Milford chronicle., 1919-01-17

10 Paris that it made your old heart
leap for JOY to be 50 close to the bright
lights once more. We stopped in the
freight yards and then we ran on the
outskirts of Paris until we got on the
opposite side of it. Now we were near
ing the battle front but no one realized
what that word meant. We got off the
train at Marles and camped in our
pup tents for few days and then came
our march by foot-One I'll never for
get When we started the march from
Marles it was on the 18th OF August,
my birthday, and we sure did walk
many mile that day, but we did not
mind that for we all felt lighthearted
for the big offensive was going on at
Chateau-Thierry and Scissors and we
were going that way, but we only
pulled in around that neighborhood.
We did not get to see the lines there.
They put us on the train again in that
neighborhOOd and we went around to
Bar-de-Luc, Ligny and Toul and got
off the train a little ways outside of
Toul and hiked to the village of Wiley
lie Sec. Do you imagine where this
route is taking us? We are headed
where we fought our first battle around
St Mihiel. We stayed in Wiley lie
Sec for one night and there is where
Fritz gave us cur first initiation. He
came on in his bombing plane and let
go one of his bombs right in the edge
of the village. causing a little damage
and a hell of a scare. After staying
that night, two more fellows and my
self left in a truck for our first posi-
tion We were to take in the St. Mihiel
sector. On our way we passed through
Nancy which is a very pretty city,
but Fritz sure has knocked down lots
OF buildings there. mostly done by
aeroplane bombs, and from there we
went up through Pompey and finally
reached our destination at Vile au
Val The three of us went ahead of
our regiment to learn the telephone
communication up there. for that was
our work. In a day or two our regi-
ment came up and took over that sec
Tor from the 18th Field Artillery, a
Regular Army regiment When we
irst went in there that whole sector
Tas quiet-yOu could not even hear a
gun fire 1t was a quiet sector used
or new troops that had never been in
lattle, so that it is broken to them
gently. 1t was a picnic up here for
while, but you could judge for your
ielf that they were going to make it
IN active sector by the way they were
ushing artillery and infantry in.
There were guns Of all sorts around
here. And on the 18th of September
It one o'clock, a. m, all Of our guns
opened up. The whole sky was red
With the flashes of guns. The barrage
n the famous St. Mihiel sector was
N and the artillery fire was so effec-
i've that our infantry had a walkaway.
And so was the battle of st. Mihiel
tarted. A few days later when that
Iattle was over a regiment of French
anne in and relieved us of that sec ,
or and we pulled out and hiked for
tx days, but we always did our hiking
n the night to fool the Germans, but
t the last day of our march we hiked
IL Sunday and Sunday night and
ook our new position in the Argonne
crest, just south of Exermont at
'hoden Farm, and my God, what
light! The Germans were shelling
he road which we were going up on
nd those big shells would burst and
ou would think that It must be hell !
n earth. We pulled in position at )
hoden Farm just as the skies were :
citing light in the east. and what a !
light for one to look upon. We stayed
n this front for 35 days and l can
ssure you my knees were knocking !
ogether more than once. Aeroplanes !
1ere over us all the time and there !
Tere air fights a-plenty. 1 saw more T,
han one plane catch fire and start !
s death plunge to the ground, and see =
he old observers jump out Of the OBJ i,
ervation balloons when Fritz would
ONE over and shoot it down in flames.
he observers have parachutes and al
'ays land safely. When we were not d
-orking on the telephone we got out y
ur automatic rifles and shot at aero
lanes. They shoot the same kind of
artridges as the machine guns and
ave clips Of ammunition, each clip
20 cartridges. Believe me, =