The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-01-20

lively anu 10 obey orders explicitly, TO
go only as far forward as the desig
mated point. to curb their ambition to
chase the last German back to Berlin,
TO have proper respect for the gas
mask, to fight the cootie, and in fact
thousand and one things of like
nature. The end came in June, and
about the middle of July we landed in
the vicinity of Chateau Thierry
Here we pulled together once again
and as soon as that was fully accom- +
plished in we went and relieved the
marines, They said that we could not
hold it, that il was untenable, and that I
sooner or later the Boche would resume +
his advance on Paris. | myself came 1
near getting into trouble with ma /
rine lieutenant when he told me that l
the marines were afraid that the Goth |
would lose what little the marines had I
been able TO hold on to. Stuff like that |
does not usually 90 in this division |
! The details of all that followed l can t |
tell you of, for it is too long a story |
The entire advance was started with a |
breaking loose of hell. The air was |
| alive with shells, gas was everywhere,
and one could hardly move without |
running into a machine gun nest. They
were placed in the most conspicuous
places, some in trees, in patches of |
woods, at the side of the road. in cul- |
verts, in buildings, that is, what was
| left of them, and in fact all over the |
| landscape. Our advance took us
through woods, through wide open and
large fields of wheat and through little
villages. At the end of the first day
the shining yellow wheat fields were
red in places and here there and every
where there was the little crumpled
lup spots that marked the dead and
wounded as they Law amidst the
wheat, Our boys went on and on hard
ly stopped to drink or eat and with
no chance to sleep. Packs were thrown
away in the very beginning Every
thing was done away with that would
retard our movements in any way The
order was TO go forward, and forward
we went, the whole division and many
times during that day and the days
that followed my men established their
lialson groups, and the ambulance head
between the Americans and the Ger.
mans We lost terribly during this
push but in no instance did we with
draw as a division. | hesitate to tell
/, you of our losses for that is not ex-
actly allowed. But at the end after our
; last days detectives had been reached
not one of us who remained had anv
: of our old-timc close friends and COM
u rades left. / lost three of nv best
= officers and quite a large number of
! men. My closest friend, a man who
had twice saved my life, as | firmly be-
I lieve, was killed on the second dav bv
> a pound shell. lie is buried where
he fell near a road fork and | have
5 since had built up a little wooden fence
y about the grave in order that his
z loved ones may more easily find it
y when they come to France sometime in
!, the future to look for the honored
u ground. We just set up little wood
: en- cross with his dog tag ON il and
9 said little prayer and then went
u away, but one and all of his friends
knows to his heart s satisfaction that
% he died as he wished, fighting for d
just cause and gin most honorable was
~ that it Is given TO man TO die He ha.
= won the ground in which he lies anC
q heres hoping that sentimental relatives
u will not try 10 remove his remain!
e from the hallowed spot after the wal
"a is over and peace comes to all man
$ kind. AT this time, and in fact dur
D. ing the last of our stay on the Tou
4 sector, ] was operating with artillery
s. | cannot tell You of my duties othe
al than that they had 10 do with haisoi
y work. When ! get home | can tell vol
pr more about it.
II On the same day my pal clicked il
10 | got mixed up somehow. never di,
"a quite understand il. with a bunch o
ha IN trax+ Of In,
10 never. and in fact have never worn
OF Red Cross hrassard During my sta,
q, with the artillery my work was sue
III that | could not and the rest of ii
Is time | refused to do so for persona
| reasons. Therefore | was at liberty o
III course 10 carry a gat II didn I do m
m much good and | guess my only saliva
y ton was a bag full of hand grenade
Oh which / found in the trench sclose be
side me. | got cut off from my hume
e. in fool counter attack somehow an
We before | had brains enough to knov
ne what was going on | found myself i
OF the trench alone and with severa
Germans on either side. have Away
W had one predominating fear and tina
- was of being taken prisoner and | the
'e and there made up my mind that
,sS wouldn't be- We know only too we
ne what happens to many n prisoner VIII
y is taken, especially those who put u
or a good fight. so | just went to it,
Iia admit about frightened to death, bu
> | went to it all the same and succeede
uI in clearing them out / thought wit
oii my grenades. All | had TO do was I
re- pull the ring and loss them over ant
presto, there were no Boche The
hg after waiting minute to make SUI
all was right | started to slip ont owe
ny the rear top to join my comrades.