The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1919-02-28
Letter From France

are either on guard or down to Cob
lenz, so there isn't much doing a.
round camp. was at Coblenz last
Sunday. 1t is quite place, having
street cars and ice cream. The Y.
M. G. A. furnishes most of the en-
-tertainment for the soldiers. They
have moving picture shows and
various kinds of amusement.
Our mess sergeant made raise
OF some chocolate candy the other
day and we where each able to buy
a pound box of it. 1t was sure
great. That and the Xmas package
just about satisfied my taste for
sweets, for the present at least.
We are feeding good but not
working hard enough to enjoy it
like we did on the front.
We had our picture taken with the
gun some time ago. You know we
have about the best heavy gun
made. 1t is 155 m.m., or about 6
inch caliber with 19A foot tube,
rubber tired wheels and weighs
about IA tons. We were the first
regiment on the front with them.
The 146 Field Artillery, made up
principally of Idaho and Washing
ton men, are in the same brigade.
We have never been with the 41st
Division since we came over. At
first we were with the 9Th French
army and then with the 1st Amer
lean army corps. When the 1st
American army was oragnized for
the st. Mihlel drive we were made
Army Artillery, which we have
been ever since. We were assigned
wherever they needed US most and
it seems that they never had any
trouble finding place for US, as
we were always on the job when the
show started.
Sometimes we would advance in
platoons, leaving part of the guns
in position and usually firing. In
our first position our section put
over four rounds in one minute and
ten seconds. think that is the
record for fast shooting but an
other crew got one over on us by
putting 120 shots over in one hour.
i The paint was dripping off when
they got through. The old guns
used to be warm for days at time
and when the nights were cool you
could always keep warm around
them.
All the men carry rifles except
the mon coms," who carry side
arms. Down in the Marine in July
we had the rifles loaded and ready
for instant use. The Boche got un-
comfortably close at one stage of
the game. If they had come little
closer it was the infantry for US as
it would have taken too long to
move the guns out
Another time when we were on
the west bank of the Meuse, we
were called out at 800 a. M, and
ordered to dig in. We al made fox
holes and were armed with German
potato smashers," rifles, pistols
and various instruments of warfare.
All we lost, though, was three hours
sleep and experienced little heav-
ier shelllng than ordinary.
| got so that | could hit the
ground so quick it was sure comical.
Old Mother Earth sure looks good
when the shells go singing through
the air, and the more you see of it
the more respect you have for them,
tho we never would dig in unless
ordered to.
They short our tent full of holes
,, one night. A few minutes after we
; hac gotten out the bullets even cut
, the ropes that held it up. Another
, time two of US were sleeping in
shed close to the road when thev
killed mule and threw dirt all
over the shed. Lots of funny things
,, happened and a fellow was usually
scared at the time, but we all
had many good laughs at one time
. or another.
No one seems to have any idea
when we will start for home, but l
am not going to worry about it or
count the days. Love TO all, Tom