The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1919-05-23
HRGONNE FOREST

This is short account of the battle of the Argonne
Forest and Hill 272 the battle of the warRoxy B.
Bunyard, Co B. 10th Infantry LIST Division A. p O. 729
A. E. F., Germany.
Tell me, my man, with the armess sleeve,
And the limp in your step you walk,
tale of the bold that smote the Hun,
When his aircastles powdered to chalk.
I've read the stories, and heard recount
OF the deeds that were done in France
But want first-hand tale from you,
That breathes of Battle, Romance"
""Wel, Comrade, I'm ripe with the stuff you crave,
I've been where the best men fell,
And I'll spin you a tale of the old Sixteenth,
And its part in the Argonne He'll
tale of conflict unparalleled,
In the shadows of Argonne Wood,
Where the Prussian Boar in his recessed hills
Sneering and arrogant stood.
The Sixteenth was hurtled into the line.
On the wings of the night and rain,
Just a few short minutes till hour
Before them all unknown plain
And the fog closed in and the smoke screen hid
The face of friend or foe,
But the hour had come. and the word passed
The watchword then "GO".
And go we did, in the pitch black morn,
Rocked by the thunderous fire,
Through the shrapnels hail and the gas that choked
Over, and through the wire.
Then te gray day broke, and we found ourselves:
Where we had no right to be,
We had passed through the of machine guns there
In the dark we could not
AS dog in fight will snarl.
You've seen with his fangs exposed
In the heat of canine quarrel
We charged the fends, and we rushed their posts,
While they called on their Colt for aid!
But we barred their CUTS with the bayonet,
And the use Of our hand grenade.
Came blasting breath of flaming breath 4
From Hill Two Seventy-Tw
From their pits the rats hurled forth their loads
I'll say those Huns shot true.
But the stuff in our veins turned to poison fire.
We savered in cold grim hate,
The lust of the kill in every eye,
We charged where they lay in wait. s.f
Forward and on, as true and sure
As the rush of the surging sea;
We slashed their ranks and we bombed their dens,
AS we laughed in unholy gee. M
On and up and over the crest
There was nothing could bar way,
And the Kamerad cry, when their belts run low,
Meant nothing, our law was, "SLAY".
Digging in on the further slope,
We in heish plight,
For they laid down their cans" from the flank to the left
Threw over the gas from the right.
We gazed to both sides, and we peered to the rear,
For glimpse OF our comrades spoor,
As strained for the cheering note
OF our counter-battery roar
But our friends to the left and those to the right.
We're behind, while were ahead I'D
And the fire of our big ones dying out,
Their voices were SILENT dead
Then the SINNERS of mules and the orderlies.
And the men who cooked up our chow,
Picked up their Sprngfelds and entered the lines
There few left to cook for now.
For seven days held the line,
While the heavens rained death and blight.
Then the o. d. troops came up our left,
And the line Strengthened out our right.
The dumps were repenishsd, the welcoming roar
OF the heayies came laundering up,
And the air grew hot with the kiss Of the steel
Thct bore no trademark of Krupp.
Relieved the Sixteenth gathered her brood.
Limped off like stricken beast ss
Licking her wounds and reckoning her dead
Who lay on the hill to the east.
Her ranks were thinned and her sons were MANNED
But the blood Of thoroughbred
Gave her joy in the fight she had waged and won
And through her spirit sped WAN s4
Tho knowledge Of duty well performed gNs
Driving grief from her anguished eyes. 4
As she lifted them, clear, toward the battle front
With the courage that never dies