Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1919-01-01
Sergeant Robert Kenney
Writes to His Father
From France
November q. 1918.


Believe to-day is designated as
''Dad's Day" for letters, so will be in
the swim and write mine tonight.
Mail has just come in and 1 got
one letter from home with one from
Cecil, Frank and Flora T. I guess.
Wrote you about Charlie few
days ago but have not been able to
find out anything since writing. Hope
he has turned UP by now or if not,
captured Have been trying to find
out the boy who went out with him
the right he was lost. Seems as If he
and another boy had gone out to car
ry rations to the company and got
lost out in No Mans Land Fritz soon
discovered them and began to shoot
at them with machine guns. The cor
poral with Charlie dropped to the
ground and crawIed back They have
not seen or heard anything Of him
since. From last reports they had not
found his body, so naturally c6nslud-
ed that he was captured. Looks as if
he would have turned up by now if
he was captured as prisoners are be
ing returned daily to the Allies from
Germany. In case he was killed, he
could not have been killed doing a
better work, he simply made the SUI!
preme sacrifice and helped to make
things as they now are. Hope he
turns up though.
Was very muchly surprised to
learn Of the death of Earl Crouch
Guess it was pretty hard for his wife.
You folks back home evidently can
not stand as much as we can. We
have had several cases of "tlu" but
none amounted to anything. Had a
very light attack of it myself about
three weeks ago. Had fever of 103
one night. Got over mine in few
days and feel as we'll now as ever.
Guess Charles and Frank are dis
appointed that they did not get
chance to come across and do their
bit for Jerry. Am glad in way that
their chance is gone but sorry they
did not come over. They would have
enjoyed the "trip and Would have seen
lots. Would not take anything for
what l have seen. done and where l
have been, still l do not want to go
through with it again.
Our first experience was at Mar
basque, France. We saw a little air
battle.
July 9Th we hikad about 20 miles
and landed at Walton, Belgium, just a
few miles from Ypres. There is where
we got our first baptism Of fire from
Jerry. He used to shell the place
every day. Would go in the town af-
terward and see the damage he had
done. Went in as soon as Sgt. Sum-
mers of OrangebUrg was killed. Have
a piece of shrapnel or shell that hit
the hut in which l was staying. This
piece fell about t:.-~e feet from me.
Had the thing hit n.e on the head,
doubt if I would be writing this let
ter tonight. Fritz gave us hell while
we were up there. We moved from
there to St. Pol, France on the Arras
front, from there we went to Ru-
bempre on the St. Quentin front.
There is where we did good work
and the Thirtieth Division made a
name for herself On this front is
where Charlie met his fate.
We took the .Hindenburg Line at
Bellecourt where is reported to be
the strongest point on the line. There
is where the famous Bellicou-t Tun-
mel is situated. The boys took 1t like
top and kept going.
September 295h is the day Charlie
was missed as well as l can find. Look
up the following towns on your map.
We took these, B2Nicourt, Bohain,
Montbrehain. Brancourt, Busigny and
few other little places. At Belh-
court is where Fritz has one of ms
watts where he boiled his own men to
get fat. That was a gruesome sight.
One meal in Motbrehain, we ate with
Jerry dead all around US. There was
q "bust" Of dead Jerry just few
feet away from us and we sitting
there eating away just as if nothing
had happened. Such sights as these
are very common. We camped at
Roesel for few days, right at-Roeb-
heod. After we moved out the entire
thing blew up. Jerry had planted an
acid mine there. We we're lucky 10
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