Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-03-04
JOHNSON
TELLS EXPERIENCES
Popular Boise Boy Returns
Home After Over Years Ser
vice on Foreign Soil Gives
Many Interesting Episodes.

vice on Foreign Soil Gives
Many Interesting Episodes.
Sergeant Kendrick Johnson, son of
Henry z. johnson, returned home sat
urday, smiling and happy to get back,
yet glad that he took the step OF man
hood on June 90, 1917, and participated
in over a year of service on foreign
soil and battle fronts.
Ia He enlisted in the motor transport
corps through the Boise recruiting sta
ton, and after but few weeks OF
training left New York for England.
He landed at Liverpool, from there
went to Southampton and from tnat
port. left for France. After reaching
France. be was given charge of large
motor truck and later was placed IN
command as truckmaster of several OF
the gasoline carriers. TIE was all over
France and saw action in nearly every
battle, emerging without scratch.
1T was scary' the first time l took
that truck out with load of grub
said Kendricl. I'VE had to go at night
because Fritz had a habit Of Smelling
y
few feet that first trip l expected to
hear the whir-r-r! bang! of one of
those big chunks Of metal. and go home
to father in an envelope, but got
through all right. And after that |
didn't mind it a bit-several trips
went down with my truck through one
of F'ritzs little strafes when they were
hitting the road in front, behind and
on both sides of me with big shells.
EXCHANGE OF COURTESlES
Those French like the Yankee boys.
You can have anything they've got If
you're a Yankee soldier. I used to
sneak sugar and coffee down to mid
dle-aged woman whose husband was
poilu, and in return for them she would
get me up the best home cooked meals
] ever ate. After eating, l would en-
deavor to teach her and her 16-year- old
son the game of pinochle. Right here.
let me state. too, that a lot of Yankee
boys are getting married and going to
stay there. One old regular army SER
geant married the widow of a poilu
with a fine business, and today he sits
by the cash register and watches the
money come in. He should worry
There are going to be many opportun-
tiles for Yankee boys over in France
with the country needing men to make
business and run it.
Talk about fighters! Individually,
one Yankee is good for three square,
heads! AS mass fighters they are all
right, but when it comes to every man
for himself, they holler 'Kamerad" The
Yanks, particularly those Of the regu-
lar army, got deaf after the first en-
gagement, and couldn't hear 'em when
they shouted their surrender word, so
there were a large number of Huns
went out of this vale Of tears in a
hurry as consequence. We didn't
have time to bother with 20 or 80 of
them surrendering-it was easier to get
rid Of them in another way. There
were three fighters over there the Ger
mans were afraid of-the Canadians,
the Yankees and the Sinegalise.
"The Sinegalese are big burly fell
lows, black as the ace of spades. They
gave 'em guns and they threw them
away-all they wanted was their own
knife, about "a inches long, somewhat
curved. and the way they did business
to the Hun with those stickers was a
caution. They didn't know what fear
was.
SPIES IN CAMPS
1--WE had spies on all sides. One day
m officer came into a trench and let
on he was a gas inspector. The alarm
gas alert was given. Each man was
supposed to put his mask on his chest
for immediate action, and all did so.
The officer wore his on his hip. As he
passed a sentry, that gent took him to
task for disobedience of orders, and the
officer tried to excuse it, saying, oh,
hot ~ al ,,trrh%
walk away; the sentry took him in to
the p. c. and they found he was a
German officer in Yank's clothes. He
didn't know what the alert position
was, and sought to bluff the sentry.
II was in Paris when the armstice
was signed. and it was great Same
way when President Wilson came. Girls
would climb up on the big boche guns
In the Place de la Concorde and SOL
diers would drag them around town.
singing. Every corner had SO girls on
it, and when soldier came along, he
got mobbed and had to kiss the whole
crowd.
PRAISE FOR THREE
Right here let me tell you some
thing. If 1t hadn't been for the Red
Cross. the Knights Of Columbus and
the Salvation Army, your soldier boys
would have had no care, no attention,
no magazines, no tobacco, no gum, no
hot coffee, no doughnuts or anything
else that helped to comfort him bit.
Those three organizations worked day
and night, and If a fellow wanted Gig
arettes and didn't have the price, 1t
was all right, he got them. The three
organizations did wonderful work over
there.
Certainly I'm glad to be back, but
wouldn't have missed the big show for
. whole lott"