Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-01-02
M'KAY DNMANY
FRENCH CITIES
Local Soldier Has Had op.
portunity to See Much of
Foreign Country.

A letter from Leslie ]. Mckay to
his mother, Mrs. James r. Mckay,
sol North Seventh street, just re-
ceived. illustrates the fact often
heard commented upon that soldiers
in the United States armies abroad
have had quite exceptional opportuni-
ties for seeing much of France. Nc
Kay, who is now serving in the head
quarters troop. S8th division, was in
and Southampton, England, before
arriving in France, where he at vari-
Gus times was at lie Havre, senur,
Hericourt, Valdoie, Belfort, Nancy.
st. Mihiel, Metz, Rheims, Verdun.
Chateau-Thierry,=St. Quentin. .Laon,
Paris-"and." he says, 'in a thou
sand other places"
Leslie Mckay left Grand Forks for
Camp Dodge on Sept. 81, 1917; some
time later he was transferred to
Camp Upton, and on Aug. Is, 1918,
went to Quebec, where he boarded a
transport bound for England. The
voyage he says in his letter. was
made without any exciting incidents.
and at the end of August he arrived
at Liverpool. After staying for a few
days at a rest camp he proceeded to
Southampton and then made a night
voyage across the channel to lie
Havre-"a tough trip on a crowded
boat" he comments.
A Novel War Souvenir.
Having spent b couple of days at
lie Havre, Mckay was sent to Semur
in a train made up of. box cars; he
was within 40 miles of Dijon and then
went to Hericourt near. the Swiss
boundary line. Three weeks were
spent here. and the next trip was to
the fighting line near Belfort. The
signing of the arlnistice found the
Grand Forks soldier somewhere near
Metz, and he says:
place when the war ended, and there
wasn't any way to celebrate-thc on
ly thing I could think of doing was to
start a moustache-and so l did. It's
! something / can always keep and it
makes a pretty good souvenir.
Had Some Close Shavcs.
In his letter Leslie Mckay then
continues:
Il suppose you will want to know
how many times I have been killed,
gassed, ETC.; also how many Germans
I have shot or captured, so will tell
you. None.
II have been in non-combatant
service all the time I have been over
here, but, nevertheless. I have had q
few close shaves.' 1 went into the
trenches, only one and 1 did that OF
my own free will because I wanted tc
put in the last two hours where the
big noise was. This was the line close
to Metz. Believe me-it's hell! J
won't try to describe it can't. Bu1
you sure look death square in the
eye.
II nave been in air raids, hat
shrapnel burst close beside me--anc
in gas attacks, but was always lucky
l have put in man, a weary night
and many Il long hour. n sometimes
1 have felt, oh, so blue, but. then, it.!
all in the game. The Lord has beer
good to mel haven't been sick fol
even a day. But l have not gon,
through the hell that some of tn,
boys have had to so through-we die
not get over here in time; if we ha6
had three or four more months Of 1t
God knows what fate would have de
creed. Ones life isn't anything in :
war like this one.
But it is all over now. The fight
ing has stopped for good, and l an
alive and we'll and do not regret
. single day 1 put in: it has been
grand experience, and the man whe
has never seen it, will W under
stand it,
The letter which is dated at Con
%drecourt, December 5, closes with
brief account Of a trip which tn
writer made i'll an American fightin,
plane to a height of eight Thousand
feet. m