The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1919-03-06

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Horace R. Skinner, son 0f Mr.. and
Mrs. Frank E. Skinner. Of the Oak
Grove orchard district. Is the first Of
three Hood River members of the First
+ Gas Regiment, which had large share
in pursuing the huns to their lair in the
last months of the war, 10 return
home. Mr.. Skinner, while he mOdestly
declines to dicsuss himself. has much
praise for his local comrades. Ser
geants Joseph NJ. johnson and Henry
Blagg.
Sergeant Blsgg. says Mr.. Skinner.
was recommended for the Distln-
guished Service Cross for general eff
cheney at the front Tie was also rec
commended for commission. which
was lost as a result of the armistice.
Sergeant johnson stood mighty high
with the men. In the parlanee he was
known as man with CUTS.
+ Mr.. Skinner says conditions at Brest
were all that they have been reported
Men of combat divisions just back
from hot service were called on TO
shift materials, coal ships or engage
+ in other work.
Fortunately for me-. he says, IL
was made a color guard, Idst before
we got to Brest, and escaped all of the
work, but men of my company went
through the mill. We would stand in
line there am hour and a half in mud
knee deep, awaiting our meals of slum.
Many men died We slept at night on
blankets thrown on this mud. 1t was
fearful
Mr.. Skinner thinks conditions have
been bettered. But God Almighty
armistice, coupled with official delin-
quencies, are to blame for the regret
table conditions, according to the
returned soldier. He says those in
charge on Btest, when high officials
appeared on tours of inspection, be-
came very busy. just previous to the
visits in shoveling mud and laying rows
of duckboards for the visiting officials.
/ Mr.. Skinner has both praise and
severe criticism for the Y.M c. A.
Behind the lines and at rest camps
and places visited by the men on leave
] the service rendered by the ~ was
wonderful" he says. ''but the service
on the front was such as to leave dis
gruntled and disappointed every sol tler
with whom | have talked. The Y
men did not get up there to any ex-
tent, and when they did they got in
/ bad. A secretary by the name of
Hoppe, who was from New Jersey or
New York, was with our outfit. He
/ became so disgusted that he removed
] fl, A ,oC;gn,a nd cArVrad -
on his own hook, free of charge. He
/ kept strict account of everything, in
order that he could make an accounting
to the Y. NJ. c. A.
IL have never yet heard soldier
have anything but praise for the Red
Cross and Salvation Army. Many of
the men had faculty of getting in
/ bad with the men. On one occasion
one of the men came up to where we
were with supplies. largely consisting
of cigarette tobacco. The government
| furnished the men with the tobacco,
but they happened to be out at our
quarters. The "Y" man instead of
selling it for the customary price Of
half and quarter franc, took in the
situation and began auctioning off his
supply. "
Yesterday was the happiest day Of
my life, | believe" said John w.
Allen, son of Mr.. and Mrs. W. ID.
Allen, Just home last Saturday from
Camp Lewis, where he was mustered
out of the 65th. while ! wouldn't
take anything in the world for my ex-
perience and part in the world war.
still it was mighty good to feel myself
a civilian again.
Seven other Hood River men, mem
bers of the 65th. Carl W. Copper,
Walter Regnell, 0iville Thompson, Fred
Thomson, Earl Dunbar. Albert Miller
and Perl Perkins. arrived home Satur
/ day.
1--WE surprised the British, who fur
nished us with the big guns, in the
way we learned to handle them, said
Mr.. Allen. Whereas they had con-
sumed hours in taking apart and re-
moving the big guns, we did the trick
once in 35 minutes.
The stories the men tell deal with
the grind of hard training and then of
participation in some of the big battles
in and around the Argonne forest and
north of Verdun. For the last two
months of the war the 65th was NOV
ing up closer toward the Rhine and
making life miserable for the fleeing
huns. Theirs is story Of feeding on
slumgullion and silent evening battles
with cooties. But they are glad it is
over and all express the wish for ever
| lasting peace.
Local members of the Goth. formerly
members of the old 18th Co., are all
Young orehardsts or former students.
/ The orchardists will be found today
resuming their work of pruning or pre-
pairing for spring work. The students,
too, will resume ranch work until they
again enter school or college. Their
problems of reconstruction are already
solved
Il had one bad scare while on the
'front.'" says Mr.. Allen. Zone after
noon we had set up in a position. all
nicely camoufaged, when whoopee,
lip. boom, big German shell came
down so close that it threw debris over
our gun. Officers, men and all thought
the Germans had certainly spotted us
and that we were IN for annihllation
If they had found US they certainly
had our range. we SCurrleQ Tor cover,
and the next Is minutes were the long
est and most terrible | have ever
spent 1t turned out. however, that
the shell that dropped on US was q
short and we escaped"
The 65th travelled from San Francis
co to New York city aboard the S. S
Northern Pacific by way of the Pan
anna canal. Their journey both to and
from France was made on British
vessels
THAT trip through the Panama
canal and the south seas was one Of
the pleasant parts of our war expert
ence, says Mr.. Allen. "but it was
certainly hot down there. AS we
passed through the canal about all
| each of US wore was wrist watch. "
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