St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1919-02-01

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| RICHARD GRIAINfER
Richard Grimmer is the son Of DR.
| and Mrs. A. H. Grimmer, of Coving-
ton, La, and is we'll known here
| He volunteered and became a mem
| ber of the L. S. Marines and re
ceived training at Paris Island, from
| whence he went to France. He has
been decorated with the "Croix de
| Guerre" and the Legion of Honor
| cord, and is now in Portsmouth, Va,
recovering from wounds received in
| battle. Following is a letter from
i Mr.. Grimmer to his parents:
Portsmouth, Va, Jan. 19, 1919.
Ny Dear Parents Your letters of
the 18th received yesterday, and
must say were highly appreciated.
1t is certainly grand to be so near
| so as to receive my mail regularly.
For a while in the Old Country, !
found that the mail was very irregu-
| lar, however, it was not anyone's
fault, being due probably to the gen.
eral rush of mail conveyances. That
was only one of the SO many dis
agreeable happenings while on SO
serious a mission in behalf of our
great country and spotless flag.
l said | would write you of some
of my experiences l had in France
and at the Front, so | will now en-
deavor to interest you in respect to
same. To begin with, l had a very
pleasant trip across the Atlantic
that is, partly across-I was feeling
the grand effect of the open air for
two days out at sea, but as most do.
fell sick, and [ too got sick for the
remainder of the way. While cross
ing the ocean, and a thousand miles
out, U-boat was sighted a short
distance away, and it likewise saw
our ship, but Old Americas sailors
we're there with "the goods Sud
denly an explosion was heard and we
thought the ship was hit, but as luck
willed it was our big guns barking
at the enemy-and with success, too.
The sailor who so wonderfully mann
ed the big gun was awarded a medal
and was promoted in ranks, and was
honored highly by the boys and crew
on board. At last we arrived and
stepped on the sacred soil upon
| which we were to defend our just
| country.
After a few days of hard drilling
and practile we were called to real
duty, and proud were We to answer
| the honored call "all aboard for the
battle field" We arrived at the
! fighting line at about 2 a. m, after
| walking with our packs weighing 65
| pounds, besides the rife and other
articles which become a burden at
| the distance of 20 kilometers, or Is
miles.
From the time we were eight or
nine miles back Of the lines We were
welcomed by the big guns Of the
Fritz tribe, and every few minutes a
big searching shell would land near
US and occasionally a poor soldier
would get killed or badly wounded,
after getting so near and yet so far"
from the front On arrival at our
| destination we were placed in our
respective places, ready for anything
! that might occur. However, about
two hours after I had been in my
| dug-out / heard my name called.
quickly responded and was ordered
| out with my squad and three other
boys who knew the woods very well.
I received orders to get all informa-
ton possible, and take prisoners back
| if any were to be found. Well, it is
| interesting to read about this, but
having to go through the real thing
makes a big difference. | felt a
funny feeling playing up and down
my back. I canot speak for the
other boys but I suppose they had
the same thought I had, which was
Good bye Motheri and Goodbye
| Dad!" But thank God it turned out
we'll. We were out on patrol for
about an hour on hands and knees
when we heard the lingo Of the
| beast1y hun at distance of few
yards. From the sound of their
voices thought there were a million
but shortly afterward we found there
were about twenty and only eleven OF
US, and to, take them would have
been a hardship, so I told the boys
| to get ready for a surprise party
Sure enough. passed the word, and
as | passed it | imagined the huns
Continued on page 3D.