The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1919-04-25
THANKFUL THOUGH 42 BULLETS
HIT HIM
Optimistic Though Minus am Eye,
Deaf firm One Ear and Partially
ParaIyZed.

WDHIml$ElG 1HUWSN minus nh LgUt
Deaf i'm One Ear and Partially
ParaIyzed.
I'll get a new eye tomorrow. I'm
totally deaf in one ear, but the other
seems to be improving a bit I'm
getting used to partial paralysis OF
the face. l certainly was lucky in
not having every bone in my body
broken by the AZ bullets that got into
me-
But being only - now and having
a long life before me, I shall out
grow these handicaps.
FIJI get about SIS a week pension
when / get back to the States-so
you see, T will not be a. badly or a.
n might be-
This genuine optimist talking was
Eugene Frank SeFigny, of AZ Went
worth street, Dorchester, Mass He
was Lewis gunner in the Queens
Westminster Rifles. SeVigny was y.
years old when he started out to hell
win the war He had been working
around garages in various capacities
Il wanted some excitement anC
adventure" he said, $50 | sought The
recruiting station of the British I'm
perial Army in Boston. 1 Joined up
They had list df regiments from
which you could make choice.
liked the name of the Queens West
minister Rifles, so went into it. They
told me it was pretty good regl
ment and the only complaint have
about the outfit il that its hat in
sigma looks like a German iro1
cross.
Arthur .LeVOy, who lives in Nor
ton street, Dorchester, pal OF mine
Joined lid at the same time IT. the
same regiment He l. back home
now, I believe. He also lost an eye
the left one, while 7 lost the right
one. He was hit some 10 or dozer
times by machine-gun bullets.
1--WE left Boston on December 2S
1914, going to London via Halifax
and Glasgow and arriving Januar!
10. In May we crossed the channe
and four days later were in oul
position on the Somme front. l hat
been working around garages and
machine shops at home and so had
good working knowledge or ma
chinery. This resulted in my being
put on a Lewis gun, and i'm thai
capacity / went over the top for the
first time about the middle of May
1915. We battled away for about
hours and then Fritzie got me-l4
machine-gun bullets i'm my left thigh
and Fl i'm my right lit was peculiar
sensation, this being hit i'm the legs
r didn't feel any pain. My legs Just
crumpled up under me and 4 fell
down and, wa unable to move my
legs. Finally I was picked up and
carried back. Some 60 hours later
about rs machine-gun bullets were
dug out Of me, the others having
passed through.
THE first part of July saw me
back in the line suffering only a
slight stiffness in my legs in damp
weather. On August 3 went over
the top, Fritzfe's machine-guns out
numbered ours six to one. and 1t was
rough work Twenty minutes after
we went over three men on my Jun
were knocked off and I got five .na-
chine-gun bullets through the flesh
on the right side OF my chest. Here
we got "a new brand OF mustard gas
that smelled like pineapples. cot
"a dose OF 1T, but ii didn't affect me
bit. My wounds this time did not
bother me very much. I walked to
a dressing station. 1t took me IHree
days to get examined by X-ray to
see whether my lungs had been
SCARED or not. / was fOund q. K.
and sent back to the line again.
; I'VE went into rest and support
and reserve and carrying duty for
several months. l went over the
top only once in 1917, when VIZ had
field day of it. In July, 1918, went
on a bombing raid I was not on a
Lewis gun this time. This was an
other picnic, for we lost but one man,
who was taken prisoner, while we
killed several Germans.
1T was August rs last that A got
my Blighty. We went over at Rulle-
court at 1890 i'm the afternoon and
a. 40 VI had three machine gi.n bull
IT., i'm my left wrist. This wasn't
serious. a lance corporal crawled
into a. shell hole with me and there
we bandaged the wound ! was using
q rifle instead df the machine gun
and after being bandaged up carried
on as before.
at was nearly o'clock in the
afternoon when / was hit by the
burst OF Snrapnet TndJ RnOckeu Ou'
my right eye. That shell pretty
nearly did me in. / was unconscious
from August % to September 6, and
besides losing the right eye was
blind in the left [until September TO-
THE concussion of the shell
which burst only about 30 yards
from me- caused deafness and paraly-
sis Of the left side Of my face.
have been going through hospitals
ever since, leaving the last one or
December 10.
aI don't suppose I'LL ever be able
To drive taxi again, having one eve
out and being partly blind in the
other and deaf, but 7 imagine I viii
be able to do good days work
around a machine shop or garage
vet he concluded.