The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-07-27
BY ENi,IlTT REID

BY EMNIiTT REID
When We awoke the morning of sun.
day October 10, rain was still falling
although breaks in the clouds Indicated
that the weather might clear soon
l went through the ussll process Of
yawnlng and stretching and wishing
that | didn't have to get up. and In
the course of my "contortions' stretch
ed my left arm straight ont from the
shoulder ana slapped good German"
IN the face. The suddcnness with
which sat up lin bed" nearly broke
the door ON which we We're sleeping,
ana OF course awakened Odom, who
was sleeping on his right side. lie
opened his eyes and looked squarely In
the face of one of the same kind OF
good ones" not two feet away from
him, and also came To a sitting pos
ture, so suddenly that afterwards our
bed was capable of being folded in
the middle.
We each secured the helmets of the
dead warriors for souvenirs, and car
ried them around over France for some
six or seven months before opportunity
Nf'4A'N w f'' NV NAA'NA ''''A'''
German Charnel House
That woods which we later learned
was in the neighborhool of the Medeah
Ferme. was literally full of dead Ger
mans. with a sprinkling of dead French,
and it Is a mystery how we had missed
walking on them while we We're looking
for places to sleep the night before.
We ate a light breakfast OF corn, will
lie and coffee. the water used being
rainwater which had been caught dur
ing the night, and before we had got
ten our trucks out on the highway Cap.
tain Flagg came along to see what had
become of us. We never did learn for
sure whether or not the Germans were
waiting for us down the road that
night, but as it turned out it was just
as well that we spent the night where
we did, and also that we stayed on
the main highway instead Of turning
off at Somme Ply.
Refugees and German Methods
On the highway, travelling almost due
north, we rolled some six or eight
miles with rather light traffic around
us, and then we began meeting refu-
gees coming from the territory which
they had been forced to share with the
Germans for so long. At the little vii
lage of Constantine quite a crowd was
gathered waiting with their little heaps
OF personal belongings, for truck to
come along and carry them down where
they could get in touch with the re
lief workers. who they knew would look
after their wants until such time as
it would be safe for them to return and
rebuild their destroyed homes.
The Germans had been occupying
these homes and forcing the French
civilians to be their servants. and
worse; and then, when the Germans
We're forced to evacuate the territory,
the homes We're either burned or de-
stroyed by the use of explosives. In
many instances the French were not
even allowed to remove few belong
ings. clothing or bits of bric.a-brac
which had been kept as remembrances
of happy events in their lives.
20 Les Amercaines"
From the highway on which we We're
travelling we could see the villages of
Leffincourt Maxagran, Chaumont,
IOulCtltS' lIlSluAllOIll anu NSulllN, an
burning. and from which the refugees
were vending th8r way, pushing their
baby carriages or dragging their carts,
loaded with what was left of their be-
longings.
We We're the first American soldiers
these people had seen and their faces
We're certainly studies in expression as
they looked up at the passing trucks
and exclaimed, 80 les Americaines."
Joyous welcome and glad rleif registered
on countenances which bore too plainly
the marks of privation, suffering, abuse |
and degradation to which these people |
had been subjected by the same type |
Of "critter" which now tries to claim it |
has rights as a human being. This
French try to countenance the atroc- |
ties practiced by the enemy by saying |
"Tous lie bon Allemands partir avant |
le guerre." (All the good Germans left !
before the wary
Some MarathOn-Germans Leading
We were now in a section of country |
that presented very little evidence of
being in the war zone other than the |
burning villages and the trudging ref
ugees. Only a few scattered shell holes
could be seen and the German retreat
had been so rapid that the advancing
allies could not keep in contact close !
enough to warrant bringing rifle, ma
chine gun or grenade into play. 1t was
simply a wild footrace for the protec-
ton of the hills north of the Aisne
river, and a German, when he is
scared, can certainly qualify as a long
distance runner.
Near noon we reached Dricourt,
where the repair shop was to be 10
Gated for some time and | was re-
leased with instructions TO proceed to
the location of the new ammunition
dump, said to be somewhere in the