The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-04-24
@-'n"nt is marked on them. They
win carry eight horses all right but

~-,o"nt IS marked on them. They
win carry eight horses all right but /
.o.iy men get into one yet
p -tav in They went to In-sur-tille
where the labored in a gravel pit for
six weeks, thence we hiked 80 kilos to
Champtite where joined them four days
later There we put in five weeks of
intensive training, then we took q train
after a 81 kilo hike to a little town in
Alsace called Seinthiems, not far froni
Mulhapsen, close to the Swiss border;
there We put in three bitches In the
trenches then we took a train just after
the 18th of July to little town that had
just been left by the boche three days
before, called Saintines. where we stayed
| three days camping in pup tents. which
we always carried on our backs; then
we took passage on a French motor trans
port. which consisted of few hundred
Pierce Arrow trucks which conveyed us
to Chateau-Tneirry, where we took pass
age on the shoe leather express for an
other Is miles where we finally landed in
a swamp in a more or less exhausted con-
ditfon owing to the fact that we had
had nothing to eat since morning when
We had two French hard tacks. which
are the size of soda crackers but are
bacon and a cup Of dirty water. called
coffee for short. and it was now $3.50
that night.
Well. we pitched UP our pup tents, eat
one-haf box of hard tacks and a six
teenth of a pound of carnweillie and let
me add. it had been raining Off and on
all day and had settled down to a nice
comfortable rain for all night.
Three nights later. after sundry hikes.
mostly at night in mud up to our an
kles we landed at the front line which
We passed without knowing and mopped
upa piece of woods and finally lay down
to wait for dawn, and magazine our
surprise when we realized that we were
one-half mile in advance of the front
line. Then the fun commenced, and
lasted for eight days, when we were re-
Iieved by the 2Sth division.
We then hiked some 20 odd kilometres
to the rear and camped In a wood that
was still fun of dead boches. We stayed
there some 90 days, that is. the outfit
did. I went to the hospital the third
there and found it was our home for a
while ut least 1 was some put to know
what I was going to do for house. but
looked around and found some tar paper
the boches had been kind enough to leave
and two boche overcoats. Using the tar
paper and some sticks that cut with
my bayonet 1 made myself covering
and used the overcoats for a bed. All
the equipment I had at the. time was
slicker. my tent and blankets had left
on the way up. The outfit stayed there
~ days, got few requirements. then
took French trucks to Sessions where 1
rejoined them. There we put In ten days
on the front and this was the best front
was ever on. less rain and faster fight
ing and the ground was soft which made
it easy to dig into. After we were re-
lieved we took a train to Thormnance,
which was not far from ST. Dexter where
we got more requirements and stayed
ten days, then we took French trucks
again and moved to a woods near Verdun,
in fact. just north of it IN the Argonne
woods and there Is where spent the
rcrst month of all my army existence.
We were two weeks in reserve. then we
we rushed In one day to stop the boche
which had crumpled into the 35th division
and we held the front line for four days
when we gave it over to the 64th brf-
gade Of our division an moved over a
them and we were on the line q days
during which time my feet were very
seldom dry and never warm. and when
came out when we were relieved / almost
had trench feet: several men in the COM
pany did have them. We moved Is or 20
kilometres to the rear where we camped
on a shell-pitted. had-been wood for
couple Of weeks when we went back to
the front and stayed till the signing
OF the armistice. and we were all set TO
70 over the top the morning hostilftics
am Q frightfu1 looking sight now. One
OF my front teeth. the one on the pivot
came out the other day and you can
imagine what look like with that gap In
my teeth
wen. enough for this time. Love to
al. ANDREW.
Corp. r. A. Tins,ey. Co. B, 1s5th Int.
s2nd Div