The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-06-10
Getting Right Into Midst of Fighting
Without Delay and Keeping at
Fighting Until ARMS
tice.
BY A KEoKUK SOLDIER
This Private Kept Going from the
Mississippi to the Rhine and
Saw Many Experiences
on the Way.

MY company was in the first line
Of the first wave writes Private
Finley B. Rowe to his mother, Mrs.
O. w. Rowe, of Keokuk, land it was
raining all the night we were wait
ing to start over, which we were TO
do at o'clock in the morning.
when we entered the Huns front
line trenches, things were pretty
well cleaned, with the exception Of
few of their machine gunners. and
they were scared stiff. You could
hear them halIoo 'Kamarad' as we
advanced along to our objective
about eight miles away. They went
so fast, they were going into Metz"
This was in the Argonne- Mouse
sector, and Private Rowe continues:
In the Real Fighting.
1--WE stafd on the front for fifty
three days, getting relieved by the
Seventh division OF regulars coming
into the line for their first time.
Our Goth division captured a good
many guns of all calibers, prisoners
and different kinds OF equipment
Reducing the st. Mfhiel salient
was a great success for the Ameri-
can army. After getting relieved on
that front, we started to hike to the
rear and had a rest for one day, to
recruit up, when we were loaded on
trucks and sent up in the Argonne
front. We entered the front line
trenches in the Meuse-Argonne front
battle about November /, and were
fighting when the armistice was
signed"
Then his regiment went into the
army of occupation and were in Ger
many until time TO start home.
Making the Huns Remember.
1t was about the first OF August
when Rowe and his comrades, after
intensive training at ST. Marks, were
sent on to the front. stopping first
about five miles behind the front
lines, at village called Martin
court
But they stafd there only few
hours, and then went into the front
line trenches and were in the midst
of the fighting of the world war.
They had twelve days in the
trenches there, and after a short
rest, back into the trenches they
went again.
Then they got their taste of real
battle Something Ike three thou
sand guns of ali calfbers were set
around the infantry when the bar
rage began at / o'clock one morning.
AND believe me, it was some bar
rage that the Huns won't forget for
a long time" the Keokuk soldier
writes.
A Solid Year Of War.
Private Rowe left home a little
over year ago and now is coming
home from the army of occupation,
the Third American army, the Sew
enth corps, the Ninetieth division,
and Company l.. Of the 357th infan-
try, which is part Of the 179th brig
ade He left Camp Dodge May II,
1918, for Camp Travis, was there as
signed to his regiment, and then
quickly went through Camp Mills to
the transport which he boarded June
20. last year, sailing early the next
morning
Sixteen other boats were in that
convoy, and they zigzagged all the
way across the Atlantic and around
the north coast of Ireland, to land
at Liverpool the night OF July 2.
1t was the Fourth of July when his
unit paraded through Southampton
10 take boat across the channel to
La Havre. Quickly loading on
! train, they rode two days, and then