Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1919-02-27

Champlitte in the northern part OF
the Department Of Haute- Saone, ar
irving there on the morning Of Easter
Sunday. We were to receive train
ing there but about four days later
got our orders to move on. This
time we went by foot, the battalion
going to the towns Of Maatz, Coublanc
and Grandchamp, three small peasant
villages in the southern part of the
Department of Haute- Marine. We
were about fifty miles north and a
little east of Dion. The 134th Com
pany was at Grsndchamp, where we
remained until we went to the front.
We were billeted out in barns, sheds
and houses. 1t was pretty cold at
that time, but with a good quantity OF
hay and q blankets we managed to
keep fairly warm. Our greatest diff
fculty was keeping our feet dry, as
it rained nearly every day the first
month we were there and we had no
fires. At night we would take oil
shoes and socks and rub our feet good
with a rough towel and put on dry
socks for the night and the next
morning dry shoes, using our shoes
and socks in rotation. The chow was
very poor and scarce the first month
and we went hungry many times.
The first draft of 100 men left from
our company for the front the latter
part of April. They took n shippers,
so Russell was left behind and l was
in the Sick Bay at the time with
mumps. The early part of June came
news of the Marines at Chateau
Thierry, and on the night of June 9th
the remainder of the company left
Grandchamp for the front. On the
morning of the 18th we were in Paris,
but were not allowed to detrain.
About noon of that day we detrained
at the city of Meaux, about 25 miles
from Chateau hierry. There we
we waited for the troop trucks to take
us up to the front. We could hear
the murmurs of the big guns distintly
at Meaux, and realized that we were
getting closer to the Great Expert
ence' each moment. About six o'clock
that evening the trucks dumped us
several miles behind the lines. Our
hearts were beating faster now-en-
envy shells yer bursting near us, u
batteries from behind bushes, hedges,
etc., were responding, numerous air.
planes were above us. That night,
the night of June 18th, we went into
the lines. There were over a thous-
and of us-all requirements. We sure
saw some fireworks that night. Rus
sell and l were side by side. We had
some difficulty in getting to the lines
as the Boche had US spotted and was
Smelling US. Sometime after mid
| night we were in Belleau Wood and
were told to lie down and sleep. But
sleep was impossible. The artillery
fire was getting more intense-the
shells with their deadly misses we're
exploding everywhere, almost etun-
ming US with their terrible sounds.
Russell and I lay on the ground cud-
died close to each other trying, but
failing, to comprehend it all. My
brain reeked with the horror of 1T.
But at last morning came and with it
fresh hopes. We went on into the
lines and Russell and | we're put into
the 55th Co., 9th Regiment. What
was left of the 55th Co. had been in
the lines for IL days and were x
hausted. That afternoon the I'd Bat
TALON of the 9Th, consisting of the
18th, 43d, 51st and 55th Companies,
were ordered to attack an important
Hill covered by numerous German
Machine Gun nests. The attack start
ed Immediately after noon. Russell
and / started out side by side. We
did not know we were going into an
attack until the Machine Guns opened
No. -, ,,o Wn had MT olnnt oin0n Un
left Grandchamp five days before.
We wished each other the best of luck
and started out. The enemy Machine
Gun fire was %murderous, but by eight
O'Clock that night we had wiped them
out and won our objective. A Ma
chine Gun bullet cut about a half inch
of flesh out of Russell's thigh, but he
never went to the hospital. There
followed several days of worse than
He'll in Belleau Wood, but finally
about June 18th we we're relieved and
went back to a town named Saacy on
the Marine River. Five days later we
went back into the lines. On this
trip Russell and l were together for
two days and nights on an outpost
near the enemy lines. We dug a hole
in the ground out there and one of us
stayed in it while the other lay in the
weeds watching the German lines.
Life was only a chance and mighty
uncomfortable out there. June Both,
Russell's 10Th birthday, we lay in oui
dugout together all day, as things
were very quiet. On July Sd oul
Division, the Second, was relieved BY
the 26th Division and we began to hike
back toward the rear. Russell and
had some canned heat and we haC
some real meals for that place. Hi
was the chef and would cook up oul
monkey meat in different styles
When we could get potatoes W,
t would cook up some hash. We die
, not get very far in u backward
move. Anticipating a great German
drive down the Marne Valley towarC
: Paris, the Allies were throwing owe
a million reserves in the valley be-
tween Chateau Thierry and Meaux an
thes2d Division was thrown into thl
second supporting line of Defense
Our Battalion was in the town Q
Villers sur Marine. There is wher,
0 Russell took sick with tonsilitis an
left July 18th for Vichy. The entirv
. Division left on the night of the 16t,