there the next
morning. A few days out at sea we
picked up fleet OF Sub chasers. II
of them, and one observation balloon.
Had one run in with U boats, and re-
ports were that two of them were
sunk by the chasers. Looked to me
just like little target practice.
We landed at Tilbury England al
ter " days OF Sub lodging Went
across England to Camp Morn Hill,
where we crossed the Channel on a
fast little boat The Viper. First
French soil we saw was LaHarve.
Took the Oh omnes 10, ChevauN
81 Frog box cars and after two days
and two nights unloaded at Anglers,
an inland town. Got in Anglers at
midnight and liked l2 miles to our
billets. Naturally we were all in.
After 7 days a, this place was sent
on detachment service to LeMans,
France, where we organized re-
mount station and bought about 5000
head OF horses. Was there weeks
and joined my outfit at Camp Coet-
quidon. This camp is where Ma
poleon disbandel las FAMOUS army,
and the word Coe1quidon means the
City of Death. a small town near
by mad been evacuated on account OF
the Black Plague which destroyed
so many OF Napoleon men. Lett
this camp Aug, y Tor the advanced
War Zone
Went OH the line UP in Alsace, and
on Aug. 2o Battery A fired its first
shot at the boche, the regiment put
ting over 2ooo gas shells. We had
no casualties on this sector. One
gun went over cliff killing two
horses and breaking a leg for one
man, who was asleep Oh the gun
We hiked about 200 miles to Nancy,
France, where we were scheduled 10
take part i'll the St. Alihiel push,
which we did. Alter this We mixed
on to the Argonne Front, where we
in the drive that was the
decisive point III bringing on the
.Armistice. We were in the advance
9 days, and never had my shoes OH,
never shaved and never slept much.
Our horses had nearly gone to pieces
on the long hike, and we just had to
use our main strength and awkward
ness to bring the guns up so We
could give our Doughboys some sup
port.
We left Alsace with I47 horses,
and when we went in ON Sept. 20, we
had only SO, and they were SO weak
they did not do us much good. One
of the biggest artillery preparations
in the history OF this war was put
on the morning of the Goth. My gun
alone firing $50 rounds. Started at
! 20 in the morning, firing ? hours
on barbed wire entanglements. And
a creeping barraee Of two hours TN
der which the doughboys advanced
TO show how strong the resistance
was 1900 OF our boys were killed and
in one kilometre that morn
ing. OF course all, or at least
most of them were light casualties,
but just the same they were out OF
the fray. | saw sights that | will
as long as | live. The
next day we advanced about iour
miles and we spent the night ont in
the open, and that night | slept like
a log We were all tired out alter
and pulling the heavy gun
carriages out of the mire. Myself
and two other fellows crawled under
IN old camouflage net against the
wheel of our gun, and slept the sleep
If the just.
The day before we had been stuck
II the mud and Fritz was dropping
lis us all around us and the dickens
If it was our horses could not pull
hem out. | never cussed horse S"
much in all my life as did that day
We would all get on the wheels
md push them out and they would
lot go ten feet till they would hang
Ip again. But we were pretty lucky
'nly one man being hit. Picked oil
few horses, though. The third day {
We advanced to Cheppy. The field, :
we're strewn, with dead men, packs, ,
files, ammunition, and all sorts OF S
quipment. The Dutch had had b
Machine gun nest right outside OF II
,heppy of about so or IS guns. They g
ad made it hard going for our boys. q
We did not stop here but went on to |
he village of Carpentry. Our bat /
cry was the first Artillery to ente- n
his town. Passed Company B OH h
he road. They were digging gun O
along the roadside. v
iajor Miles had gone on ahead OF z
S and had sent back runner saying I,
re were under direct observation OF s.
ne enemy. 1t was a good rock road i,
nd down hill SO we mounted up on I
ur guns and went into Charpentry
n the double time We went into d
ction right away as the doughboys a,
ere hard pressed and needed our W
lpport. On Sept. 2oth Sunday c,