The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1919-03-06
Soldiers and Sailors Letters
PHI DELTA SOLDIER
WRITES FROM GERMANY
Ochtendung, Germany,
January %, 1919.

Dear Phi Delta:
IL has been almost two years
since | was among you. I doubt il
there be many perhaps any, of that
bunch in school now. But am
sure that the Phi Delta spirit is
still there, and still feel myself one
Of the members.
| enlisted. went To TT. Thomas and
soon to Washington, ID. C. From
Washington | went to Hoboken.
We sailed from there on the Huron
the old German ship. Frederick
the Great-and landed at st. Nazaire.
That was the last of December, 1911.
From st. Nazaire we went by train
to a small village near the Swiss
border. II was zero weather and
showing We rode in heatless but
we'll ventilated box-cars. Maybe
we didn't cuss this army. while that
French train dragged us along for
two days. We landed in place
just as cold and just as full of snow
We were the first Americans in tha.
sector. Immediately we set to work
building barracks for those that
were to follow. IL took the Quar-
termaster a month to discover we
were accustomed to eat. BY the
first of February we had begun TO
draw rations. Then came orders to
move. Again we got on box-cars,
and this time started north.
After another two days Of tour
ing we dctrained at peronnc. on the
British front. A year before the
British had driven the Germans
from the Somme. hut had not yet
rebuilt the bridges across the river.
That was to be our job. There were
about five hundred OF us Americans
attached 10 the British Fifth Army.
In small working parties we were
scattered through all the country
between Cambria and st. Quentin.
There were big engineer depots at
Fins and Rosiel and a still larger
depot at Chaulnes. About the mid
die Of March we got orders TO haul
all the material from the two for
mer places and store it in Peronnc.
While going from place 10 place
I had the opportunity To see what
war can do. Fields had been plow-
ed by shell fire. In what had once
been forests the trees were dead,
limbless. fallen and splintered The
houses were without roofs; the
walls were fallen or so full Of shell
holes that a push would send them
down. Acres Of wooden crosses
bore witness to the British losses.
in the first battle Of the Somme.
There were thousands of working
troops behind that front. The Brit
ish had Italians. Chinese. Negroes
and East Indians working on the
roads and digging trenche". On
March DIST. the German offensive
started. That day, that night, and
the day following I worked on
bridge at Brie. Those two days and
nights the Fifth Army was retreat
ing. Without gap in the column
carriers loaded with war material
streamed backward. BY the side
was another column of horse trans
ports going 10 the rear. They were
iammed 50 close together and going
at such a pace that foOtman could
hardly cross the road. Stragglers
came back by the thousands. On
the night of the 22nd word came
that the Bosche were pushing the
British into the river at St. Christ.
About dark we left our work al
Bier and liked 10 st. Christ. A long
column of artillery was lined up
wanting TO cross the river. Maybe
we didn't work putting that bridge
across. | saw Jickey Majors carry
ing railroad ties on their shoulders.
That told me IL was necessary for
that bridge TO be finished in a hurry.
II was almost daylight when we
finished and got back 10 Brie. Tom
mics had come into our camps and
were setting machine guns along the
river bank. As fast as possible we
rolled packs and threw the rest Of
our junk into our barracks bags.
With our packs on our backs we
started toward Chaulnes. Our bags
were put upon railroad and start
ed TO follow MS. German shellflre
became so strong that the train,
bags and all the rest had TO be
abandoned About two o'clock in
the afternoon we got 10 Chaulnes.
Acres there were covered with i'm
mense machine shops, engines, mo-
tors lalhps saw and Dlaninp mills