New Britain herald., 1919-01-28

own was it that he was not over here.
NO man can do more than his best.
and I feel sure that Frank Benson
always did that, wherever he was.
Now that the lid is off, and we over
here can tell you over there almost
anything that we please, perhaps I
ought to tell you som ething about
what has been going on over here.
one thing [ can say at the start (yOu
know 1T already is that the Ameri-
can soldier always wants to be going
ahead; he starts out looking for the
fight! Probably no one in the world
is a fiercer fighter than the French
man, once he gets started. but they
sa ~ that we are crazy, we start out
looking for trouble. and aren't happy
until We ind it! Well, everyone over
here seemed to think that. there was
only one way to beat the bache, and
that was to just go ahead and dig him
out and beat him. And when the time
came to do the digging, it was quite
some little job. after all l was moro
or less mixed up in the Argonne drive
from start to finish, and while I was
not fortunate enough to get into any
actual combat, [ did have an excel
lent opportunity to know just about
how things We're going all the time.
They Went! And when things really
got started they went so fast that it
made one dizzy to keep up with them
The old Hindenburg line didn't hinder
anyone so very much after all. l
saw what was left of it il our sector
a few days after the American artil-
lery had dropped a few hundred tons
of H. f. on it; it was just gone, that's
all. The boche remarked that we
didn't send over any barrages. we sent
over whole munitions dumps, For
some reason they didn't seem to like
it after a couple Of days, and began
to leave, and when they once got
started, they travelled so fast that one
man remarked Some scromble, you
couldn't see 'em for dust!'' Just now
we are having rather an easy life;
the men say we are living "the life
of Riley" Nothing to complain
about except the weather, and that is
q never-ending source of "cl,rab-
bling" 1t rains every day, and us
ually all day 7 don't know what it
does at night for I am usually asleep
by o'clock, but I have a sneakilg
idea that it rains just a little harder.
1t did manage To snow a little on
| Christmas day, but not enough to
| make" any,-not cold enough for
that. But We have good quarters. and
manage to keep warm and dry most
| of the time. My room is in one end
! of an old farm house Quilt in 1890,
and during the carly part of the war
| the French built it over into a. bomb
! proof. The walls are about three feet
! thick, of stone. and the roof Of the
| room is made of railroad rails, steel,
| 'I'' beams, cement and sand, from
| three to four feet through Over
that is the original tiled roof. or rath-
| er what is left of it. Have a fire.
| place with a big mirror over it, some
! good furniture, and practically all the
| comforts of home. There was q very
| inviting looking bed in the room when
we came, but I had it moved out,
| preferring to sleep on my little fold
| ing cot. You see, I've slept in those
! beds before, and know what their in
| habitants can do to one! Besides,
I've had coolies once, and why spoil
Il nice vacation by getting them
! again?
This is a rambling, sl7etchy sort of
! a lettor, but You must make allow
ances for one who for long time has
! been thinking in terms of casualties,
night Marches hard bread and
! "corned willie,' and whose chief am
bition has been to get thoroughly dry
once more. Well, I'm well dried out
now, and with a little practice per-
haps will be able to write a decent
! letter in a little while.
Give my best regards tn all the
| town; I'll be home to do it myself be-
fore another year is ont. And nlease
| tell all OF the Berlin war bureau that