Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-12-23
CHRISTMAS IN FRANCE
How Holiday Was Observed By
HOmpSiCk Americans.
Big DINNER and PLEASANT TALKS

at the Front Amid the Rattle Of Rifle
and the Boom of Cannon, Were Nov
Concerned Only About Getting Back
Home.
BY Lewis NJ. Grist.
Christmas, a year ago, spent at La
Pallice, France, where it rains far more
than the sun ever shines and where
even lukewarm weather is about as
scarce as hens teeth, proved to be
much more pleasant day than had
anticipated some weeks before. In
fact, so late as November 10, l had
visions of spending the day on truck
way up in the lines somewhere, listen
ing to the Shrek of Fritz's shiapnel for
Christmas bells, and the popping OF
our big cannon for firecrackers. But
the armistice came on, the next day,
and made possible different Christ
mas for the boys who were overseas.
OF course every soldier in France OF
the American Expeditionarv forces
had a day off at Christmas, rs far as
that was possible and when the day
came there were few men of my i'm
mediate organization who were so un-
fortunate as to be off somewhere driv-
ing a, truck laden with provi sions for
the Christmas dinner of some other
company.
Prepared BIG Dinner.
II was decided on Christmas eve to
have big dinner for Chris !mas IN
order to make it as much as possible
like the Christmas dinner woll have
been at home despite the absence OF
mothers and sisters and other loved
ones. Uncle Sam was quite generous
with his allowances for Christmas
dinner; but we wanted to go one better
and therefore each man came across
literally with francs, If he had money
of such large denominations, or CEN
times if he didn't, in order that the
mess sergeant might buy for tie dinner
these little extras that were not on
Uncle Sans Christmas menu. Incl
dentally, it is of interest to note that
most Of the fellows Clipped in cen
Ittfrsss because it. Is short Gry p from
| Christmas until January |, and
soldiers pay is usually reduced to nil
long before twenty days or twenty-five
days of a month have passed around.
Anyway, a pretty good sum was COL
lecteG and the mess sergeant ana the
cooks made honest effort to put out a
rather Christmassy dinner. There was
chicken and chicken dressing ana
mashed potatoes and pies and cakes.
There were cakes and sweetbreads ana
thete were sighs of regret over the tact
that 81 won't eat any of mothers 1rult
cake this year." and 81 didn't get 10
see the kids come down stairs this
morning to see what Santa Claus had
brought them" And big cared, long
and slim Jim McAnnally who lives III
Texas, swore that the only regret ne
| had was that "if / was at home in old
Tex today Grist, I'd be Coleing across
sone sixtv miles of Texas dirt to see
that little girl that told me / was a
fool not 10 wait to be drafted; and l
reckon l was a fool"
Decorations in Evidence.
! There were a few fellows in the COM
pany with a little sense and taste along
the line of the artistic in their make
I'D and who had often helped thelr
sisters with Christmas decorations at
home. Some of these fellows decorated
the mess hall with holly and placed
other trimmings that brought 10
memory a real Christmas effect back
home.
Tho dinner was good and the Christ
mas spirit both literally and fguratlVe-
" was much in evidence. Every fellow
was possessed of that uneXplalnapie
something that comes over almost
everybody who is really human ana
who has any man in his makeup ana
we forgot our prejudices against OIL
ficers in general and one in particular
and invited a number to be our guests
at the Christmas spread.
| After dinner tne leIlo"o 6tS" iNi'
niscent and a fellow from Maine ana
another from New York state and Sam
Cooper, big hearted little Jew from
Hazeltown. Pa. and the O'Rileys and
O'Briens and all the Scotch and all the
rest, told really good yarns of how the
last Christmas in their respective
home towns had been spent.
Our invited guests waXed mellow
and acting as though they enjoyed the
complete confidence of General Per-
shing and the War Department were so
good as to tell us rather cOnhdentlaily
that they had it from the captain VINO
had it from the major who had it from
the colonel who had it from the brlGa-
der who had it from the maJor-gen-
eral who had it from John j. himself
who of course had It independent OF
everybody else, that we would be re-
turned to the homes from whence we
came before another Christmas rolled
around.
And we-or some of us, at least,
listened eagerly and longingly and
breathlessly 20 the flow of oratory from
III.