The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-05
RUSSELLVILLE MAN WAS WOUNDED IN
 ARGONNE FIGHTING

 vile. writes an interesting letter to his father regarding the Argonno fighting
 and the wounds he received in october. Lieutenant Douglass was commissioned second lieutenant at the first officers training camp and went back in August, 1917, and was commissioned first ieuten- ant He went to France with the Eighty second division last April and his letter is as follows:
 France, Base Hospital, s7. A. P O., 7eS. Dear Papa; I suppose that you are
 away from home on business now. My
 mail has not come in quite while be- cause we were in the advance and since then I have been here away from the division.
 Tt was quite an experience for all of us-that ght. The Argonne forest was a hard task and we did some hard fight ing there After that we went My
 division did some good fighting.
 "As for myself, well, l did what the
 others did and chased Germans or left them on the field.
 "Oh. yes I was wounded on the 14th
 of October; came to this hospital on the 19th The hospital where I am now is not very far from Paris. I was wounded as went over the top by shell. l did not stop but with first aid treatment, stayed in the advance and subsequently, went over twice. My wound was painful, but I had men and would not leave them, as so many of the officers had been
 killed. However, 1 was later ordered off
 the field by the surgeon and then my
 leg was infected. lay in bed five and or e-half weeks with two operations.
 Am now just about well: am using crutches and within a short time will be entirely well. Wound did not amount
 to much. Am feeling dandy now and will soon have recovered all my weight and strength. Did not tell anyone at
 home as it would have caused useless
 worry Absolutely no cause for worry. Nothing but a scar on my leg. "Well, the war is over and everyone is glad The peace conference will prob
 ably be in session before you get this letter Terms that will absolutely pre- vent Germany ever rising to point
 where the peace may be endangered must be enforced. We must not relent,
 halt or hesitate. We must make Germany pay; reduce her power; crush her mili- tary machine; shear her of colonies and we must not be moved by silly sympa- thy. This peace must make an object lesson of a criminal government until no power will ever tolerate such preparation for war.
 Well, when I entered the hospital, ac- cording to army regulations, I was dropped from the roll. The division was later removed; promotions were made First leutenants in my battalion are now , captains and I being here lost all chance of promotion. All connection with my organization is severed and there is hardly any chance of ever being returned to it. I shall either be sent home or to | ~l,o G. lieutenant. However, I am not profess sonal soldier. I will. of course, be glad to be a higher ranking officer, but I came in to do my duty and I am glad to assure you that I have never know | ingly failed. I went everywhere I was supposed to go and never Jagged; my men know I never failed them, never i failed to be ahead of them. That is all. ''I have seen many of my friends lying
 on the field in the last sleep. l have seen i ny closest friend dead and I buried him 1 Then what complaint have I to make i Only a slight wound and that healed l What are promotions to me when l re- 1 call some of those fields? I remember places where it seemed impossible to
 live, yet I am all right. I have lain in shell holes within a few hundred feet ! Of the boche amidst hailstorms of ma chine gun bullets and artillery barages, | yet I am alive.
 | Why should not be satisfied? I have
 walked straight through the same thing and forgot it because I was directing | guns. I once lay in an open field outside a shell hole, with only the sky above under a barage. I couldn't move for the dirty boche, so I entertained myself the | best I could till the infantry crawled i around and got in their work. It's hor- ri5le, yet funny things happen. One day October l5, l lay in a shell hole about 12 1 inches deep, curled like snake, my cap ] tain lay in another nearby the boche
 were turning loose machine guns and artillery wholesale on our position, and | he captain went to sleep. He was worn 'ut and we were not advancing waiting 'or another battalion to come up It was l | warm place and a hard hill to take. ut we got the hill la-er That same day i was crossing to another shell hole and 1 swung my men all at once to some shell | oles to avoid searching artillery fire. ! yhen I discovered that l had no shell | lo'e to go to, l lay flat the ground md more as a joke than anything else, erected me a wall about four inches | hick and a foot long of mud with my nife The report went out to my men | hat was killed. l soon changed that | idea.
 1 Well there are thousands of things | tell but I will wait until I get back l tt ceases to be bravery: it's merely 1 abit when you fight. Everyone does his | hare.
 ..J r,lISt close Hone you re weH am