Newspapers / Gastonia Daily Gazette (Gastonia, … / Feb. 7, 1919, edition 1 / Page 6
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PAGK SIX THS GASTOIfIA GAZETTE. FRIDAY, FEBBUABY 7, 1919. PART GO. A, II5IH MAGH.Nt bUN BATTALION PLAYtO IN THE WAR Detailed Account of Activities of Captain R G. Cherry's Ma chine Gun Company, Composed Largely of Gaston Men As Part of the "Old Hickory Divi on" These Men Played An Im portant Part in Breaking the Hindenburg Line and Distinguished Themselves for Bravery. -By Capt. R. Gregg Cherry - COMPANY "A", 1 15th MACHINE GUN BATTALION A. E. F., A. P. 0. 749. December lit!., lltlS. Mrs. A. A Mr I. ran. (.iastonia. N. C. I H-ar Mrs. McLean : Your kind letter received an.l greatly appreciated. It is always so very good to hear from (iastonia ami learn how thiols are going in tin1 lioiiif town. I know the people of the States are over joyed with the signing of tl.e arniis'i e, considering such manner as it was ex acted from (iermany. Frame, Kngland, lU'llum. an.l all Kurope, save (iermany he.rself , are wild with joy. In all jirobability our Ibvisi n has seen its last real fighting :i i- f has finished its work in France. At prcscii. e we are quartered in the small village of Xeuv ill.ilais, near inc city if I-e Mans. It vv.is reported that we wouhl lie anions t!ie tirst I i v i ions to lie sent liai k t' the Mates. ' .1' the authorities have putu the ki liosh upon sueh talk ami I think that we are here for the winter. At leas we are counted among the thirty coiiitiatant divisions who are to remain in Frame until things become normal again. In spite nf the fact that it appears t j:i we will i ;.vi t . remain in Frame s me month- yet. I :m extremelv tl'ank.'ul and ha; pv v i the knowledge that eventually I ' i : 1 1 1 1 li able to take !:' k all those (ia.-tm .a I. . -who left their homes wi li ne many months ago! Since the leles of i ensoi .-hip been relaxed in many instances I vv: tell you some of the things we have !yi ve it to been doing since having the States. It will 1) reniemliered that this eompany nat organize' 1 at (iastonia letween the dates of June -otli ami July 4th. MM 7 as the Machine-tiun Troop, First North 'arolina Cavalry. The maximum strength of such an organization at that time was four officers ami ninety-one men. The Officers of the eompany were R. G. Cherry, Captain iCaistonia). William T. Council! (Hickory, X. C. ), First Lieuten tint, lien K. Douglas, ((iastonia, N. ('.), :ind John K. (iray, (Tryon, N. C). Heeond Lieutenants. Vpon going to Camp 8evier, !S. ('. tor training tht strength of our company was raised to six officers aint one humlreil ami seventy two men, ami the outfit Uvame Company A" 1 1Mb Machine (iun Battalion. 60th lirigade 3()th Division, United Htates Army. 1st Lt. (ieorg. F. I'lott of Waynewvillc. X. C. was one of the addi tional officers added, and ho brought forty good stalwart mountaineers from Haywood ami Jackson Counties as his contribution. We received the remaining strength of the company through the draft from Cabarrus ami Nash Counties of North Carolina. Major William H. ltoberston of Charlotte, N. '. was our Hattalion Commander. With such an outfit we put ovei the liaril winter i f !!17 Is at Camp Sevier undergoing training. In the meantime Ijt. Council resigned his rommission and -nA Lt. Douglas was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, while 1st Sgt. John O. Kan kin, Gavtonia. X. C. ) was commissioned nd Lieutenant ami Sgt. Martin H. Shu ford made lt-t Sergeant to replace Rankin. ( April .Iiith, '.17, Lt. Rankin, my wJf, and three Sergeants, Lawrence I). Xuchols, (Charlotte), George W. Wilson, Gaston ia I, and Harry ( ). Shenck, ( Way tiesville), were made a part of the Thir tieth Division Advance School iMachmcnt and sent ai r. is- via Holi.iken. N. V. ami It.-est, Frame, (far party left Hoboken on the steam-hip George Washington in ompany with the American and the Ie Kalh formerly the famous German raider the I'rime F.itrl Freider'nh. We landed in Brest. Ki.iii.e ,.n May It'th. Other than one -iil'lt.arine are when about two hundred mile- off the French coast imr trip was nuoe. tenon- and iinveiitful. I have never forgotten tlii attack by the iermaii Submarine. It occurred about .';:.'!() a. in. Fir-t there n- tie- ,-le.tric alarm in cwv mnpai t e ent (' '.' ship. theu there w,,s the siren whi ship. This wa- the signal f. on deck. I hard charge of fh. ml sixteen r.-,t- .... '' board side, and it was my ! that thirty six officers and thr nd fifty negro troop- wee I the boats and mi the raft- in ;tle the .lie llf I. leik. lit v- t. a r -ee I hl.le. a. led int.. an orderlv manner. Everyone ha.' gone through the formality of assembling on B k at their jnst many times before, in fact mi much that the negro troops called the exercise "Drowning Drill." This morning every thing went off like elm-k work. Subma rine destroyers were on the job. darting here and there around tde ship. On board everything was deathly quiet. Thus we awaited the order to lower boats, but the order never came. However, we were hHd on deck nritil daylight. During this wait upon deck many comical remarks were heard among the negro troops. One unh to me: "Cap. for Iord 's sake they ain't agwine to sink us? " I told him no, we were alright. He gave a deep sigh of rlief and said to one of his comrades: "Well, nigger, Ise tellin ' yon the truth. For the Children. Too much rare cannot be exercised in Mlecting a oough medicine for children. It should tie pleasant to take, contain no baneful drug and most effectual in eur bK their coughs and colds. Long ex--pcrionen baa shown that Chamberlain's Cswga Remedy meets these conditions. It ia ftwite with many mothers. if I ever see land again, -.ley 's sho gotta build a bridge oer the ocean or, Ise's a Fiiiropean nigger from mm on!" On May ."ith, the entire Thirtieth Divi sion entrained for ( amp Merrit, X'. J. My company was under the command of Lt. George F. I'lott and the other Lieuten ants. 'I he on tit remained at Camp Merrit until May loth when they entrained for l hilia.lelphia, where they sailed for Eng land via I la II i f a N. S. and Liverpool. The Division landed in Liverpool, Eng land May -'Mh, litis. During their trip ..vrr l hey had also been subjected to a -ill. marine atui. k during which their ship crew threw overboard several depth bombs which resulted in damage to their own -hip. All the I hi im s of the ship were put .. vv.ik and ti e crew managed to get the I i avel f i.i d into do. k safely. Our Division i The old Hickory .".nth' .ami the New Vnrk Division (L'7thl be aine a art of the Se mi. I Corps under Givetal "b'ead. and while we were sup posed to l.e a part of the Se.-ond Ameii can Army a in t of we:e gj.,. B.iti-h r; pint, and we really were attached to ami the Second British Army. We Itiitish guns, British clothes, i 'i.s, British hi.r-es and trans British instrm tots. In fa.-t. i.i h.i l. . we v. el e .n the B 1 1 ls!i :.i i v, i: n i: i;i! i.-a- i. i to U1..1.01 !, say ''old chap."' "'old t.. -pi.ik with nasal accent-, or !'.. lit I'.loo.ly Blighty ' '. ..i eve' I tl i four o 'clock tea "! We stu k c. thought only of the ' 1". S. A. "' weir a 'hnie ' i . talk drink ' t.l ("off. and Kept the spirit and lighting qualities of the real American soldier. Thu- it came about that we were gixen British instructors in our machine-gun work. The Company was put through an intensive course of training, with permis sion for ccitain officers an l men to visit the front for observation purposes. Lt. Douglas, and Sergeants George Van Dyke, Loin Britton and Cliften B. Jenkins were among those to go up from "A" Com pany. On July ."th, l!ls, our Battalion start ed for the front. We were three days on the hike, but finally arrived at W'atou on the borderland of France and Belgium. Near Watou in an open pasture, shelter ed in ' pup tents ' ', w ithin range of shell fire ami subject to nightly air raids we established our rear headquarters. The place was called Camp Ritchie and remained i in base as long as we were in Belgium. Soon after mir arrival in Bel gium Major Robertson was replaced by Major V. W. Fierce. ' ( ioldsboi o, N. C. .. who has acted as our Battalion comman der through the succeeding months. On July liith ' A " and "B" fAshe villt. X. ('. 1 companies of our Battalion No. o, but I am back with my company were ordered into the front line, which at that time extended between the ruined city of Ypres ami Kenunel Hill. Our trip to the line is vividly remembered. ' . the early morning we marched from l';.i'. Ritchie to Chinese Camp located ns' outside the ruined and deserted city of I'opperinghe. We could not go closer than Chinese ('amp in daylight. To do so would bring us undei direct observa tion of the enemy who held all De high ground of the sin 'rounding country. The roads were camoullageil even as far back as Ritchie Camp to prevent the enemy seeing trallic along the roads. In the afternoon about three o'clock the enemy began shelling the roads and back areas. Late in the afternoon I called the com pany together and cautioned them that this was their tilst tiip into the lines, and 'hat each and every one was expected to do his full dutv - nothing less no matter what happened! 1 asked if thee was anyone who was afraid to go. if si, to drop out there. Real men in. thing less were wanted. No one dropped on. All -tiuk. and continued to stick thru the fighting months which in'ervemd between .lulv and the signing of the Arni'-tice. At 7 :.:o p. m. we h-ft hines 'amp to take up positions with the British along foe Ypres Cornines ( aiinal. It was a toed two In. or- iiia..h Tie boy- wee in i: -d -.i":t -lightly ii''rvi.n., hot with a -eady !. rmina' ion to go in that night, v- tue s'n Hint down the enemy began to si, ell the roads with greater vi.-iousness. li ' shed- 'ell in front of us. some fell I.e. .in I '! -o there was nothing to do but GO ON! Soon we began to feel n littl' mure confident and took our situa tion a nutter ..f cou:se. On the way I 'Wii. in th.- midst of a ho'l.v shelled area, we were held up by a regiment of Infantry on the road in front of us, an.l pas-c. through a fifteen minutes wait that was terrifying, to say the least. Rankin who wa- in command of Second I'latoon wa- misguided, lust, delaved nearly an hour by taking Lt. the and the wrong road which led to a ida called Smythe Farm instead of following the column to nui headquarters at Belgian Chateau. Finally his guide, a Mighty Englishman, found his way out and crime the light road to our headquai tei s. Just as the entire company arrived at company headquarters the enemy put down a cm centrated artillery barrage on an Eng lish battery of howitzers located about one hundred yards from our position. Some of his shells fell short am! two Tommies were wounded while standing near my company. This almost "Put the wind up" some of my fellows, but nothing was said and no one of my com pany wns hurt. In a short while all the gun teams had taken their equipment from the gun limbers and started for their nearest gun position. You can imagine my feeling of relief when about two hours afterwards the platoon runners came in one at a time bringing me the message that all teams had reached their gun positions without casualty. Private 1 heron B. Ormand, of (iastonia probably the youngest and smallest soldier in tne company, has acted thru the entire war as runner for the First I'latoon. 1 remem ber this night in particular. Ormand was the first to bring ba. k his message. He and the British Tommy who came back with him, came into my l adquarters putting and blowing both had been run ning all the way for Jerry'' was sim ply shelling terrifuly the entire area with gas and shrapnel. I asked Ormand if it wasn't pretty hot outside, he replied, "Not much, Captain, Sir", but the Tommy who came back with Ormand broke into the conversation exclaiming, "Not much you're bloody, damn right, it's hot out there! I've been here three months ami its the worst I 've ever seen. There was a shell on the road behind us every step of the way up the plank road, ami I thought he (Jerry) was going to get us!" In justice to Oriiian-I it must l.e said that he has had a dangerous job, but one which someone had to do. and one which he selected himself and volun ttered to do. He has carried messages through heavy barrages of machin gun and shell lire and while he has frequently been knocked down by the explosion and shock of shells, or had to lie at on the ground, in mud and water while machine '.u'i bullets whi7ed over his back there is no re. i lle tioii by myself or his com rades w.,cre 'Shine'' Ormand has played the part of the coward or failed to do his du y i i a single instance. Ma ior I.onia. k, a S. otcl man. in cm ni'i nd of the British citnpa.iv with whom we were a-s .elated, to. k me a round to visit the gun positioi - during the night. We hit company he:i. Iqua : t 'i - about one 0 'iluk and returned at six thi'tv a. m. All tin teams wi re in good sha e, the men had water and ration- and had be come adjusted to their surr mndirgs. All weie eager to s, e ll neinv. Tl .i- begi n our li'st nigh's expeiiei'.e ,:i the ,no. My (ith. er- at thi- time ii."'.' Lt. Rankin, of Gastol-ia. I t. I'egal .w-kie and i Do Wert hi' Illinois. Lt. D-ugla- wa-auav at school. Lt. Gray wa- bat'aliou Supply Officer and Lt. I'lott had hen left back at the base. Later the British withdrew and we were left entirely on our own. Lt. D uiglas and (iray replaced I'egalow-kie and Do Werf tin. I I had my old company together operating upon our own hook. The task of supplying us with food, water and r.upi lies was ably managed by Sergeants Rohert S. McLean, Berber' Miller and Samuel B. Hovis. And just here in fair ness to these sergeants, it must be said that the company never lacked for its share of rations, or went without water, or other supplies which it was possible to get. These sergeants did the work of officers and did the job well. They were constantly under shell tire and especially subject to that worsts of nil nerve-racking pests, the night bombing plane, and weie als i subject to heavy fire when go ing to and from the front with supplies. In spite of their handicaps they never mi-so I an appointment or disobeyed an order. For their splendid work and whole hearted loyalty they deserve great credit. It was a part of the Captain's duties to establish a eompany headquarters at which all platoon commanders could keep in communication with him, to lay out the general scheme of defense, to have general supervision of the entire eompany and to visit all of the gun teams at least iiu i' in twenty foui hours. To make the entire tor.r around the guns it required from six to eight hours depending upon he activity of the enemy. While making these trips I always took someone with me, usually Sergeant Shufoi 1 or Sergeant Wakefield went along. I lenieinh-r one night John Queen, one of the company cooks was up at the front. He wan'ed to make the rounds. So he started out from company headquarters with a good nerve until we came to a long trail known as the " Brushy Road which we had to follow about one and one half miles to get to two of the guns. The trail was perfectly level, except for the numerous shell holes, ami the Boi he always swept the road at irregular intervals witli bursts of ma chine gun fire. The moon was shining very bright and you could see a man for more than five hundred yards. Suddenly, 1 I card a swish, swish, swish, sound close by us. I yelled to the cook, "Down, lie lowii! "' After a bit the fire ceased, and I -tarted ahead, but missed the cook. I "p in going back to where I thought he must have stopped, I found him lying flat on the ground with his face buried ia his lands. I askid him what wa- the mat ter? He says. "'Lordy. Cap, 1 was done down a long time befoie you said down, but I was going to wait here all night if yen .ii.ii. "t say GET CI" "" Many things of interest happened dur i ig our stay along the front in Belgium. We occupied at some time, all the ma chine gun positions from Anzae Ridge to the ("anal ' Ypres-Comines . The fight ing in Belgium while we were there was purely trench and position warfare all our work was of a defensive character. Everything had to lw done by night un der cover of darkness The slightest movement in day light was sure to be ob served bv the enemy and would bring down a hurricane of shelling when night came. The men lived in small lievies and holes along the railway and canal bank like so inanv musk rats. Our principal food was " Bully Beef. " cheese, coffee and bread. In the early morning after the guns were dismounted Ihere would lie all kinds of cooking utensils patented from petrol tins and mess kits. Each Dollars and Cents. Counting it only in dollars and cents, how much did that last cold cost youf A man may not always s'op work when he has a cold, but rhaps it would lie lietter if he did. It takes about ten days to get completely rid of a cold under the usual treatment. That time can be much shortened by taking Chamberlain 'a Cough Remedy and proper care of your self, in fact, a bottle of this remedy in the honse is a mighty good investment during the winter and spring months. squad prepared its own food and some) really good eats were prepared when the facilities available are considered. In disregard of all warning of danger, and in spite of the fact that any smoke would be observed by the enemy, the men in sisted on making fires to prepare their food. They had to have something hot if it cost them their lives and who could blame theiuf I The tasty menus read about in the big magazines, the poster and picture book covers showing the American soldiers going into the V. M. C. A. hut for a hoB meal, the handing out of hot chocolate and of such stuff as dreams are made of, so far as my company or our battalion is concerned. I would not for the world dampen the ardor of a valiant worker for the Y. M. C. A. or War Work Campaign and such like they are all ALL (iOOD, but so far since coming to France I re member two instances where Red Cross men gave tobacco, cigarettes ami choco late to the boys of my company, as for the others I remember nothing. ' 1 have not wen a Y. M. ('. A. hut since leaving the States but 1 know they are here somewhere, for I have read about their woik in the papers! The Y. M. C. A. man for our division is located at division headquarters, which is usually ten to twenty miles distant from our battalion. The battalion Supply Officer ha- tluough his own industry been able to purchase from the V. M. C. A. tobacco, cigarettes, and a limited amount of candy win. h was resold to the in. u at what was called 'Cost'". I have a,.: written the forego ing in the way i f criticism, but it is well that the home t dk- l.e disillusioned and know some of the real truth, now that the war is over! Then too, it must not be forgot'en that the American V M. ( '. A., Red Cross and War Work soiieties did their real work down on the American front. But 1 am convinced that many did most of their work in the back areas. " In and around '' I'aii-. Bordeaux. Brest. Niece, St. Main. Tours, lieuen and in so ailed '" Leave areas'' and about the hos pi als and repla.-einei. t .-.-iiops. In such places whole t Iioiis:iii.s of soldiers were kept and us.d ::s a p;n: in the a:iny but " ho never got near tl.e tiring line or even ll s .iiiel of the guns. Of couise life with them w:; monotonous but witli lighting units t.'eic was s nuething either going n ... i i,e expe ted at all tunes. The lighting urn s have ;i liftle sing about the men ba. k in the Serv. r of Pnpply which is for convenience called 'SOS''. The chorus of which g es as follows and ear ries its full meaning with it: ' Mother take in your Service Flag Your son's in the "SOS''! It must also be remembered that we were with the British who had their own system of canteens, but as a matter of fact the usual but not universal practice the British de'-lineil to sell to American soldiers. When our boys attempted to buy the canteen worker would say: We only have a little for our own chaps." But the boys didn't complain and were contented to eat their "Bully Beef", bread, cheese ami hardtack and get a mixture from the rolling kitchen which hey well named " Slunigully " after which to content themselves they would sing the following song, a parody on "Back Home in Tennessee' written by First Sergeant Robert F. Wakefield : Hack home in old X. C. Just try to picture me Down by my mother's knee She thinks the world of me All I can think of to-night Is the very lights so bright Nine twos singing, shrapnel ringing I 've an awful fright That mud around the dug out door f Sill I 'i H IW cHWi , i ' i ! "l,; t ' 'I'll , . . I ' l l'' .iiti'i?.iM!it' r Va.hytatT wssiti if I Makes me want-a go home more Lid Fritz shoots like hell He aims so "Bloody" well Back home where they need me You can imagine how they'll feed me When I get back, When 1 get back To my home in old "N. C."I So much for the feeding of the men. Herliert Miller, of Lincolnton is Mess Ser geant and is an excellent manager. He knows what he ought to get from the Quartermaster and how and what to buy from outsiders, and is always alert to the needs of the Company. I'mlcr his man agement there was accumulated a mess fund of more than two thousand dollars in the States, which has helped wonder fully since coming to France. Henry Miller of Gastonin is Chief Cook with Kutlin Ayers of Nashville, N. C. and John yueen, of Waynesville, N. C. as able as sistants. Then, too, there are Wesley Me Mahan, Ernest I'lott and John Kluttz tho faithful " K. I'"s" who kept the cans buried and the pots and rolling kitchen shining. This was ihe kitchen staff that lid tin' feeding. Suffice it to say, that the men when in the line lived on what could be carried up in sand bags and when out of the line on what could he prepared on a rolling kite hen. The cooks did well with what they had to do wi h. During our operations in Belgium, "A" Company lost only one man. One ifternoon about fi.oll Lieutenant Rankin, Douglas and myself had just been to one of tiie gun positions, with a view of hanging it and had not been away more than seven minutes when a huge shell, a ! J I it directly upon the position, com pletely destroying the gun and s.-rioiisly wounding the gunner. This was Private Loiinie C. Wc Ilium, of Statesville, N. (', the first casualty nf my Company. I have since l.'ained that he will leeovci, bnl has '. one leg. I'o Lieutenants Douglas. Rankin and i iray ami their i.nt ii ing efforts to instnn t :ii .1 look after the men of their platoon-, must be accredit! I the success with vvhicii . e went I l.r i. oh i.ur experien.es in the i res -e tor witii so few casualties. A distinct iiistaio o of tin ir fidelity to duty is i eniem hc-n ' , when on one oc a-ioti it v.is re, ...I ted upon good authority that' 'I i.emy would put down a heavy at tilh ry barrage ami probably make an at ,'o k the following morning. Orders ame that all hilantrv detachments would be withdrawn from the out posts and the ft. nit line, ami that si many it the Ma chine Guns as toe Commanding Officer leenn'd a Ivisu'de. The Major Cciiuiiiuud ing the detachment of Infantry withdrew lis t-oops until all liifantrv was com pletely behind our Machine Gun positions all along the line. The Major met Lieut enant Cray .'.own at his p si ions and suggested that he withdraw his guns, but tie Lieutenant promptly told him that t'r.ptani ('berry wiw commanding the Ma ihine (iun Company and that he could not withdraw his guns unless ordered by his Commanding Officer, and stated that he did not think I would order the guns moved. Then it was that the Major sent for me. 1 'pon reporting to his Head quarters the order regarding withdrawal was read and the Major stated that it was optinal ami that he would leave me to handle the machine guns as J thought best. Immediately I scut a runner to inch o' the I'latoon Commanders to leave their guns where they were no matter what the Iiifantry did. That night be tween two o'clock and daylight 1 made my tour of inspection of the guns. I found Lieutenant (iray at the railway bank with his forward guns, his Platoon Sergeant, Edmund H. Bradley at his rear guns and all men standing to ready for any emergency. I found Lieutenant II8WF smokes pot with Prince Albert it hits you so fair and square. It's a scuttle full of jimmy nine and cigarette makin's sunshine and as satisfy "iillit! pill1 ing as it is delightful every hour of the twenty-four I It's never too late to hop into the Prince Albert pleasure pasture ! For, P. A. is trigger-ready to give you more tobacco fun than you ever had in your smokecareer. That's because it has the quality. Quick as you know Prince Albert youll write it down that P. A. did not bite your tongue or parch your throat. And, it never will! For, our exclusive patented process cuts out bite and parch. Try it for what ails your tongue! Toppy rmd baft, tidy r4 tint, AmmIsowm pomd and half pound tin kamidon andthat cUvtr, mtwetieal pomnd eryttat gtan humidor with iponga moittmnmr torn that kopm th tmhmeca in ach perfect condition. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem, N. C Douglas on the canal at his forward , with Sergeant Nuchola at his rear fm and all men standing-to ready fof any emergency. I found Lieutenant Rankin in the same relative position with all men standing-to for any emergency. It was ra her a nervous situation I must admit to have all the Infantry completely be hind ami nothing in front except the enemy who was expected to attack at any .line. But to have moved our guns would have rendered them practically use less in view of the fact that they were all sited under a prepared defensive scheme, and at any rate would have gained us nothing ami would have been contrary to the principles which had been drilled into tiie men as machine gunnel s, which wits; Machine-Gunners stand fast! Ma.-hiiie-Gunners figfit to the last! ' Luckily no attack was made and we were doubly right in not moving the guns. While in Belgium Lieutenant G.'orge F. I'lott, was sent away to attend the Ma chine (iun School, and there during his course of training lie lost his health and was transferred to a Replacement Camp. A Is j Sergeant Martin H. Shuford, went ' lo attend the Officer 'a Training School, at Emigres. France, where he received a commission as Second Lieutenant and was assigned t i an Infantry Company in the New York Division. The transfer of Sit geant Shuford was a distinct loss to the Company, but it is pleasing to know that he litis survived the war with an Officer's excellent record in his present Battalion. Sergeant Robert F. Wakefield of Char lotte, N. C. was made First Sergeant to replace Sergeant Sliuford, and in justice to an appreciation of Wakefield, it must be said l hat during the trying months of the war he has made an excellent First Sergeant. He knows bis job, and fills it to the full satisfaction of all concerned. In the latter part of August 191H we iet't the Ypres sector and went to the lit '!e French village of Oateivillc, near St. I'. I, where we were attached to the Kourtlr !' itish Army and underwent a two weeks coi.se of institution, preparatory to go no' ii't i the liii" on another front. On .-' ti rn her loth wo moved t i Rubempre, where after four days we hiked twelve ii. lies one af teruoon.vvere loaded in trucks, rode all night through the ruined ritien ..f Albei t, Arras, Terrene and other towns of the Somme Sector, finally stopping near the village of Tincourt , from which place we hiked seven more miles in the morning to a temporary camp. The fel lows were "all in" and the Captain too! On the night of September .Ith "A" ''ompany went into the lines taking up positions just in front of the villages of llargicourt and Yillerett. On the after noon of the :27th we were told of th big stunt which would be pulled on Sunday the L'flth. I was ordered to take "A" and"C" (Wilmington, X. C.) Companies and put down a Machine Gun Barrage on the left of our Divisional Sector. I was supposed to pick out my battery posi tions on the night of the 27th. With Lieutenant Douglas and Sergeant Tabor of "A" Company and Lieutenant liar din of "( ( Viinpany. I started oat o find the positions on the grounds whirl) we had chosen on the map. Darkness soon came on, there were no trenched to follow, for this was the battle field front ing the famous Hindenburg Line, and it was a mass of shell holes with new ones being made every few minutes. We ran, crawled, and worked our way the best we could along and through the maze of shell holes looking for the place which filled I the description of our barrage position -but could find nothing. After being out (Continued on page 7.) m YOU can't help cutting loose joy us remarks every time you flush your
Gastonia Daily Gazette (Gastonia, N.C.)
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