Imperial Valley press., 1919-04-12
LOCAL BOY HAS
MANY UNUSUAL
WAR EXPERIENCES

home from the front, Douglas E.
| Cadman, son of J. G.. Cadman of
He'll avenue, has had unlooked-for
experiences. Shortly after war was
declared, he enlisted in the Coast
Artillery Corps and was sent to the
Preside in San Francisco, where he
learned to handle the great ten-inch
coast defense guns. Associated with
him as close friends were the two
sons of George Filmer, and Sanford
Harris of San Francisco. These four
young men remained together and
returned on the same ship, all being
members of the Twenty-first battery
of this new sector.
In October, 1917 orders for the
formation of the sector were received
at the Preside and this wholly new
line of war activity was established
then and there. After a short time
Of stl enuous training, they left San
Francisco on November 80, 1917, for
Camp Merritt, N j., their rodte
across the countr being maintained
under secret orders. They reached
Camp Merritt on December 8 and
sailed for overseas, December II, on
the U. S. S. Susquehanna, formerly
the German ship Rhine, and landed
at st. Lazarre, December 27, in the
coolest weather of that winter. While
one day out from the French coast
| they had an encounter with sub
marine, but escaped in safety.
From St. Lazarre the battalion
was sent in France box cars to Lam
gres, a trip of three days and nights
! At Langres the men were Quartered
| at the old Fort de la BOnnelle, Occu-
pied by the troops of Napoleon in
1912. Here they went into training,
| and ten men from each battery were
sent to the city of Orleans fer six
weeks instruction at French auto
mobile school. When the course was
completed these men, including the
four young friends of whom this
sketch is written, were sent back to
the batteries at Langres, via Paris,
and were in that city on Good Fri
day, 1918, when the German long
range guns shelled a church during
the solemn service.
On April Is the sector started for
he front, five batteries being scat
cred between the Swiss border and
Chateau Thierry. They took part in
I'll the great battles waged by the
Americans. In the st. Mihiel drive,
Battery % had twenty five men
gassed and three men badly wound
ed
The First Anti-Aircraft battalion
has fighting record second only to
hat of the we'll known 363rd infan-
ny. Its activities included St. Mi
aiel, Chateau Thierry, the Argonne
md the storming Of the Meuse. Its
chief work was tc repel trench raids,
% prevent the photographing by the
enemy of artillery positions and to
,eep the bombing planes from drop
ing their deadly projectives on the
troops, supply trains, etc ;, moving
m the roads. Just what these du-
les meant to the men of the sector
can be appreciated only when one
can secure a heart-t to-heart descrip-
i've talk with one of it's returned
contingent who knows whereof he
speaks. p"'a
They were located in camouflaged
,ositions up to within 500 yards of
he front. These positions, reached
With their auto-mounts, were often
discovered by the enemy, and were
changed rapidly in order to keep
heir watch on the menace in the
sky.
The Battalion succeeded in destroy
ng forever the famous Flying Cir
.us of the Germans at st. Mihiel. |,
This "circus" consisted of twenty
i've aeroplanes under the leadership
f the German aviator Ritchofen.
His planes were painted in all colors
md attacked in unison with fearful
results.
Besides, this, the sector has eleven
1lanes to it's credit and several 9TH
ers secured unofficially.
The Twenty-first battery (the
writer's) was sent to Alsace-
Lorraine in territory evacuated by
the Germans in 1914. The men had
many queer experiences with the Ger
people who had no use
for Americans. When the battery
left, it had been shelled out of four
positions.
In the latter part of September the
Aattalion left Alsace for Verdun--
n reality the heights of the Meuse
in front of Verdun, on which is known
as Deans Man hill. They remained |
there till two weeks after the armis-
tice was signed, when they were re-
turned to Bar lie Due. From there
they started for home on January 30,
via the Mud Route at Brest, which |
they left on February II, on board |
the U. S. S. Ohio. They arrived at
Newport News on March 13, having
stopped to coal at the Azores. They
encountered a great storm when part
of the way across, and were twenty
four davs in making the trip.
At the Preside in San Francisco,
where they had entered on their war
service, they received their discharge
and returned to their hons after
such welcome by the cities of San
Francisco and Oakland as assured
them that California was the right
place to come to