Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-01-07
EIeHTY.FIRsT IN ACTION.


EIGHTY.FIRsT IN ACTION.
Capt. James q. FuIp Tells Some Of His
Fighting Experiences.
Fort Mill Times.
Capt. James D. Fulp Of this city,
with the Three Hundred and Twenty
first Infantry. Eighty-f1rst Division,
which was trained for overseas service
at Camp Jackson and Camp Sewer,
has written from the French front,
under date Of November II. the fol-
lowing interesting letter to Mrs. Fulp
Of the last hours of the fighting In
France, In which his division was en-
gagged:
lie guerre finis" 80 the Frenchmen
said yesterday at II o'clock, but from
our experiences since last Friday night
when We went into our first big battle,
it is hard for US to realize that peace
has really come. We came 80 near to
not getting into a real battle and then
to have 1t come when peace was al
ready to dawn upon US seems too hard
for the poor fellows who died for
us Saturday and Sunday. know
the casualty list will be out long be-
fore you get this letter, so I will tell
Of 1t.
Our boys were as brave as any Of
them and we lay for two days and one
night with shells pouring on US and
machine guns raining through us be-
fore we got relief. We all look like
old men for the experience and so
many Of our good friends have gone.
Poor old Cowell got ten inch shell
straight and it was with difficulty that
we could gather his body together.
Five men died with him in the same
burst. It was awful! Not much Ger
man infantry opposed us but the ar
tillery and the machine gun nests
were everywhere. Our enemy, we
learned from some of the prisoners we
captured, were the Fifth Prussian
Guards, one Of the crack Hun organi-
cations. .....--..,..
I'VE are having the very unpleasant
task today Of policing the battle field
and the poor chaplain is about all in
None of us got any sleep for three
nights and days. I was busy all the
time getting up rations and ammunl-
ton and had two casualties in my
company. None Of my officers were
hit. You remember Gregory Davis,
whose mother came from Riverhead to
New York with US. Well he was the
first Sficer killed. We lost several
more but none Of them that you know
unless 1t was Captain Bradt. We are
still trying to get the men buried and
have an awful job. We worked all
night last night and there Is day and
nights work left yet to be done. we
fought to II o'clock yesterday when
we had orders that hostilities would
cease. The Germans did the same and
It seemed like death had come to all
Of us at II, as after the awful crash
ing fire, gas, popping Of the machine
guns, everything was painfully quiet,
and ones nerves were too high strung
to be let down so suddenly. The re-
action was almost as bad as the action
itself.
am still in the dugout this morn
ing, as I haven't any too much faith IN
the Germans, and there Is no aoate-
ment in preparation. The guns have
ceased firing, that's all, and plenty
It Is for US. The ground over which
we advanced for eight miles was one
mass of marsh. woods and so much
barbed wire that our clothes were liter
ally torn to pieces. We never stopped
for anything, and while we would be
held up for time bya machine gun
nest, the nastiest thing infantry ever
had to fight, our boys kept going and we
took three towns the two days we
were in. Old Joe Jacobs got a piece
torn out of his neck, but will get
wound stripe for a good scare and a
painful stiff neck. You know by my
being able to write to you that l nae
NV unusual good luck and did not get
a scratch but some awful mental
anguish. I was getting train OF am
munition off at the dump Sunday az
ternoon and Boche plane came down
on us and peppered us with his ma
chine gun, but didn't hit single man.
but I was sure my time had come.
One never knows the feeling Of being
directly shot at until he goes through
a battle. 1 wasn't scared, no time to
think about fear, but when lull
would come for few minutes and
could see dying men all about and
shell holes as thick as they could BE-
often overlapping, wondered how l
got through it.
I am saving my maps all marked to
show you just what we went through
and such weather as we had the morn
ing at o'clock when we went over the
ton. It was dark as hades, raining In
torrents and cold as ice. I didn't have
NV rubber boots off for days. Poor
old Strang looks like ghost and the
colonel has been up so long that he
can't sleep at all. He held together
fine. though, and never seemed excited
even when he saw some Of his best Of
ficers torn to pieces. The lieutenants
were particularly fine and many OF
them will get their D. S. Cs.
I haven't heard a word from DICK
(Capt. Richard Fulp, Thirtieth Divi-
sion) since their last fight and do hope
that he is as lucky as I have been.
lived between fires with shells burst
ing overhead from both sides for days
and nights. They certainly put up a
stiff fight and nobody thought about
peace. 1 do hope this thing Is over
but one never knows what he can stand
until he gets into 1t.
The colonel has just stopped IN TO
tell me something else to do and I Will