Evening star., 1936-11-11

gas; orders to Withdraw the men:
safety in friendly shell holes-this
was the sequence during the next
hour-and to the shell holes we stuck.
for it was suicide to even crawl over
the ground. The particular shell hole
I was in was as big as an Office
building. I wished at that time that
it were as deep as the ocean.
Had it been struck the only nee
essary ceremony would have been to
have stuck six little wooden crosses
in the ground where we were. There
were four consecutive duds that hit
within a few feet Of the hole, any
one Of which would have done the
work had they exploded. Each one
in its turn brought forth a fervent
good old dud," and when three
more duds afterward struck Just as
close, felt sure that we were spared
for further work. This awful "straf-
fing" continued for two more hours
and for that length of time we didn't
venture far from safety. The hole
was even comfortable, with a good
supply Of cigars which thoughtfully
or by chance had with me, and except
for an occasional sniff of gas" Just
before communication with the rear
had broken on I had been informed
that all firing would cease at IL. At
10 minutes Of II business picked up
considerably and at 2 of-all hell
broke loose-it was then had my
doubts and as I followed the second
hand OF my watch through those two
centuries Of minutes, suspected that
Foch had forgotten to notify the
Kaiser. But at ll-apd the signatory
powers must have synchronized their
watches - all firing ceased and the
silence was painful. 1t was a dramatic,
almost a tragic, end to q horrible
bombardment and incidentally to the
war. For the war is only an incident
when one is being shelled out Of a
position. I've often admired the elk
toothed charm of an ELK" and have
seen the clocks face thereon. I do
not know the time it tells whether it
Is 5 OF IL or II O'Clock. but If It's set
at IL, I want to be q brother Elk and
wear q clock, for that holy hour saved
my battery from destruction.
Saw French Lorraine.
The burning questions with us now
are will we return to the States i'm
will we 60 into Germany
as troops Of occupation, or remain in
France to police up the "duds" and
NIL in the shell holes? My striker
says he saw enough Of France the first
week, he now thinks that this country
wouldn't be so bad If it weren't that
there are so many foreigners here.
I've seen bit Of French Lorraine-it
Is wonderful country-more so than
the lowlands of the Southern France,
but Southern France, like most SOUTH
ern countries, raises (and supports)
beautiful women. so much in its favor.
and we don't care much for scenic
beauty mo how" Then there are the
wines Of the southern districts-but
why talk Of love-
The new territory taken over puts
an added burden on J. F. C. and
Billy, eh? And to think that they will
have development well under way up
there before return, that Is rather
rough. It has been my experience
that much good can be discovered in
what they overlook. derive conso-
lation from that fact.
- u:
letter, the first time back into a dense
woods into dugout. safe and COM
Portable. I am now back at the bat
terry echelon, where the combat train
and horses are located. 1t is on the
horses that We will now concentrate,
for it Is on them that much depends
II We are to move. My big sorrel
was killed last week; in a pinch he
was attached to q caisson to haul
to the guns. A big one"
hit the road nearby, killing a few
horses and wounding several men. The
driver riding this particular horse had
his leg punctured by the shell frag-
ment which killed the horse. We
have had several narrow escapes like
that. sincerely yours, VAN.
Log Of 1st Battalion.
The November IL log OF the 1st
Battalion, 34lst Field Artillery fol-
lows:
First Battalion History, 341st Field
Artillery.
November 11-Move two batteries
forward at once to occupy positions in
the vicinity Of Marimbois Farme
Open warfare position Immemorial /.
"B" and &C" ordered forward. 4:52-
Regimental order as follows: Three
batteries to barrage on line 360.3O0-
249. 900, $50 680-248.530, ending on
line 361 000-249 600. 361. .40o-249.120.
Order changed to put only one bat