The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1919-02-27
NEWS OF OUR SOLDIER
BOYS
Interesting Letters from Our
Boys at Home Camps
and Abroad.
From Lieut.. Bernard Knipe.

Dr. R. E. Rose has received the fol
lowing letter from Lieut.. Bernard
Knipe, who is a member of the First
Supply Train, in the Army of Occupa-
ton in Germany The letter bears
date of January %:
Well, we are all mighty glad that
the war ended just when it did. 1t
could not have stopped at nicer
time | sure appreciated its ending,
anyway. l feel like / might not have
been writing to you today if it had
lasted much longer. The old First
Division was sure doing its part the
last days of the war. We were in an
awful sector in the Argonne forests.
1t was raining and very muddy; the
roads were slippery and we lost lots
of trucks beside the road. l am not
a doughboy, so l cannot say SO much
about the infantry, only what | saw
and | was there, too, and not so far
behind but what l was in the show.
We 1.-THE supply train) had to move up
as close to the infantry as possible
and the rations had to be sent up by
rail as far as possible on account of
the narrow, slippery roads through
the forest in order to deliver them
to the doughboys. So we moved right
up into the forest behind the lines and
lived in dugouts. 1t was pouring down
rain nearly every day. We had to de-
liver the rations daily and help out
on the ammunition hauling at times
when the most lead was going into
Germany, and also help to evacuate
wounded from the field when they
got too many for the ambulance COM
panies to handle.
We had 140 big three-ton trucks,
and just at that time, as Sherman
said, "war was hell" | never saw the
like before. Trucks were stuck every
where and we worked night and day
trying to keep up. Each day, as the
doughboys would advance, our hauls
would become longer, until finally we
would have to move up again and the
narrow guage railroad would haul the
rations little farther
OF course, it was hard shedding for
the doughboys. No sleep, always wet
and most of the time on their feet
advancing. None of us knew how
long we would last. We worked day
an1 n;pbf xyara cholIad h., art;lIarx,
and bombed by aeroplanes, but in the |
Supply Train we had only two or three
casualties When the news came that |
an armistice was going to be signed
everyone was in for making it hot up
until the last and Mr.. Hun sure caught |
hell, for the way those boys did fight!
The infantry advanced faster than
ever and such an artillery barrage!
I had never heard one like it before,
nor expect to again. We had many of
our trucks laid up for lack of atten-
tisn, so doubled crews on the others
and kept them going twice as hard.
The only thing they ever stopped for
YVES gasoline and oil. Up until IL a.
IN. on the 11th of November everyone
was on the go, and on the go right.
AT II the fighting stopped, the noise
ceased and we were all more or less
at ease. But we couldn't realize, hard
ly, that it was all over. BY night
everything had been quiet SO long
that we all knew it was true, and
about supper time some one decided
to celebrate by shooting pistol That
got the men started, guns were fired
in all directions, flares were shot up
that lighted the whole country like
day and one was really more in dan
ger of his life than if he were at war.
Well, now let me tell you, it was some
celebration. As far as you could hear
in all directions guns were firing and :
as far as we could see flares were ,
rising. If the kaiser had not known
what it was all about and had seen
it he would have surely thought the !,
world was coming to an end-and so
il really did for him. My, when tell
about it | get as excited as if it were
Ill happening again. Even now am
almost in sweat. II
Well, the war is over. There will t
be no more war now. Here | am in a
Germany, in the Army of Occupation. I
The German people treat US very nice
only camoufaga. because they can n
10 nothing else. We had splendid n
rip into Germany, "The March to the +
Rhine" We have seen some beau +
.iful places. Germany is very pretty. l.
think it is prettier than France, but e
Hot before France was devAs- q
,ated by the war, for poor old France s
,asnt had . chance 10 stop for beauty. lg