ID 570 .34 106lh .B3 Copy 1 THE COM PA HISTO Class lW7a_ Book.. b (o T»v Gopyrig'iitN°rB?) COKKIGHT DEPOSm THE STORY OF COMPANY B 106th machine gun BATTALION 27th division, U. S. A. BY LESLIE S. BAKER PUBLISHED BY THE COMPANY NEW YORK, 1920 Copyright. 192(1 Bv Leslie S. Baker MaV IOIB20 ©CI,A566920 CONTENTS I'AKT OXEOVER HERE PART TWO— OVER THERE Cliapter I — Training and Preparation — !• rom Brest to Beauvoorde Woods 1.5 Chapter 1 1 — Reserve and SujJport Lines 2 t Chapter 1 1 1 — Front Line 3"i C'liajiter IV — Rests — From Oudezeele to Raineheval 3fi Cliapter V — The Devastated Country — From Tineoiirt to the Hindenbur- all the ineuiories of our war exjK'i-iences and of cementing more firmly tlie many friendshij^s re.sultinf>' from intimate association with each other under all sorts of conditions. It is believed that these friendships are the greatest assets realized by us from our happy and unhappy times together. The help of many has. of course, been necessary to bring this book to a final form for publication. To George Bucher the Company is indebted for the illustrations of the advertisements and the cover de- sign. The Company further acknowledges a debt of gratitude to Elbert F. Morley, of Company A, who has donated the use of some of the cuts, as well as many valuable suggestions. The statements made in the relation of the actual history are pri- marily intended to be only such as will interest the majority of the Company. The book is intended, of course, to be read by men who will breathe their own feelings into the text of the reading-matter, and so derive some amount of reminiscent enjoyment as they turn its pages. Leslie S. Baker. Brooklyn, X. Y., February, 1920. PART ONE OVER HERE PART ONE OVER HERE O.AIPAXY E. lOCtli .Madiiiic Gun battalion. '27th Division, United States Army, liad its ()rii>'in at Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina, on October 17th, 1917. l)v means of a very simple and rather unromantic or- der from Hea(l(|uarters, assigning thereto a certain numl)er of officers, non-com's and privates. Companv B — on paper — had its ori<>in on that date, hut the real Company 1? was horn some time earlier. In fact, the spirit which characterized the company in all its deeds, hoth over here and over there, was hut a continuation of the spirit of the old First New York Cavalry. This regiment, the hreaking up of which many regarded as a calamity, included the finest military element m New York State. The nine months s])ent hy it on the ^lexican Border in 191 (! merely served to centralize the spirit of pride of organization, friendships, and experience in actual soldiering, and the ideals of common interest which everyone now realizes as being indisjjensable to the efficient fighting unit. The entire lOOth ^Machine Gun Battalion was com- posed of this material. Company B being formed from all of Troop 1^, l)arts of Ti-oo])s (t, it and V. and a few men from the 10th Xew York Infantry. The second calling of the National Guard to Federal service in July, 1917, found the First New York Cavalry (|uite intact, but with large numbers of new men who had enlisted since the outbreak of war. These new men — almost all of whom have by this time forgotten that they were ever "rookies" — immediately reahzed the character of the outfit they had joined, and conducted themselves accordingly. It is very easy to imagine with what pride some of their mothers chatted with each other about "what a lucky l)oy my .Johnny was to get in with such a fine bunch." or "how fortunate that Bill is able to go away with all his friends," or even "since my Charley has been wearing spurs he has scratched uj) all the furniture." and the like. But when the regiment mobilized at the Bliss Estate, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and the old camp became the haven to scurry back to before reveille should blow, — then we began dindy to realize that Ave were at last in the field. And then, after days and days of horse exercise, running from the Crescent Clul), and a grand-stand retreat, with per- haps a date or two in the big town afterward, we were made to c.Hori' Ai' n \\ i{ii)t;K iiiiv niachiiic gunners. The course of iiiaeliiue yun k'c-tures whieli followed elosely upon this ahirinin<^" in- fonuation, with their easy references to such uiilieard-of thi)i,t>s as mils, aparejo. crujjpers and tactics, were al)solute (ireek to nearly all of us. 'I'ry though we nii^ht. Me could not heljj helieviny that, in some unaccountable way. \\e had offended the powers tliat he. and were ahout to un(ler<><) our punishment therefor. We were told that machine ^yunners liad to he amon^- the brainiest men in the service, hut we accepted tliis statement with a knowiui)- nocL as if we knew full well that such talk was only to salve our consciences. On October 9th. 1917, however, after we had been at ]?ay Itidoe nine weeks, we enti-ained at Communipaw. New Jersey, bound for Spartanburth IMachine Gun Battalion. .Just why it Mas to ])e tlie l()(!th we could not. in our simplicity, for a mo- ment imagine, but we explained it casually to the ignorant civilians by the fact that e\ei-yone thought in large figures in those days, and doubtless the War l)epai'tment had done so. too. Arriving at Camp Wadsworth early on the morning of Octt)ber 1 1th. aftei- a train ride which consisted of card playing between meals, we parted com])any with the deal" old hoi'ses. which we ha(L till then, accepted as ])art of the Troop. The horses were conducted to the remount station and we were marched to a dreary spot and told to pitch cam]). Jn the absorbing work of pitching tents, digging gutters and doing all kinds of policing, we were enabled foi- a time to forget tlie alisence of the horses. The fact that during those first few days, when we drilled, we did so according to cavalry formations, made it seem ])ossible that ])erha])s this machine gun talk might only be a l)ad G PICKET LINES AT CAM!' UI.ISS dream after all. Kven hmu; after we had eeased inarvellin<>' at the size of tlie C'diiipaiiy as it ran around the Kiit)iiieer "s eaiiij) before breakfast, it needed only a few eoneentrated yells of "Cavalry" to l)riniin. interest in the iruu heyan to pick up coiisidt'rahly. Hut one thiiii; we could not yet enthusiastic about was the ^as drill. A certain numher of hours a week had to l)e dex'oted to these performances, and it so happened that the hours assiyned to oui' com- pany were usually the coldest, sd that we stood there and ti'ied to put on our l)orr()wed masks in less than six seconds, while our hands and ears were fairly freez- ing'. ( )ne day. liowe\er. we ])assed through the j^' a s t'hamhei'. and that was moi'e excitin<4'. as thei'c was always the hope that some- o n e w o u I d he chump enough to put his mask on liackw ard. and s d y- e t ,i>assed. att'oi'dim^' some ex- citement. — a I w a y s ])i-o- \ ided, of course, that you were not tlie one. Finally, in A p r i 1 . 1918. after hours and hours of "Fall out, one, " we took our tii-st hike, to the ritie ranye at (i 1 a s s y Hock, thirty miles north of Camj) \\''a(isworth. This, our first attem])t with packs. — and such ])acks! — no one who took will ever forget. Xor is one i\\A to foryet. on the other hand, the pleasant two weeks spent at the cam]) at the foot of the mountains, with mountains to climh. mountain streams to hathe in, moonshinr to hunt, ])istol practice and tiring the j^uns, and the l)it>' feeds at the uiountaineers' houses. But i-hicf amon()od— almost too nood — idea of a bombardment on the Western front. Aftei-ward. as we walked back to camp, it was notii'cd that many imjjctuous indi\ iduals who had been bewailing the (■ \Ml' \V\l)SW()Kril THE COMPANY HISTORY 11 fact that the war Moukl be tinished before we could get a chance to get across now found lots of other things to think and talk about. One night in late April, shortly after tlie artillery barrage, the air became very heavy with i-uniors. and we were suddenlv inarched back to CaniiJ Wadsworth, and told to send home our trunks and pack up for overseas duty. Dm-ing this period of waiting for further orders, the company received its first consignment of replacements. Forty-foui- men. direct from Camp Upton, brought the company up to fuHHghting strength, as there liad been a number of changes since the organization of the company. However, there was scarcely time for the new men to become acquainted before we moved. On ISIay 1st, 1!)18. the comjjany entrained in dav coaches, bound for some Port of Embarkation. We were very nat'urallv highly in- dignant at the idea of spending the night in day coaches — but" that was before we had traveled in the French "Honinies-10 Chevaux-8"" Pullmans. \Vhen we awoke the next mornuig we found ourselves at Cam]) Stuart, Newport News, Virginia, and. worst of ail, in ([uarantinc. Tile ratiier hazy, excited week which followed gave us our fii'st taste of barracks life. The l)ig two-story buildings, tiie comfortable beds, the clean tlooi-. electric lights, handy shower baths, and, al)ove all, the wonderful early-May weather, were all too soon to be supei-- seded by exactly the opposite. However, thoughts of what the future held in store for us did not worry us at Camp Stuart. Even the pressure and confinement of the place, including as they did such things as a show-down in- spection in a blinding sandstorm, and a helter-skelter issue of equip- ment, were somewhat eased l)y the famous base])all game held in tlie company street. The Border "Veterans" were firndy vancjuishcd in the "Rookies" after a very enthusiastic and exciting game. Then, too, the many mothers, "honey-bunches" and "sweetie-pies" who ajjpeared on the scene to speed us on our way made of Camp Stuart a very pleasant memory. Finally all the rumors came to a head, and we embarked on the good ship "Antigone" on the morning of May lOth, 1918, bound east- M'ard — we knew not where. PART TWO OVER THERE MAP SH0WIN(, PRINCIPAL Pl-AC«5 OF INTeseST TO Co 8 MnoBTHESN fAAnce CHAPTER ONE TRAINING AND PREPARATION From Brest to Beauvoorde Woods X ]May. 1918. a triinsathuitif voyage was regarded as un- eventful and uninteresting l)y the world at large if the eonvoy (hd not sight at least one periscope. Judged from this stand|)()int. our voyage on the "Antigone" was un- interesting, hut for most of us the entire trip at once presented thrills, discomforts, trials of patience, and the natui-al pleasures one derives from his Hrst ocean trip. To hegin with, for us one of the most thrilling and oft-recurring thoughts was that, from the moment we stepped on hoard ship, we entered the great wide danger-zone of the then-powerful Central Powers. I^p to this time we had heen in the war, of course, l)ut under no greater ixxlily danger than that of catching a cold from "Jump up and spread your arms and legs' in the morning exercises, or getting gassed in the gas chanil)er. Now. however, all was changed, and we hegan to realize that, hefoi'e we coidd return to America — if lucky — we should have undergone every possible danger and risk that the Hun. with his devilish ingenuity, could ilevise. It is not strange that these dan- gers should have been more than occasionally before our minds, as on an ocean voyage.- particularly the first, — one is apt to be thinking more of himself than, say, the future of democracy. However, with the exception of one day when the convoy sep- arated for target ])ractice. the days were very similar. I>ong days they were — made doubly so by only two meals per day. and sutt'o- catingly hot nights below decks. Even the English drill at 11 A. M. and the submarine "abandon-shi])" drills every aftei-noon did not break up the days sufficiently. The evenings, in particular, were very long. We started getting hungry the minute after the "smoking- lamp" was ])ut out — and most of us stayed that way. At these times, or "emergencies." as they were calleil, many opportunities arose for sampling the emergency ration of chocolate. Those fortunate enough to be on permanent suliiiiarine guard managed to get a midnight snack now and then. Finally, however, just as we were beginning to experience heart- felt pitv for the Australians, whose voyage lasted three times as long- as ours, came a change. One morning, in addition to the unmoved panorama of the other ships of the convoy, the guard spied a number lo It; THE COMPANY HISTORY of (k'stroyt-rs daitiiin- in fi-Diit of and around the transports. The ci-iiiser whicli liad i>iiai-(k-d our fonvoy up to that time seemed to take on the appearance of a mother lien. sti-uttin<4- alony with <>i-eat di^iiitw w hile hei- l)i-ood of httle eliieks, the destroyei's. was forever seamj)ei-iu<^' away from under her jjroteetive win_i>'s. The shi])s entered the l)eautiful land-loeked harhoi- of Hrest on tlie moi'nin' period. At first our impi-essions of l^'ranee were, on the wiiole. rather pleasing-. Oui- first si,t>ht of the roeks. small islands and lioiithouses of Finistere. in addition to heiny \ery welcome, was most ^I'atifvint)'. The ea])tive ohservation halloon in the harl)or — the first we had seen — set us to speeulatin<4' as to whether he could spot any suhmarines from his di/zy height. And the presence of several naval hydroplane-, as had heen that of the desti'oyers and even the eruisei-. suddeidv seemed to make us realize that we. a very small unit iis an ever- increasing army, were heing watched over and guarded most carefullv Ii\' that same army. For the first time it dawned upon us that, vaiu- ahle as we had undouhtedly heen to Fnele Sam when in America, now that we wei'e safely o\erseas oui' \'alue was immeasui"ahl\- in- creased. This thought was rather sohci'ing. l^'ar fi-om making ns swell with our new importance in the eyes of the world, it set us to thinking out the hest ways and means for justifying the time, thought and money which had already heen spent on our development. From then on, more than ever hefore, it was up to ns to do all in our power to serve the high purpose for which we had heen chosen — it was uj) to us all to (jualify as good soldiei's and remain at top-notch as long as the war — oi- we — might last. With these and other confiieting thoughts heing fast crowded out of our minds hy many new and sti-ange sights, we a])proached the shore in the lighter which acted as a ferry from transport to dock. After we had assemhled on the (|uay, we marched \i\) the long hill which passes thi-ough Hrest. on our way. though we did not know it, to the Pontanezen Barracks, three miles inland. ^"arious impressions \vere crowded u])on us- -the (juaint Fi'eneh houses with women and children leaning out from theii- windows and doors to wave their hands and cheer us ak)iig; the apparently total ai)sence of ahle-hodied male civilians: the women washing clothes hy heating them on the hoai'ds in a common, and dirty, wash-pool: the gieat numhers of goo\ Almost immediately we were made to feel the scantiness of tlie water supply in France. Shower-haths seemed suddenly to have become unheard-of luxuries, and even a canteen filled with much-hated but highly purified chlorinated water was not to be despised. We were still kept in confinement, but here, unlike Newport News, there was no place worth going A. W. O. L. to visit. And, as has' been going A. W. O. L. was not one of the jjraiseworthy re- solves that tilled our minds at that time. However, we wandered around the barrack-scpiare during the day, waiting- hours in line to pay exorbi- tant prices for delicious strawberries, poor choco- late, and fresh dates. ^Vhen night fell there was nothing to do but to go to bed. if lying on the double- decked chicken coops could be so called. But we stayed at Brest onlv two nights, from the Saturday on which we had landed until .Monday. May "iTtb. On that day we nacked up and marched back through the town, under a broiling sun. Before we entrained in the tiny, flat-wheeled French freigh'r cars about which we had read so much, some of us managed, with 'the help of sailors, to fortify ourselves for the coming trip with bottles of wine, chocolate and fruits. The wine, of course, was strictly forbidden, but that fact seemed only to enhance its fla\-or. ^Vhen presented in con- trast to the cold dry rations which were to suffice each car for the coming thirty-six-hour ride, whie seemed the logical thing to buy: we had not become inured to chlorinated \\ater at that tinier The train was finally made up, and pulled out at about .'} V. M. Strict injunctions had been issued against throwing anything from car windows which might litter up the roadbed. After our first fifteen minutes of riding like cattle, the novelty wore off", and after that time we were never allowed to get away froili the flat wheel. ]Many wayside stops were made, among them being a little town called I'louaret, which deserves bonorai)le mention in this work be- cause it supplied several of the good runners of the company with more wine. Usually at these wayside sto})s the men would jump off and stretch their legs, or the bolder try to engage the curious civilians I'UK.NCll "I'L l.I.MANS- 18 THE COMPANY HISTORY in nipidly :K'(|uirc(l Frent-h. the most popular (piestioii bein<4- as to how many kilometres it was to Paris. The very mention of the word "mitrailleuse" was suffieieut to hrin^- to their faces a sad smile that was far from eomfortiu"^-. At that time, it will be remembered, the German advance on the Somme had not been stopped, and the ma- chine gunners were doing the most work toward holding the enemy l)ack. Hence the sorrowful "Adieu" which often accompanied a kiss- ing of the finger-ti])s in our direction. As we headed northeast, bound we knew not where, we made several stops for hot coffee. At such places we met our first English Tommies. The stories related by these men were, to say the least, discpiieting, although at that time our immediate concern was how much longei- the fool train was going to go lumbering along with its human baggage. However, such remarks as "We cawn't 'old Mm." or "Jerry comes over in droves," or "We gave 'im a wallop, Sam — you go in and finish 'im," could not help but make an impression. As we returned to the cars o!) these occasions we would sip more Mine — as long as it lasted. Ajid who can forget that Hrst night on the train, with its criss- crossing of legs, arms and bodies on the cold floor of the ears, with the flat wheels j)ounding you until it seemed as if they would lift you clear of the floor! \o lights were jiermitted, and in om- excess of caution, even under the benches cigarettes were kept shaded. With the coming of dawn our spirits improved, as was only natural. Even the ins])iring breakfast of cold canned beans, caimed stewed tomatoes, and corned willie — to which we had been properly introduced while at Brest — tasted good to us after such a night. The long day ])assed for us somehow, as unfailingly as manv such davs to come were to pass. Men took tin-ns sleeping on the packs, sitting in the doorways to watch the hindscape slide by, and even lying on the car roofs. The country we were jjassing through was a succession of intensely culti\'ated fields, (piaint towns whose names meant nothing to us, and inniimci-ai)le crossings, each manned by a P^renchwoman as flagman. Past midnight of the secojid night, and during a temporary halt of the train, we coidd hear the faraway rumble of the big guns, often described as distant thunder ... it was whispered that we were near Amiens . . . lidine and mother had never seemed so far away until that one awesome minute. The train rolled on. At about eleven o'clock the next morning. May 29th, after much bumping and jerking of couplings, the train finally came to a halt at a ])lace called Xoyelles. Though we did not realize it. this town was situated almost at the mouth of the much-talked-al)out Somme River. As we tugged our packs ofi' the cars and fell in we must have ])re- .sented a soi-ry spectacle of dirty, unshaven, tired and haggard men. We ate our cold lunch at the station without much enthusiasm. Our barrack i)ags, which had remained invisible until then, now put in an appearance, and we were noiiclialantly oi-dei-ed to take from THE COMPAXY HISTORY 19 them all our helon^in^s we needed for the rest of the war, as there was no telling when we should see them again. Thus overburdened we proceeded to the other side of the small town, where there was a Bntisli rest cam]). Here we washed, shaved, rested, and partook of some very delicious tea— made onlv as the English can make it— and our first hardtack. It was a very hot day, we were not in the best of condition, and consequently the comparatively short hike which followed this brief rest at the P^nglish camp tired us more than it should have. Our packs, with their l)undles of extras, were enormous, and at that time we had not learned to roll a pack efficientlv. Consequentlv. when we reached another British camp just outside of Nouvion. distant about five kilometres from Xoyelles. we were about ready to drop. We spent the nigiit in the British conical tents, and it was re- vealed to us that we had a seven-mile hike before us on tlie morrow. During the night an air raid, wath nmch flashing of guns and bursting anti-aircraft shells — but no results — took ])lace almost immediatelv over our heads. The "seven-mile hike" the next dav— which, bv the way. was Decoration Day, Mny .-JOth- was the worst torture we had" expe- rienced up to that time. The sun beat down on us all the time— there was no shade to speak of — and our tremendous packs were so heavy that they gave us sore feet. This was the hike which bent— but did not break— the back of one of the men at the rear of the cohiiiin. This ])oor fellow's back remained at an angle which made him look as if he were going to jump at any minute until we reached Oudezeele, mouths later, when it was finally ironed out fiat again bv the Medical Corps,— an insi)iring sight. On the march Sir Douglas Haig's automobile passed us, halted, and Sir Douglas himself took a look at the men who from that time on were to be a part of his own army. We were almost too tired to button up our blouses and collars, as we knew right well that he would congratulate :Maj()r Bryant anyway. We did not know whither we were bound, and according to our prejudiced estunates at least ten miles had l)een covered before we reached Rue, and were assigned to billets. Rue was a good town. ^Nlajor Bryant called the company to- gether and gave us a short talk, announcing that our month of quarantine had come to an end, cautioning us to bear in mind the good name of the battalion in our Ciiture conduct, and giving us lots of other good advice. ^ During the first week at Rue tiie cost of chami)agne, '1)iftek" and chips, and all kinds of wine used up what money we had left. ]Many of us ran up no small accounts with the money-loving trades- people, which were subsecpiently paid. A franc was so much smaller than a dollar, and could be spent so much easier, that the dollar, by its effacement, seemed also to dwindle in importance. The company remained at Rue almost three weeks, and durino- that time several important occurrences took place. First, the trans^ fi 37 - Rue V- rCit^ !i H n K IS iUTiHie etlii«ii port was (irgaiiized. liiuhtTs and mules issued, and aiTauyenients made for the permaneuee of the organization. Seeondiy, oui- ^as masks and steel helmets were issued. Thirdly, we drew oui- allotment of ^'iekers maehine ^uns. althoun'h we did not then know anythin<>' ahout them. Fourthly, we took [)art in the first I'eview of the 'JTth Division in France. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig and Major General O'Ryan re\ iewed tiie division on June 18th. The rexiew will he rememhered hv those who participated in it chiefly hy the numhers of low-flying aeroplanes which swooped down almost to the heads of the marchers. After the review, it hegan to dawn upon us that we were to he brigaded with the British Army, though just how far we should go toward becoming British soldiers, or how much our viewpoints would be affected thereby, or even how long we would remain with them, it was not in our power to imagine. Before we left Hue the barrack l)ags appeared once more. We revised our selection of cciuipment, leaving the unnecessary but still valuable personal ai-ticles in the bags. We were to see the self-same bags again after many months, but the much-xalued personal articles vanished forc\ei' into the ])ockets of some thieves at the base ports. Whose faidt it was that our property was not taken care of for us during the months of oui- wanderings through France was never de- termined, l)ut all efl'orts to secure either the property or the culprits always jn'oved futile. We proceeded to Watiehurt, a small, anti-modei-n town across the Somme, on June 18th. Here we spent an enjoyable two weeks. Every day we would march to the beach of the Somme, a distance of •20 THE COMPANY HISTORY 21 al)()iit six kilometres, to he iiisti-iicted in tlie A'ickers ^iiii. to fii-e it, or to he practised in I. A. and elementary drill. Many an hour was sj)eiit at this spot, until after a week we could hegin to tell the dif- t'eience hetween such thin^^s as tumhler axis pins and side lever hush axis split keeper ])ins, and rememher to screw down the head of the "milled "ead "andles" hefore we chucked the gun around. Fusee springs and canneiui-e packing ceased to he mysteries to us. xAll the instruction was given under tiie suj)ervision of Lance-Corporal Taylor of the liritish Machine (iun Corps. Our new rolling kitchen followed lis each day, and luncli was served at the range, the limhers carrying the guns hack to ^Vatiehln■t for us each afternoon. At the Knglish rest camp near the range tlie hattalion hasehall team easily gained a victory over a team from the KXJtii Infantry. Sunday visits to Cayeux. a tcnvn of some size on the Knglish Channel, for a hath or a swim, hecame very ]jo])ular. This was made ])()ssihle hy the results of an infornial reception held in his liillct l)y I>ieutenant Badenhausen. entitled "He comes out smiling. One afternoon we marched to a field near Ault. a city farther sontli (in the coast, to recei\e a gas denionsti'ation. As it did not get (lai"k at that time until ten o'clock, we had to wait and amuse our- selves hy watching se\eral scared meadow lai'ks. The demonstration of the gas attack was thi'illing and very realistic. In front of us a shoi't trench had hceii dug and e(|uipped with Sti'omlios hoi'us. I'attles, hells, and other gas alarms. The men gathered to witness the demon- stration, numi)ei-ing o\ er two thousand, were gi-ouped a short distance hack of the ti-ench. After an instiucti\e speech hy the British officer in commaTid of the pi-oceedings, and j)roniptly at zero houi-, the gas attack hegan. Wind and weather conditions were i)erfect, and the clouds of smoke with which the deadly gas was su])])osed to ha\e heen cliarged followed immediately after the ex])losion of homhs. hand- grenades, firecrackers, and whatever else they had that would make a noise. Yereylights were shot u]). Sti'omhos horns hlcw and held their thin, wailing note, while all the other instruments to create a disturhance were turned loose. 3Ien who had easily put on their gas masks in less time than six seconds in pi-actice seemed to take at least two minutes to get them on right and adjusted ])ro])erly. The effect jiroduced was thrilling and exciting. After the smoke of the cloud gas attack had cleared away, we were given two otiier demonstrations, the first heing real ])oisonous gas hlown ovei- to us. The second was a reproduction of a "Prf)- jector" attack. Dummy ])rojectors, filled with water instead of li(|uid gas. were fired from mortal's hehind us. landing in front of the trench and exploding with a dull significant plop. It was long ])ast mid- night when we returned to our hillets. On July -ivd we marched to Xoyelles once mf)i'e. and there hoarded a train headed north. It was whispered that we were hound for "the hloodv road to Ypres." The train had passed thi-ough Kta])les and Boulogne when night fell. After another uncomfortahle 22 THK COMPANY HISTORY ui^'lit on tile train, and just as dawn was hrcakin^' on tlic l'"ourtli of July, we were routed out and formed ourselves at ^Vizerne.s, but would not have been any nioi-e eidi- in the early mornino-. skirting- St. Omer. and tinally halted in C'lairmarais Forest at about !»:.'}() A. M.. when we ate breakfast. xVfter breakfast we moved farther into the woods, and pitehed eamp. Revetments had alieady been eonstrueted l)y the English before us. and we ])re])are(l to enjoy the expected two-day stay. The next day, after washiuLf, which from then on became even more of a luxury than before. Lieutenant Hadenhauseii ^ave us our first insti'uctions on the proper methods of packing and unpacking limbers. The comjjany then commenced tilling all the belt.s, and in the midst of this woi-k we i-eceived orders to pack up and l)c ready to mo\e forward in fifteen miimtes. 'I'his banished our two days' rest. We started hiking in the late afternoon, passing through the Clairmarais Forest, and (loul)ling back senselessly on our tracks as if we were trving to fool some pursuer. After a long hike, which was noted for its two long rests, during one of which sevei-al "])ar" games wci-e commenced, we ai-rived at a llat open field in the vicinity of liuvsschem'e. The chief thing that made this otherwise ordinary tield worth remembering was an interesting French aeroplane in one corner of it. We had as good a sleep as was possible in tents pitched at night, and awoke in the rain. The weather cleared, however, and wc rolled our packs and loafed ai'ound all morning. lea\ing just after lunch. We reached Zermezcele late in the afternoon, after I'ollowing our guide. Hank AValker, for miles. Hank was mounted, and it evidently did not seem to be "much faithei-"' to him. but to us the hike was interminable. AVe pitched our pup tents in a tield alongside a farm house, which deserves honorable mention for having a good pump, with the best and coldest water we had tasted till then. Several of the moi-e adventiu'ous spirits tried to sneak up to the line that night on some English lorries that passed through, but they did not succeed in their undertaking. We prepared om-selves for a big sleep. The word was passed for eight o'clock breakfast and no reveille, the next day being Sunday, but before we got to slee]) the order was changed to five o'clock reveille. AVe were to be rushed to a certain town (Cassel) to pass through before nine o'clock, and rush we certainly did. We s])ent the hot, (juiet Sunday morning climl)ing up the long- hill leading over and through Cassel. but instead of stopping there and refi'cshing ourselves in the alluring estaminets. we kejjt right on <>()in<)' at full tilt, ovei- the hill, and straight on down the wide Belgian- blocked road which led to I'operinghe, and, further on. to Ypres. It surelv was one hot (la\-. and what made things worse was the fact that wc did not liaxc au\- idea how mucli longer we were going to keel) thp: company history 23 on, and the seeiuingly luuulreds of empty lorries whieh passed us did not eheer us up any. It really did seem to us as if a few of them could have been commandeered to carry some of our very heavy packs, instead of blindly keeping- to tlie traditions of the American army and hiking' every place with full packs. There was an element of excitement in tliis hike, however, because we could see the camouflage screens on the side of the road, and ideal- ized that at least we were Hearing the front. Not only that, hut, be- fore we passed through Steenvoorde, we were split up into platoon formation. We were later on tf) learn why this was done. We finally stopjied kicking up dust in each other's eyes at lieaii- voorde Woods. Some knowing mortal had nicknamed this bunch of trees growing amid filth "Dirty Bucket Woods," and it certainly was both dirty and wet. ^Ve had to clear away most of the underbrush to pitch our pup tents, but, after that had been accomplished, we set about policing and cleaning up the woods, which presented the ap- pearance of having been a first-class rendezvous for tramjis. bottle mamd'acturers and wholesale canners. The numbers of unused French "7.5" shells lying around loose in the woods sufficed to give us a clew to the identity of oin- jjredeccssors. We expected to l)e moved forwai'd again the next day, but the Tommies cheered us up by telling us that the front line was only eight kilos ahead of us, and so we realized that a long hike was out of the question, uidess we wandered north and south along the front look- ing for a suitable opening. We were unofficially informed, however, that Beauvoorde \Voods was to be our base, and we remained there from July 7th until July Kith. Captain liousfield and the others who had preceded us to attend machine gun school rejoined us at that time. CHAPTER TWO RESERVE AND SlPl'ORT LINES IL^H stay at Ik'auxooi-de Woods, liowevcr. was anything l)iit uiic'\ eiittiil. At ahout niidiiiglit of tlic second nio'ht, after most of the men had staggered and groped their way haek to tlieir respective tents throngh "ho-eoo ' mnd, the first "Steem ooi-de Kxpi'ess" went hy. A mnffled l)oom was all that annonnced its approacli. 'I'his hoom was mnch londei- and yet sounded farthei' away than tlie accustomed smaller gnus or the fi'e(|nent anti-aircraft harrages. 'i'he niutfled hoom was followed hy a heavy silence, which, in turn, was hroken hy a higli-pitched. siren-hke wail. We had heard lots of de- sci'iptions of the sounds of shells passing overhead, hut not until that night, in the stillness of the woods, did we get a vi\ id idea of their terrifying effect. Luckily, there was a cond'orting short interval hetween the sci'cech of the shell and the loud ex|)losion which seemed to shake trees, gi-ound, and pup tents at once. Those who were awake either got up and hid or else snuggled closer to the ground and hoped that the next one wouldn't fall short. Those who wei-e asleep awoke in time to he jjresent at the hursting of the nert few rememhrances which Jerry threw ovei-. Some wei-e lucky encvigh to he so di'uggcd hy French heer that they slept through it all. ]\f;ht-of places, with feet tliat have lar<^e blisters all broken open on them, and unable to take ofi' and carry his blouse without violation of orders. And then there was the consoliny thou<>ht that for every step we took in the direction we were travelin<>- we would have to retrace it in our next trij) to the front, which could not be farther off than a week. As a matter of fact, it was just a week. We arrived at Quelmes on the afternoon of July 17th. and left there again to go forward July 2-fth. Quelmes was a dirty town, as were most of the towns we were billeted in. For billets in Quelmes we had several small barns, which, after sleeping in them one night, made palaces out of ])up tents. Those whom the smell did not affect were subsecjuently driven out of the barns by the rats. Every morning we would march to a machine gun range near Lumbres. where we had a solid week of verv interesting tiring, at varied ranges, including competitions and prac- tice in actual gun drill. Near Quelmes. it will be remembered, was a still smaller town called Set(|ues. which was kind enough to have a clear cold ri\ er running through it, across which huge trees had been conveniently felled, so that, after a dusty march to and from the range, sundown could have brought no finer celebration than a swim in such a place. The chief outstanding memories of Quelmes are: a farmhouse where a woman would cook as many eggs as you wanted, and thought nothing of selling hundreds of eggs every night: a num- ber of aeroplane hangars which attracted a great deal ol' interest: and a heavy thunder shower which caught us unprejjared on the Saturday before w'e left. The storm was interesting, as we were on the range at the time, and it came up so rapidly that, even before we could get the guns dismounted and jjut away, everything was drenched. Strange to say. as we marched home in the rain, with the water oozing out of our shoes. v\e sang all the way \\ith a fexerish energy. Seldom iiad we felt so hap])y or carefree — we were wet. we could get no wetter, so there was nothing at all to worry us. Sunday j)asses were given out I'or St. Omer. the largest town remaining inhabited near the lines. St. Omer had a beautiful cathe- dral, and lots of beautiful restaurants which \\ere e\"idently supported by, advertised by, and the property of ■■Officers ()nly." July 24th Found us hiking along in the cooling rain back the way we had come to Lederzeele. where we spent the night in a large barn tilled with drv straw, which did not lune too much odor. The next THE COMPANY HISTORY 29 (lay we moved forward once more, and finally arrived at our old stamping grounds, Beauvoorde Woods. On this, our second appearance at Beauvoorde Woods, our opin- ion of the woods, we found, had changed somewhat. Instead of re- garding it as merely a sto})ping-point in our jom'uey to the front line, we realized that it was our hase from which we would move forward in detachments. Moreover, the woods themselves were considerahly cleaner, due to the fact that nol)ody had occupied them during our ahsence. We pitched our pup tents on the more open ground which had previously heen used by A Company, and proceeded to make use of our knowledge of the best jdaces in the neighborhood to get eggs, chocolate and vin blanc. We felt, more or less, that we were "home" again, and the sight of the familiar observation balloon which was mooi'ed at one edge of the woods sei'ved to increase this feeling. Suddenly, however, one evening, at about one jioiu's notice, one- half the company was ordei'ed to mo\e foi'ward \vith the guns, to occupy positions in the Kast Poperinghe Line, which was the support line to the front system. In the woods we had been held in reserve, and it was not until that time that we learned about the formation of the trench system of fighting which had been developed by the British during their four long years of it. In front, and within direct fire of the enemy, was the front line system, occujjied by the infantry, Lewis gunners, and machine gun- ners, with the light field artillery directly behind. Then, a few kilo- metres to the I'ear was the support line, which included the heavy artillery. ()-inch. D-inch, 10-inch and 12-inch guns which were tired at long ranges, searching out the enemy's heavy artillery in similar relation to their front line system. Behind this was the third line, which was comj)aratively safe as far as personal safety was concerned, and in which everybody was held in reserve for immediate movement to either the support or the front lines, should either become necessary. At Beauvoorde Wofxls. then, we were in the reserve, or third line. When we moved up to the Kast Poj)eringhe Line we were in the suppoit line, out of range of the enemy with our short-range ma- chine guns, and only able to sit still and be fired at by the enemy's guns without chance of retaliation except indirectly through the British heavy artillery. The gun positions were only used at night, and were kept camouflaged or screened from aero])lane observation during the day. At nearly all the positions there were deserted shanties to sleep in or keep dry. At one oi- two there were concrete "])ill-boxes," which had been constructed by the "H. K.'s" — the British engineers, and one position boasted of a cond'ortable dug-out. Those living in the dug-out were more or less safe from shell-tire, as were those who had a pill-box to jump into shoidd the shelling l)ecome too heavv, but the ones living in tlie shanties didn't know, one-half the time, whether the blinding flashes and tremendous explosions all around them were from our own guns or explosions from the Jeny 30 THE COMPANY HISTOHV shells, — that is, until they s^ot used to the differeiiee in the sounds, whieh was not very long. A gas guard had to he maintained at eaeh position, as eaeh was isolated from the other, and daylight eommunieation hetween them was only made at the risk of heing ohserved hy Jerry's lialloons. Then, too, eaeh shanty was oeeupied hy the Hi-itish engineers, who would go out after dark and do their work on dugouts, saps, wires, ete., during the night and then spend their days indoors, either sleeping or else making souvenirs to earry home with them on their next leave. This was our first intimate eontaet with the Hritisli, and they did not lose any op])ortunities of entertaining us with vivid stories t)f the dangers of the line. In spite of these, their efforts to get our "wind up," as they said, the Tommies were very eomforting, as they knew a lot of trieks of the game and we should have heen a great deal more "windy" when the shelling heeame heavier for a few minutes than we would have if they had not treated the matter with comparative indifference. We learned then that the chief reason the Tommies were indifferent in the support line was heeause they were so "fed up" with four years of war that they didn't seem to really care whether this particular shanty was hlown to smithereens or not. ^Ve wondered if we should ever l)ecome that calloused — and douhted it. Our re\elations as to the nature of the line, derived from our exj)eriences of it in the East Pop. Line, were, to say the least, unusual. Instead of the horrihle devastation which we had expected, we lived in hlooming fields of potatoes and peas. Beyond a few shell holes — very large ones, too — there was no visible sign that a war was going on all around us. There were no guns to he seen in the daytime and the only sign of life was an occasional Tommy braving observation by walking around. It was a very easy matter to sneak out and dig up some potatoes to be fried, although that was I'orbidden. Each gun team was sutficient unto itself, doing its own cooking or heating the rations brought up at night. The oidy annoying things about the East I'op. Line were the nights. After dark the camouflage from each gun position was cleared away and the guns kept mounted in reae called Godewaersvelde. Ivatc in the after- noon we were divided up by the captain into new scjuads. consisting of a corporal and two or three privates each, and given the numbers of the ])()siti()ns we were to occupy in the front line that nij^ht. In these new formations, then, and with liii'ht packs and without overcoats, we started forwai-d. just before dark, so that, by the time we were witliin observation, (hirkness had settled in. ^^'e kept on moving forward, however, smoking our last cigarettes for the march at a ])oint on the road decided upon l)y our otticers, and wearing our steel helmets at all times. Never would we have been able to believe that these same tin hats which felt so lai-ge and heavy on the march could j>ossibly seem so .'■mall and thin in tlie next few hours when we relied chiefly upon them to ])r()tect us against shrapnel. We were left in no doubt whate\er that we were appi-oaching the front by the increase of the flashes of big guns all around us and the noise from each. \\\' could easily distinguish the noises made by the (.ierman guns and our own. Then again, the increasing frecjuency of star shells. \'ereylights. and other signals which appeared from time t(i time iTi front of us made it seem as if we should very soon land in the (iernian lints if we kept u]) oin- |)resent rate. 3i' thp: company history 33 But all the thrills which we had imagined we would have in our first trip to the front line wei-e exceeded and inaoiiified by the reality of our first experience. There, a few hundred yards in front of us. was the center of the woi-ld. That is, almost everybody hi the wliole world was directly interested in and continually watchinn- the develop- ments of just what was before our very eyes. We felt then what an advantage it was to be just where we were, practically at the cynosure of all the eyes of the woi-jd. and actually felt sym])athy with all those who could never have the thrill that was ours. Petty (litt'erences were forgotten — everything was forgotten in the magnitude of the display around us, and the realization of our own insignificance in the midst of the tremendous deadlock of which we were at last a ])art. We felt ourselves a part of the culmination of the weightiest plans, inventions and ideas of the brainiest men in the world. Everything which counted in life seemed to liinge upon the successful carrying through of the great war game, and we were to take our places in that game, with a supreme chance of doing things infinitely more useful to the cause of right than in our own simplicity of minds we iiad any right to expect. After delays and hurried crossing of cross-roads where ti-affic was congested, and i-egulated by an ^I. P. stationed there, we marched over a well-remembered plank road and finally halted at a cross-roads which we were told was to be our stopj)ing j)lace as well as our assem- bly ])oint. Here we were able to stop and relax, although there was no relaxation, as the echoes from many machine guns could plainlv be heard and our own light artillery was firing right over our lieads. It was by this time cpiite dark, l)ut the darkness only sharpened oui- hearing and intensified our feelings, and we were illuminated from time to time by the rockets and star-shells which seemed to be going uj) right over us. It was at this point, while waiting here, that C'ompanv C suffered its first casualties, a shell landing in the midst of a small grouj) of men. Waiting there was very irksome, and at the same time dangerous, as cross-roads were favorite spots for Jerry to shell, and when the guides for the different ])ositions finally arrived we lost no time in following them. Wv i'elic\ed the machine gunners of the .j.'Jrd lirig- ade. At each gun position there was an Knglish corjjoral and two Tommies, who steadied us considerably. Some of the ])()sitions had dug-outs, some had convenient saps, and others merely a sheet or two of cori-ugated iron over a portion of the trench. Most of the guns did night firing, using indirect harassing fire, and then mounted their guns on S. O. S. lines during the day, so that, when the signal, which was Red-over-(xreen-ovei'- Yellow, or in some cases, three Keds. should oo up. the guns might open up continuous fire unmediately. Some of the guns might have done so in a minute or two, but others, especially after a night of firing in the nuid and rain, would have taken about an hour to be ready, and so would have been of no use whatever. liUckily. however, no S. O. S. signal went up dm-iiig the six days we spent in these positions. We learned to adajjt ourselves to the dis- 34. THE COMPANY HISTORY comforts of iiiuddy trench life. The nights were not too cold; we had ;dl day to sleej) in if we (hdn't care particularly about eatin<>-. There was no reveille; there were no uniform regulations. You could do as you pleased; you didn't even have to salute otticers. Xohody cared if yoiu" shoes were not cleaned or if you were not shaved: nobody cared how late you stayed uj) at night. It was forbidden to clean the guns without an otHcer's permission; the more mud you got on your- self the more you were camouflaged to resemble the trench. So, although we did not realize it at the time, our life in the front line was far easier than army life back at the rest camps, where thev had and enforced such things as reveille. taj)s, drills, inspections. K. P. and police details. The only things we had to worry us in the line were the Germans, and we could get mad at them openly, even when speaking to an officer. And then there was the rum issue, which made us tingle all over and warmed us up so that we slept like rocks on the damp, chilly ground. We were situated in that portion of the line which was just in front of Mount Kemmel. and the lines at this point had been in dis- pute for yeai-s. It was regarded as a quiet sector, but at that time the Jiritish feared a concentrated attack on the noi-thern ])art of tiic line in an attempt to break through and capture the Channel j)orts. Luck- ilv. several defeats suffered by the (rermans in the south had led them to abandon this project, and. shortly aftei- we had been I'elievcd from these positions. Mount Kemmel was evacuated by them. But the greatest hardship of the line was going out at night for the rations. The food was brought up. all soi-ted in liags marked for each jjosition. and dcj)osited at our assembly point, and one man fi'om eacii position was detailed to go out fi-om the position and run the risks of shell-fire, drowning in a shell-hole, losing his way, machine gun bullets, observation when a star-shell should go u]). and getting the food soaked when he dro})ped Hat on the ground at an exjjlosion. This ration trij) each night presented enough thrills for a lifetime, and it was a happv moment in(leed when the ])ositi<)n was finally reached safelv and one i-eali/ed that it would be someone elses turn the follow- ing night. The only evening of the six that was at all out of the so-called bnmdi-um life of the ti-enches, if such a life can pi'o])erly be termed humdrum, was the night of iVugust 4th. That, it will be remembered, was the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of war in 101 -f, and the Tommies told us there was going to be a "bit of a strafe"" in celebration. 'I'hei-e was. At about 1 1 P. ]M. it seemed as if every single gun of any calibre that had heretofore been lying quiet was given an airing, and as far as the eve could reach in back of us were continual flashes and loud, muffled reports. This contimied for about half an hour — or so it seemed to us — and then they quieted dow^n as suddenly as they had commenced. During the ])onibardment it seemed to us as if all the inactivity of the davs in the trenches were suddenly shaken off. and we felt as if it were a l<"oui-th of .July demonstration which we were THE COMPAXY HISTORY 35 enjoying. But our enjoyment was not to last very long, for as soon as our o-uns had quieted down and resumed their mjrmal intermittent tiring, the (iennans had their little eelebration, and all kinds of shells eommenced dropping around us, the noise being just as terrific and the effect infinitely more terrifying tlian our homl)ardment. Ours had put us in such good humor, however, that we just lay low in the trenches and thumbed our noses at the poor fools'who were trying to infiict casualties among our boys. " '^ On the night of August Hth, after we had spent six days and nights m the trenches, we were relieved by the British machine gun- ners, and proceeded in small detachments back to Beauvoorde AV(?ods. It was a long trip, and we were not (juite sure what the orders were. or that the company headquarters— and the kitchen— would really be there or not. One thing mc were entirely sure of, however, and that was that we did not want to linger once we were relieved. Our march back to the woods, by twos and tlirees. on lorries, in limbers and on foot, was not accoi-ding to army ethics, but it was (piite a relief to be able to move and to walk around' with our heads erect. One platoon, obeying orders, waited on a road that was being shelled for over fifty minutes for the rest of the company, and then proceeded on its way without them. ^Ve were relieved at about eleven o'clock, but it was four in the morning, and just beginning to get light, when the last of the stragglers finally found where the conqjany had hidden itself in the woods. Those wiio had stayed behind had very thoughtfully ])itclied enough pup-tents to house" the entire company, and the next day we had a wonderful time just lolling around and going back to sleep again. And there was plenty of mail from home waiting for us. so that life was indeed worth living again. We suffered two casualties M'hile in the trenches. Al Schmitt was unlucky enough to sit down on some ground which had been saturated with mustard gas and sufi'ered for many weeks from the burns. Clar- ence Eldert was wounded in the head when a shell landed on the ma- chine gun he was seated near. The gun was entirely destrf)yed. and it was only by a miracle that he was kept from being blown to i)its him- self. This number of casualties was ridiculously small, considering the number of men actually engaoed. '^^"H^ CHAPTER FOUR RESTS From Oudezeele to Raincheval ^-^'^-^^^'— K reiiiaiiied at lieaiivoorde AVoods all (lui'ing the day of Aiii^iist Dth, and continued to rest there all the followiiif)- i)ii>ht. Tiie next morning', iVueriod of the war. The kitchen was placed in a shelter of a large tree in the center of the yard. Amid these surroundings we s])ent a very hap])y, restful and contented two weeks of sunshine, warm weather, late evenings, and a generally lazy existence, with nothing to worry us in the slightest. AVe had drawn our share of cooties from the trenches and the Tommies, so that some of the men were kept busy trying vainly to rid themselves of the things. The 27th Division show played at Oude- zeele. where division head(|uarters had been established, and the notable playgoers in our midst made fre(|uent trips to it. l^'resh milk was jjurchased daily from a Frenchwoman neai- by, and was very fine in the coffee, and on the oatmeal in the morning. We had ])lenty of jam in our Knglish rations, which attracted swarms of bees whenever we ate, so that to eat a slice of bread with jam spread on it re(|uired no little dancing ability. There were several com])etitions of gun drill, for speed and accuracy, and an individual comj)any test for ])roticiency in L A. (Immediate Action in remedying a stoppage when firing the gun). Several of the men got week-end ])asses to I)unker(|ue, and a few went to Calais, and had to walk all night so as to get l)ack in time for Mondav re\eille. Thev returned telling of such wonderful m THE COMPANY inSTORY 37 mai'vels as real street ears, iee ereaiii, and beds with slieets on them Hut the most noteworthy oeciu'rence at Oiule/eele was the "ironing- out proeess administered to one of our number who was built so elose to the ground that he appeared to walk along in search of a dropped coin. The medieal corps, who officiated at the ceremony, were most lieartless, and paid no heed to the screams of anguish from the writh- ing victim as he was pressed out flat. Their efforts, however, were justified, as from that time forth our Victor walked u])right. His nerves, though, were badly shaken, and for a few succeeding nights he became subject to horrible nightmares. When we left Oudezeele on August ifiJnd, it was to return to Beauvoode ^^^)ods for nine uneventful days. This time, however, we lived in British conical tents instead of pup tents. The time was spent by most of the boys in making souvenirs, their ideas being taken from those constructed by the Tommies. It seems that a Cxcrman attack had been antici])ated at this time, so that we were rushed into reserve, but the attack did not materialize, so that we did not even go up to the support line this trip. The outstanding features of this, oui- last stay in Heauvoorde \N'()0(ls, were more drill and I. A. competitions, and a company inter- scjuad athletic meet. Lord Salisbury cigarettes (very rare), soap, and Listerated chewing gum were obtained by the committee, and were awarded as prizes for each event. Also, there was a scjuad prize for the squad scoring the greatest number of points during the meet. There was some hesitation about holding the meet in the open, under possible enemy observation, l)ut we got away with it. The first event was a sixtv-vard dash, run over a soiiyv field from which the wheat had just been harvested. Running on a track like that was similar to iMiiuiing on sand. There were fifty entries, so we had heats, semi-finals and finals. ]\Iorton Clark won the final bv a bare yard from Dave Gately, with Joe Mclntyre third. Captain Bousfield acted as official starter, and the other officers «ere judges. Between the heats of the sixty-yard run was held the shot-put. "Shot- put" was literally true, because the only shot we could find that would suit was half an empty (J-inch shell casing. We had no measiu-ements, so we did not know how far the shot was put. but. on the othei- hand, we didn't know how heavy the shot was, so it did not make much dif- ference. Then we had a running high jump, which was won in dra- matic style by Harry Blythe. The running broad jumji was won by Bob Sime. The last event, the squad relay race, w^as won by Phil Corwin's squad. Joe Mdntyre's squad won the largest number of points, and so was awarded the S(piad prize, eight cakes of soap. Platoon honors — but no prize — went to the first platoon. We said g(HKl-bve for good to Beauvoorde Woods on August 31st, after having camped in four different distinct spots in its dirty shade. We remained at a large field between Steenvoorde and Winne- zeele for four good days, during which time we were questioned about gas and its pecidiarities by the division gas officer. It will never be 38 THE COMPANY HISTORY forgotten how surprised he was when we foohshly luhnitted that we had never worn our gas masks for four hours. Consecjuently, the very next day we were ordered to wear our gas masks from eight o'clock in the morning until noon, which we did — most of us. It was such a wonderful day, however, and we had wasted so mucii of it in this fashion, that when the Captain said, hefore dismissing us. "I hope that everyone will rememher he has had his gas mask on for four hours in case anyone should ask him." we felt like doing anything active. The inter-platoon spirit which had hecii fostered hy the athletic meet a few days before accordingly broke out anew, and an impromptu football game was arranged between the first and second jjlatoons. and was won by the second platoon with one touchdown. Between playing and watching the game, however, we were able to forget the terrible gas masks and the torture of wearing the plagued things for four hours without a break. The game itself clearly showed that a team which had no signals at all was not much worse off than a team which had hastily-jjrepared signals that wouldn't work without confusion. On Se])tember .jth we marched to Heidebeke. Belgium, where we entrained again. On this hike there were a few op])ortunities to buy real milk chocolate at several of the towns we passed through, and by the time we reached Heidebeke we had all eaten our till. This did not deter one enteri)rising youth, however, from buying a sup])ly of fiftv cakes of Chocolat ^lenier and a few cartons of American ciga- rettes as a ])i-()()f against ])ossible pangs of hungci-. As things turned out. though, lie found liimself left with all the stuff on his hands, as he found that nobody wanted to buy any more chocolate. We stayed on the train all that night, and, in the morning, before we reached our destination, the train moved along so slowly that we had lots of time to hop off and pick wild blackberries that grew along- side the roadbed. We detrained at a ])lace called Candas, but did not know where we were from that clue. Slinging oui- packs, we started hiking, past a (xcrman prison cam]), and on and on until we wondered whei'e we were going even more than we had wondered where we were. This hike was notable on account of its lack of shade. At only one point, for a few hundred yards, was there any shade at all. and it was a verv hot da v. The jxior voung man who had all the chocolate did nf)t want to throw it away, and could not gi\e it away, as that would have necessitated carrying it. so he strapped it on to his ])ack, and after we tinallv sto])i)ed managed to get his iiioikn's woi-tli of enjoy- ment out of what was left unmelted. Our hike took us into and through a wonderful wood, free from underbrush, with sucii tall trees that they formed a natural arch to screen us from the glare of the sun, which had become almost more than we could stand. There was a vast majority among those present iu favor of remaining in the wood for the rest of the war, but we kept rioht on through it and encam]>ed in the town of Haincheval, just the other side of it. Baiiichc\al. fi-om the first, presented the apj)earance THE CO]MPANY HISTORY 39 of a dirty, one-horse and totally iininterestiiif>; town of about foin- or five hundred inmates, and the yard whieh they allotted to us to pitch our pup tents in was small and dirty as well. We remained in this yard for one lon^' rainy week, with seldom a night passin<>' in which at least one pup tent would be kicked down by men returning- to camp after a champagne and cognac party. As it began to get cold at night then, we recei\ed orders to pack up and move camp into the afore- mentioned woods, where there were a number of clean bow huts, made of corrugated iron, and built by the British. These huts were a paradise after puj) tents with muddy ground, their chief advantages being that we could keep dry and have a light after dark to read or write letters, due, of course, to the opacpie roof. We had some good times in these huts during the month we re- mained at Uaincheval. Someone discovered an excellent Kxpedition- ary F'orce Canteen — run by the English — near by, and we coidd there buy all the extras in the line of food luxuries that we wanted. We had good dry bed-sacks to sleejj on, — we were not worked too hard, — there were several families in town who would cook anything one wanted (provided he ])aid for it) — and the war news at that time, being that of the Allies' successful advance, was very encouraging. Therefore, it is Tiot surprising that we enjoyed ourselves at Rain- cheval. We were given to understand that our division was to be used as shock troops, and would probably soon l)e pushed into a vital j)oint in the line. While at Raincheval there was another inter-platoon football to noon, we had the linihers with us to carry the ouns. so that all we had to carry was oui- packs. W'e moved slowly, very slowly, hack in the •>enei-ai direction of Kaincheval until ai'tei- lunch, which we had on the i-oad. It seemed that the attack was \ery well timed, hecause it hegan right after lunch, which gave us a chance to eat first. We ad- vanced, with the guns. em])ty ammunition hoxes, and our packs, from one hastily constructed gun position to anothci-. One jdatoon was the hase platoon, and stayc long after dark. CHAPTER FIVE THE DEVASTATED COUNTRY Fro/It Tincuurt to the Hiiidciibiiry lAiic X September 24tli. at'tei- waiting- at Kaincheval for oxer O three weeks, we were ordered to get up one morning at three A. ^I., eat some hikewarm miieilage that had onee been oatmeal, and (h-ink some sugarless eoffee, pack up, and start out. We entrained at Anthieule. some distance away, early in the morning, and rode southward all day. This train trip was the most interesting we had ever had, as. from the time we passed ^'illers-Bretonneux, which town marked the point at which the Germans had been stopped in their advance of the spring, the whole country was devastated, and bore the unmistakable signs of teri'ific fighting, such as we had heard of l)ut until then had not seen. Scarcely a single house had a roof left intact, and there were no signs of any living thing, not even trees, except now and then a soli- tary Tommy or two. working on the railroad oi- poking about in what had been but a sliort while ago a hastily consti-ucted trench. All the afternoon we rode through this interesting country, until shortly before nightfall. A blockade in the road ahead of our train delayed us for over an houi' just south of Peronne. and it was dark when we finally passed through the I'uins which had once been that flourishing city. On this trip we knew our destination to be Tincoui't. and a billet- ing officer had been sent ahead to secure billets for the battalion. After seeing the sort of country we were entering, however, we did not hope for much in the shajjc of comfort as far as l)illcts were concerned, and we were right. We disembarked ( Septenil)e)- 24t]i) at Tincoui't, but it was after midnight l)efore we arrived at a small woods northwest of 'lVmj)leux- la-Fosse. another ruined town that we passed through on the hike. In this woods were a few "elephant-shelter"" huts such as we had had in Kaincheval. but these were somewhat different, having no floors, and little shelter from the wind at each end of the hut. Xo lights were permitted, but it was a tine night, with a full moon, so that it was easv to see while the ]>acks were unrolled. The men cm-led up in their blankets for a sleejj. From three o'clock on, however, it rained, and those who Mere not sleeping in the huts got drenched. AN^e managed to dry out, though, during the dav which followed, and we explored the woods and the systems of trenches, barbed wire and dugouts, which had been occupied by the Germans less than a week 41 42 TlIK COMPANY lUSTOKY before. We had been expressly warned a<;aiiist pieking anythiiis interestiiio- "Tiitt and Mr. Tntt" short stories has the foi-nier incjuire, "How nnieli perfectly accurate testimony (io >()u think is ever given in a coiu't^" To which liis |)artner re])hes with conviction. ■"Xonel"" Hohling much of the same opinion ahout a good many of the tales former members of the A. K. F. seem addicted to telling. I frankly hesitate ahout giving written testimony of the part 1 played, with better and worthier men. at the breaking of the Hindenburg Line. For. after all. what I write can he little more than a loose- jointed account of my own personal impi'cssions. And if we may consider a personal impression impartially, it is, ])erhaps. simply a reflection of one's state of mind at the time the im]M-ession was made. That is ahout all there is to this account of an event that was both great and heroic to the men wiio took j)art in it. as well as in the history of the war. Ilowevei-. it may help a bit for me to confess that J kept a diai'y of a sort in 1^' ranee and. like some others, wrote several letters that the censor apparently never read. To that pocket diary and to those letters I owe what otherwise miglit be mistaken for a good memory. Incidentally, I ha\e also tried very hard to keep my imag- ination seated upon the three-legged stool of facts, not so much from choice but in oi'der to avoid as much raucous criticism as jjossible. jt ik. Jjt, Jk. jit jjt Jt. At three o'clock in tlie afternoon of Thursday. September 26, 1918, the KXith 31achine Gun liattalion left an impromptu camp near Tincourt and began its march to tlie Lines to take an active part in what is now known as one of the most momentous and decisive battles of the war — the bi-eaking of the Hindenburg Line. But — to speak more intimately — few of us in ]i Company real- ized at the time the vital part we were to i)lay in the five crowded davs that followed. Looking liack ujjon it now it seems we were either very dull-witted or very poorly informed not to realize that the success of the Allied advance — which began with Foch's brilliant attack on the ^Nlai-ne late in July — hinged altogether upon forcing the Germans to retire from 4-3 44 THE COMPANY HISTORY their stroiio' positions on the Evitisli front l)et\veen C:unl)rai and St. Quentin. The liritish and Anieriean (h-ive at that point — as we know- now — forced a German retreat on the entire front, and thns released the French in the Sonth. wlio liad advanced as far as ])ossihle without too l)oldlv exi)osin,<>- their left whi<>- that connected them with the JJritish ri<>ht. We realized little of this at the time hecause we hadn't seen a newspaj)er for se\eral weeks and few of us knew exactly wliere we weie. Hut tlic march to the front had enough (h'amatic color to satisfy the most exacting'. Yet we were not interested in what mi,<>-lit he termed war's local color, and were ratlier coldly indifferent to our .surrounding-s. It was not a matter of deliherate traininfj; that enahled us to view with passive interest the ruins of towns and all the wanton debris and ine\ itable de\astation of war. ^Ve had not in any con- scious way cultivated indifference. It had nrown upon us naturally and was as much a matter of ])hysical and mental necessity to us as food and water. ^Vitllout tliis singular inchlference a man could not "carry on." The averaj^e human mind cannot receive many shocking and violent impressions — which are naturally intensified by a vigorous imagination — without l)ecoming somewhat blunted. So after the first few shocks of war a man's sensibilities grow calloused, and his imagina- tion becomes a bit torpid. It is part of the law of adaptal)ility. And so we passed among the ruins of blasted towns and disemboweled fields witliout interest. However, an incident occurred which gave us a momentary thrill. The British observation balloons in that sector were pi-etty well for- ward and wc were j)assing through the balloon zone when suddenly and without warning a Jerry plane swooped down from unseen heights and headed straight for the big balloon, firing incendiary l)ullets fi-om its machine gun directly into the unprotected gas bag. Then, turning swiftly but with wonderful grace, it glided off again toward the (ierman lines, 'i'he two observers (lro{)ped fi-om the basket and after falling rapidly for several seconds their parachutes opened and thev drifted slowly with the wind, two weird figures under white umbicUas, to the ground. The balloon, of course, started to smokv and then l)urst into enveloping flames and was completely destroyed. The remarkable part of it was this sanic thing ha])])ened to two bal- loons almost simultaneously and witli the same result. Hy the time the Allied planes had started in pursuit the two .Terries were safe behind theii' own lines. Wc continued on our way without stopping. It was a long and trving hike, and we were glad when we stopped in the cool of the evening to mess on the roadside. After eating we resumed our march with an interval of some forty yards between platoons, as a jjrecaution in case the road were shelled. THE COMPANY HISTORY 45 We passed throiii^li the artilleiy zone as the hin- unns were be();inninht harassin^>' fire. And it must have been about eij^ht o'ehiek, for it was jj-etting; dark, when we finally reaehed a point where, at the time, it was thouorted by British tanks, walked up that hill with ]U:i,I.I(.()l 1!T nemi)er of each ci'ew was more or less 48 THE COMl'ANV HISTORY shells l)urstiii<4- all ardiind tlieiii and throwing- neyscrs of earth and siii()kin,<)- metal hi<^h into tiie air. Tiiev walked forward slowly and niethodieally. wasting- neither breath nor steps, mounted the hill and took all their ol)jeeti\es and a little more, desfjite a murderous maehine ,i>un tii-e that eheeked them at the summit. The tanks were handieap])ed by the nmd and only a I'ew reaehed the top of the hill. Several were put out of action and burst into Hames as they rolled backward down the hill, but the doughboys kept going. After a while the wounded and the prisoners began to come back, and the day broke clear and crisp with heavy intermittent shelling that never stop])ed throughout the next forty-eight hours. The lOdth Infantry that had borne the brunt of the attack that morning suffered heavy casualties and it was necessary for the British artillery to hold the captured positions for forty-eight hours with a continuous barrage. Those forty-eight hom-s for us were what is otticially called (|uiet. It was simply a case of holding on and taking everything Jerry sent over without a single chance to hit back. And we took more than our share. During that time the artillery kept ])ounding incessantly, smash- ing and pidverizing the barbed-wire entanglements that constituted a formidable part of the Hindenburg defense system. At places those entanglements were more than six feet high and thicker than a wheat lield. All Saturday night and until five o'clock Sunday morning of the "29th the Hritish ai'tillery tired and pounded and never rested. Every two hoiu's a ten-minute barrage would sweep through the (German sup])ort lines and into the enemy artillery zone like a withering hurricane. We rested and slept the best we could in reliefs and waited for the big drive to start. During the day the (Germans shelled the stretcher bearers as they came back along the road past our jjositions. Satm'day night, Se|)tember 28th, was cold and the rain came and went in s(pialls. Battalions of tanks moved up silently through the night toward the front. The Cxerman artillery was very active and shelled heavily all night. Shells moaned and wailed through the dark- ness and "krumped" with grisly precision every few miinites. Enemy planes were also busy and the deadly shattering explosion of aii- bombs drowned at times the roar of the guns. Toward dawn the weather cleared and a little after five o'clock Sunday morning things (piieted down. Even the Hun guns were comparatively still. There was a feeling of expeetaney in the air and it seemed that the stai's blinked and winked and wondered at the oppi"essi\e silence. And then slowly and silently out of the east came the [jale, cold, frosty dawn with a tinge of ambei- on the far horizoji. We loaded our guns and waited and held our breath, foi- the silence was like a weight. THE COMPANY HISTORY 49 ( Slowly the hands of our watches cliuihed to .5:4..5. Then far off in our rear two big naval ^uns boomed and growled. It was the signal for which we waited. Suddenly tlie air was rent asunder as hundreds of guns foi- miles around burst forth into a drum tire barrage of rage and thunder, flattening- the earth and all living things that were upon it in the neighborhood of tlie Cxcrman lines. Our machine guns spit tire and shot and sprayed the Cierman infantry lines witli tliousands upon thousands of machine gun bullets. Nothing h'ved within the battered (German trenches except those wlio had gone down into tlie tunnels deep within the bowels of the earth. The noise was ear-splitting and the flashes of the guns tore the soft twilight of the dawn and set botli skv and earth abla/c with tlie red fury of war. The German S. O. S. signal flashed high into the skv— two green rockets over a red— and the big guns of the Huns roarecf and •krumped" in desperate ett'ort to clieck the advancing American and Australian infantry. Shells of every descri])tion— high explosive shells, overhead .shrapnel, gas shells, ground shrapnel, whizz-bang-s, incendiary shells and machine g-un bullets— roared, shrieked, moaned and whined and crashed to atoms everywhere. Every s(iuare vard .seemed the objective of some shell, and we (Mily escaped destruction bv .some whim of Fate or by some mathematical inaccuracy on the part'of the Cierman artil- lery oflicers. Looking back on it now. it was positively uncanny. Rut. oh. the glory and the splendor and the zest of it all! Rome never saw its equal and Napoleon never conceived of a spectacle so .supreinely epic. It made of Homer a drv, prosaic old babbler, and iJante s Inferno a placid dream. When the barrag-e lifted the doughbovs went over the toj) sup- ported by Rritish tanks manned by American crews. They broke the liindenburg- Line and pressed on in the striking claws of a flerce and desperate re.si.stance. The "Aussies" followed up and crossed the canal and inounted the bridg-e on the other side. Yet the roar and thunder of the guns never ceased. While the big guns in the rear moved forward the fleld ijieces redoubled their efl'orts and as soon as the "heavies" started flring- again the fleld batteries would limber up and dash forward behind six- horse teams throug:h shot and shell to unlimber again nell forwird and be^in hurling shell after shell into the retreating Huns. It was intensely picturesque and gripping and at times seemed almost thea- trical. The wounded and the jjrisoners started coming- back as the Aus- tralian reserves advanced, and we were on the receiving- end of a Crernian barrag-e laid down to prevent the mo\'ement of reserves and supplies. That nig-lit we held strong positions precautionarv to anv possible counter attack. It rained again and we spent a most"miserable iii<.ht \\ e were cold and wet and hungry, and the heavv shells continued t.'. 50 THE COMPANY HISTORY "kriiuii)" and ci-asli all arouiul us. The iiii^lit was t)lac'k and full of tJiisty wind and rain. Reports filtt-red tlirouuh slowly and there was a lot of ^'eneral uneertainty ahout the results of the day. So we stood hy our guns and siiivered until the rlaniniy, gray dawn hroke. when we received hot eoffee and hegan to hear piecemeal fragments of the news. And I think many of us thought in this strain: 'riKJiiiili the thunder of tmitle rolls in the (lisUnur. The Uviiui ijrrss on through the (Uirk tind the rain. <) liar is hell, nnd the living suffer Hut the dead lie facing the falling rain. But that mood ])assed when we were relieved a coujile of days later and treated royally hack at camp. A hot meal, chocolate, candy and plenty of cigarettes, made possihle hy the energies of "Tod" Fisher and the ^Mothers' Auxiliary fund. ])lus a good night's sleep, made new men of us in the morning and we rememhered only the "high spots." the exhilaration and tlie zest of it all. That's all, perhaps, we rememher now — the good times we had together in those days that seem so long ago. They were good times and hard times and times that tested men, and they held days that men of this generation will never see again. CHAPTER SEVEN FRONT LINE AGAIN From Buire to La Sabliere Woods HOSE who, by reason of the so-called "hash-poisoning," had been forced to remain beliind the lines m safety while all this was going on. got their first taste of how tlie folks at home must have felt while there was fighting. There Mas this ad\antage, however, namely, that only a com- paratively short time would elapse before the worst would be known, anrl known definitely. There were no casualtv lists to pick up 111 the morning, to lie sure, yet ne\ertheless there was the same uncertain helplessness that all oiir families and loved ones must have been experiencing during all those months that we were in danger. Yet it seemed as if no feeling of restrained helplessness could etpial that experienced by the men in the back-area when the first news of casualties among their comrades began to come back to them. And there was nothing to be done but to chafe at the restraint which kept them behind the lines, and out of reach of opportunities for retaliation on the brutes who had hurt their friends. But one opportunity was given to be of service, and this oppor- tunity involved one of the hardest and most unpleasant tasks in the world : that of burying one's friends. The bodies of the three men who had been killed. Ferdie Frerichs. Goldie Hardgrove and George Staudenmayer. were taken to the small cemeterv at Saulcourt, and given decent Christian burial. Chaplain C. E. Towle. of the British Army, conducting the services. There thev now lie. thi-ee white crosses nmrking their graves. Even the cemeterv itself indicates the nature of the struggle between the two armies. The greater numbei- of the graves are those of the old French families who lived in Saulcourt in times gone by. Next to them are the graves of the English d^iM] killed during the retreat before the tremendous advance of the Hun m the spring. Then, in their turn, come rows of (German graves, whidi tell a silent story of a successful advance by the British over the same ground they had given. And. lastly, are more English. Canadian and Australian graves, which show the Hun must have given terrible resist- ance. And then there are the three graves of our bovs. the onlv Amer- icans m the silent, peaceful little cemeterv nestling quietly near the ruins of the unhappy town. 31 •■(). l." K \MI(()l K r A\'itli this sad, hut ciniiK'ntly satisfactory deed accoiuphshed. tlie kitchen and c()ni])any headcjuarters moved up to \"illers-Fauc()n on Septeinher 'iUth. there to await the return of the company from their successful hreakin<4' of the Hue. and tlie more successful holding of that line for days afterwai-ds. Relieved from their i)ositions, the men, tired, hag-gard. dirty and careworn, returned to spend the night of Octoher .'Jrd at ^"illers-Faucon, and hiked hack to Buire the next day. Cons])icuous among the memorahle deeds of the comiKUiy during this trying week was the notahle work of the transport, which hrought the rations u]) to the men over roads full of shell-holes and under almost constant shell-tire from big guns. 'I'he tratiic along these roads, at night, was enormous, and conse<|uently highly congested, which fact made the work more hazardous and difficult. The success of the o])erati()ns was made possible largely by the splendid work of Proctor and Huchei-, who worked like the nudes they drove, the former with a high fever most of the time. Buire was almost indistinguishable as a town. cxcej)t by its indica- tion on the map. Thei-e were no houses left standing. i)ut there were (|uite a few small ele])hant huts with dry floors in them. But the ex- ])osure of the trenches liad been too nuich for the health of a great many of the boys, and liardly a day passed wherein a few of them o'^ THE CO.AIPANY HISTORY 53 Mere carried oft' to a lio.sjjital train with the iiiHuenza or piiemnoiiia. The enforced close proximity of the small huts made the flu spread moi-e rapidly tliau it shovdd have, so that by the time we left Buire less than forty remaiueil in good health in the com])any, excluding the transport. The oidv interesting things at T?uire were the haths at Doingt, near by: watching the snajjpy but i-atiier foolish English guard-mount- ing in the town; listening to the band of the l()8th Infantry: and a memorial service of the 108th Infantry, given by the survivors on October 7tli, in honor of those of their comrades who had fallen. At these services, it will be remend)ered. Colonel Jennings of the lOHth Iid'antry made the announcement that the entii-e division was going hack of the lines for a long rest, lia\'ing done its duty. Instead of going to the back area, however, we left Buire after dai'k on the evem'ng of October 8th and mai-cbed to Villeret, a small town which had l)een almost within the Ilindcnburg Line, and was directly south of the (juarry where company headcpiarters had been a week before. This ])lace had no billets whatsoever, so most of us rolled up in our blankets on the ground without removing our clothes, as the night was frosty and the ground damj). It was midnight before we wei'c settled, and there were frecpient anti-aircraft barrages put up right over us. so that the fragments of shells spattered all around us. One plane, in ])articular, was foolish enough to get caught in the glare of a searchlight,- but escaped unharmed. This was. nevertheless, a very jjretty sight as we lay on the ground looking up at it, the tiny white wings resembling a moth fluttering around in the glare of an arc light on a street cornei' back home. We left A'illeret directly after lunch on the following day, Octo- iier !>th, after most of us had tired ourselves out building shelters to s])end the next night in. and stai'ted a long l)ut interesting hike. We marched right through the Hindenburg Line, then behind (jur lines, marveling at its wonderful defences of wire, concrete pill-hoxes and dug-outs, and noting the devastation all around us, indicating the des- perate stand of a retreating enemy. We marched through Hellicourt. under which ran the celel)rated underground Canal du Xord. We trudged along through Xaui-oy, Joncourt and ^Montbrehain, until darkness overtook us at Kamicoiu't. All along the road were strewn the bodies of the Germans who lay where they had fallen in the haste of the retreat. Tlie numbers of (TCi-man signs everywhere made us realize that the country we were then marching through had been part of Germany for over four years. We slej)t in the dilapidated but well-remembered I'aili'oad station at Hamicourt, after eating suj)per in the dark. One advantage of eating in the dark was that if von were hungry and a quick eater you could doul)le up on the line without the mess sergeant's noticing you. But. on the othei- hand, in the darkness the mess sergeant really had the advantage, because he could serve anything and in small portions without having them discovered until too late. .34 THE COMPANY IIISTOUV SAULCOURT CEMETERY By F. S. YORK. Jr. A picture that is liurned deeply into my lueinory is that of three graves in a little French cemetery at Saulcoiu't. not far from Villers Faueon. in hattle-.scarred France. One rainy morning- in September, 1918, I helped dig those graves. We l)urie(i three of our best boys there, and while cannons roared a few miles eastward a British Army chaplain conducted the simple service. We stood there with uncovered heads. The rain was fall- ing, Init no one noticed that. We were thinking of home and of the mothers who were fighting the hardest battle of all. Somehow we did not pity those three brave lads. They had died at their guns in one of the greatest battles of the great- est of all wars. If death had to come, who wouldn't choose to die as they did:* And as we stood there with bowed heads the words of those inspii-ed verses came to me: "Take up our (piarrel with the foe. To you from falling liands we throw tlie torcli — Ee youi-s to hold it high: If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though pop])ies grow In Flanders' fields. " KSCAIFOL'RT The next iii()riiiii<^- was pei-liaps tlie most interesting,! from the point of view of souvenirs, that many of us had had up to ihat time. Immediately after hreakfast we wandered around among the l)attered (ieiinan machine gun nests, inspecting the broken tank on tlie liill, throwing ^Nlills bombs, finding German notebooks and pictures, and marking the progress of tlie tight, chiefly from the direction in which the dead ^Vustralians lay, with their arms outstretched and their fists clenched. A woman's dress was found in one of the machhie gun nests, proving that Jerry had enlisted the aid of the women to help him tire his machine guns. We did not see any signs of the much- talked-of (xerman atrocities, except in one solitary instance. While ])assing through .loncourt, the evening before, in one of the houses which lined the road lay the body of a woman with her throat cut, but we could only conjecture whether or not this had been suicide. We moved forward again from Ramicourt after lunch on October lOth, and hiked as far as Fremont, where we ate supper again in the dark, and pitched pu]) tents in a small orchard. It rained most of the night and we awoke to the joys of breaking camp, rolling our packs in the rain and starting forward again. This we did at 7:.'J() A. M. We did not keep to the road, but hiked over fields to a small hol- low east of Fremont, sheltered from observation by a small woods, named on the map I.,a Sabliere Woods. This hollow was to be our headquarters, even as Beauvoorde ^\''oods had been in the northern oo 56 THE COMPANY IllSrOHV country, so we i)itt'lie(l tents af>:iin and rested that afternoon. One- lialf the coriipany was chosen to "^o foi-ward and occu])y tlie trenches that ni<>ht, and so they ^ot i-eady to move at tit'teen minutes' notice, strikino- their tents, and waiting, jjacks i-olled. When the word finally came it was three in the moi-nin,<«'. and it had rained continuously since shortly after dark, starting-, it seemed, almost immediately after the tents iiad been struck. There were oidy a few tents left standing, and these were crowded to capacity liy the men who wanted to rest out of the rain, hut many simply lay there in the mud and rain, waiting for the order to mo\e. They went forward, at length, and oci'upied the temjjorary first- line trenches near Bec(|uignv, on the morning of October 11th, remain- ing hi the trenches all that day and firing a short barrage at 4:30 P. M. This barrage was short, but it was answered immechately by hea\y shelling of overhead shra])nel from Jerry, and it seemed miraculous that no casualties resulted in the company. In fact, from this time on the company seemed to bear a chai-mcd life, because pure dumb luck was the outstanding feature of whatever engagement the company Avas mixed uj) in. Shells would land very near, but the fragments never seemed to hit anything but the ground, trees or the trench. The other half of the company moved forward from the hollow that afternoon and relieved the first half just after dark. The relief was not accomplished without considerable waitings and delays, due to the guide's losing his way. The trenches were at the outskirts of another small wood, the trees of which did not average more than fifteen fee) in height. The company at that time was only of sufficient strength to man four guns, whereas the other com])anies of the bat- talion consisted of eight guns each. Many of the shells of the aftei'- noon had containe- thronuh oui- i-iiiip of a number of whippet taidvs, l)oiind for the front. Captain Houstield had left the company at Euire with the flu, so that Lieutenant Badenhausen was in command of what was left of the original com])any. On the afternoon of October 1-tth we received orders to be ready to move at fifteen miiuites' notice, and the company was divided up into four s([uads, or one ])latoon, in command of I^ieu- tenant Fuller. From now on, as had been the case in the Ilindenburj^' Line stunt, the work of Lieutenant Fuller, together Avith that of Lieutenant Selhy, cannot be given too much |)raise. They were with the men at all times, and their quick decisions, involving as they did all our lives, were such as to steady the men and give them contidence in the success of the o])erations. These two, with Herb Fischer, deserve the gratitude and heartfelt ai)])reciation of everyone in the company, and it was largely through their untiring efforts that the company was brought through from that point on with only one slight ( gas ) casualty. Several of the non-com's went forward in advance of the party and marched to Kscaufourt to assist in making prei)arations for the coming barrage. The balance of the company followed just before dark, and arrived oji the scene to find a row of stakes and aiming marks all prepared for them. It only remained for us to dig "V" trenches behind each gun jjosition, and to fill sandbags witli whicii to steady the tripods. This was accomplished during comparative quiet, only a few shells laiuhng on our right at regidar intervals. Our gun positions were directlv l)ehind a six-foot hedge, over which we fired, and so were screened from view in front. Nevertheless, we gathered shrubbery to camoufiage our positions, although that ])roved to be unnecessary, as our work was finished before it got liglit the next morning. It rained again for a short while during oui' digging of the posi- tions, just so that we should not get too lonesome or diy. but luckily cleared off again. The positions prepared, we tramped back to a barn .58 THE COMPANY HISTORY 59 ill Escaufourt for a brief sleep. The owner of the barn was a French- man who had evidently been ill-used by the Germans for four years, as he was only too olad to sjjeak French again and was ready to give us anything we desired. We were awakened shortly after four o'clock and given a very good l^reakfast, rudely cooked at the fireplace by one or two of the jjrivates. Our shoes had had a chance to g'et almost dry by the fire- side, so that we might have been worse off. Zero hour for the barrage was orJO plus thirty seconds, and before five o'clock we wei-e out at our positions setting up the guns and getting everything in readiness for the coming barrage. Our work consisted mainly in laying each gun according to the proper direction, which was so-and-so-many degrees to the left of our aiming marks. This was no sligiit job in the dark and with the consciousness that a good deal depended ujjon our accuracy. At ,5:20, just thirty seconds before we opened up, a battery of machine guns started their nnisical rattling fire on our right, and just before it came our tiu"n the artillery tore loose behind us. The roar was so great that we could hardly distinguish Eieutenant Fuller's whistle to commence firing, but we pressed the thumb-pieces anyway, and the barrage was on. This barrage was shorter than the previous ones, but while it lasted was just as exciting. Xot only that, but day was just breaking, and the mist of the dawn, added to the smoke barrage being put over by the artillery, made the air so full of cordite that we had to wear the mouth-jjieces and nose-clips of our gas masks. After ten minutes of steady firing, we were ordered to move forward, being used, with our four guns, as a l)attery of o])portunity, while the other companies of the battalion, having eight guns each, remained behind in reserve. So we started forward along the road, the limbers with us, and om" gas masks half on, proceeding as far as St. Souplet, where we halted in the shelter of a building which had once been intact. Tiie artillery quieted down slowly while we waited there, until it got so that we could begin to distinguish the Cierman shells from the noises made by our own guns. Finally the ofticers and Herb Fiscliei-, who had lieen recomioiter- ing ahead, returned, and we again started forward. In the middle of the town was a iiastily constructed first-aid dressing station, with many captured (xermans acting as stretcher-bearers. This novelty was soon forgotten when we turned a corner of tiie street and beheld before us a long road descending to a small river, and the rolling country rising and falling for miles l)eyond. It was a beautiful view, and at any other time some of us would no doubt liave enjoyed it, but, with the realization that we could see the enemy's terri- tory came the embarrassing thought that we could also be seen, stand- ing as we were in the center of the road. Those of us who did not realize this at once were soon made to know it l)y the miml)ers of 9.2's which l)egan landing in the buildings Till', TOl' OF THE HII.I, IX ST. SOlT'l.KT oil dill' kit and I'iii'ht. cTUiiHjliii<4' soiiif of tlu-iii up as if tliev had \)fv\\ liouscs of cards. We did not liesitate. therefore. A.s we descended the hill at doiihlc time. Lieutenant Badenhauseii. running' in front of the mules, noticed tlie shells landiny' in the road in front of us. C'on- se(iueiitly, with head-work for which we shall always he grateful, for to it we owed our lives, he turned ns off into a side street on the right. We followed this for a few rods, and then down the hill again on a smaller street j)arallel to the main road, which was. however, screened from view. Several buildings, which in the shelling had been reduced to mere piles of hricks on the road, obstructed our passage, but every- body fell to on the wheels of the limbers., and practically carried the wagons over and on once more. W'c again turned to the left and soon entered u])on the main road again, a shoit distant'c down the hill from where we had turned off from it. and kept on going at full speed down the hill, hop])ing over bi-oken down telegra])h wii'cs, hurdling bodies of dead soldici-s, and dodging shell-holes made in the road. ^Ve finally arrived at the bottom of the road, whei'c there should have been a bi'idge across the river situated thei-c, which, by the way, was the LeSclle Ui\ei', from the name of which the battle was named on our discharges. As a matter of fact, W^e turned oft' to the left, following the I'ivei'. and noting a num- there had been a bridge, but Jerry had blown it up in his retreat, and there were engineers at work trying to build a new one under tire, her of infantryiiicM standing waist-deep in the ri\er, leaning again.st the opposite i)ank, as if they exjjcctcd something would roll over on them. Tiiey were merely bracing themselves against the bank to ob- 60 HKYOM) THK K1\KI{ AT SI'. SOIPI-ET tain its added ])rotection from the shell-fire, which in onr excitement of rnnninj4' we had he<>-un to i' enough to allow the limhers to pass over, and which the (xermans, in theii' haste, had forgotten to destroy. We crossed this and gal- loped another hundred yards to the heht our hreaths aaain and watched the hiy shells whiz/ overhead and land, some of them on the very road over which we had just come successfully, or now and then a few shells land in a huilding amid a clond of hrick-red smoke and dust and scattered dehris. we i>'ave in- ward thanks to the (jiiick decision of our officers, and to oiu' lucky stars, the comhination of which had hroufjht us through the town with- out a scratch. Sitting there on the hill was a somewhat similar situa- tion as that of the artillery exhihition han-age at the range near Spartanburg, but, oh, how different! Before we advanced again a wounded doughboy of the 108th Infantry was discovered with a bad wound in his leg. around which a pistol had been twisted as a toiu"ni(|uet. Our only stretcher was used to carry him to the dressing-station back in the town. Just what we 01 62 THE COMPAXY IIISTOKY should have had to do had we needed the stretcher hiter on, no one knows, hut luekily we (hd not need it. although all the iudieations pointed that way at the time. After a short rest, the mules and limhers were left in the shelter of the protecting hill, and the <)uns were moved forward over the hill into positions of support to the advancing' infantiy. i\t the top of the hill was a lot of harhed wire, cleverly arranged to he on the sky- line, and an ahandoned railroad. We were told that our harrage had fallen on the railroad, and the rusty engine and cars which vvei'e there hore many hullet holes to that effect. We remained in om- positions a few hundred yards heyond the railroad while the sun came out and tried to dry us as we lay on the wet ground. While here, Jerry's artillery, with its precision hut ty])i- cal lack of imagination, carefully searched out oiu- positions, landing a shell just hetween two of our guns, and passing on. A little more either way would have put one gun team entirely out of action. Again we moved forward, this time stopping in the shelter of a small hedge, hehind which were nests upon nests of machine ginis which were total wrecks, an inspiring exhihition of the thoroughness of the work done hy our doughhoys. Here we ate a cold lunch, con- sisting chiefly of canned goulash secured from the pockets of the dead Jerries lying around. All this time, the sun being out, fast scout aero- planes flew hack and forth in front of us, shooting down at the Heeing Cxermans. We were unahle to see the Ciermans, however, (iue to the nature of the country. In the midst of this rest word came in that Jerry was counter- attacking on our left, so we hustled the guns on our shoulders and douhle-timed over to the forward slope of a hill on our left. As soon as we stopjjed we scattered, each gun team picking a convenient shell- hole, mounting the guns, and loading up. In less time than we could have helieved we were ready, with a commanding view of the whole skyline across which the attack was coming, hut, after waiting ex- pectantly for something to shoot at, and seeing nothing more than a few skulking figures on the skyline ahead of us, which we could not he sure were not those of our men, we were told that the attack had been repulsed. Most of us. in our selfishness, really were disap])ointe{l. as, if Jerry had come over then, we should have had what the English called "a heautifid shoot," and perhaps i)ecn given an o[)p(irtniiity to save that portion of the line. After waiting there a vain half-hour, we retraced our steps to a sunken road on our right, and farther forward. Sunken roads are wonderful things, and the fact that France swarms with them is un- douhtedly one of the chief reasons why so many of our i)ovs are hack in the U. S. A. to-day. This particular road was deep enough to ren- der the chances of danger from shell-fii-e almost negligible. exce|)t in the ease of a direct hit. The day was well along when we were finally told that we were to remain in the road all night. So we dug ourselves in at the side of the road. .lust as we broke gi-ound it started i-aining THE COMPANY HISTORY (;•} and did not stop all that iii<.ht. We mounted the guns at the toj) of the roadside and stood giiard over them, but were not called upon to hre a shot. Thus ended a very eventful dav. October 1 -,th, beoinnin"- as It did with a barrage, the journey through St. Souplet. and endino- up in the rat-holes along the side of the nameless sunken road leading- east of St. Souplet. Just as dawn was breaking on October Kith, we were routed out of our wet holes and formed ourselves on the road, to the tune of an- otlier artillery barrage and smoke screen. In the midst of this we proceeded over the top of the roadside and in single file walked over the fields beyond, able to see no farther than the man in front, and heing forced to keep our eyes on him for fear of losing him in the mist and smoke. We reached another convenient hedge, where we halted, and ate an appetizing and highly-FIetchei-ized lireakfast of cheese, dates, and raw Dacon. 1 here was no dry wood to build a fire with, even if it had been advisable, m view of the ensuing smoke. The raw bacon, par- ticularly after a cold wet night such as we had spent, was not the most palatable thing we could think of at the time. We had .some coffee grounds, also, m the rations, so that all we needed to make coffee wis water, sugar, and a fire, not one of which was available. A ftt-r breakfast, we picked our teeth and proceeded forward again \\ Me rounding the corner of the hedge we had an intimate mtro TIIK CO.MPANY HISTORY back to Xauroy, situated in the heart of the IIin(lenl)ur^' I.iiic, which we reached just before dark. l)ut in time to secure wliat billets there were. There were very few houses left standing- at Nain-oy. and the best billets found ])roved to be cellars. We hiked a^ain from Nain"o\' on October 21st back as far as ^Nlanjuaix. which Mas near Tincoiu't, our first stoppin<^- ])lace in that part of the country. We spent one rainless nujonlit ni<4ht at Mar- (juaix. at Avhich time the crosses which had been made by the mechanics at Huire to mark the three graves of the boys that were killed, and which liad been taking up space in the liml)ers ever since, were taken to Saulcourt, where they now mark the graves of Ferdie, Goldie and George. The next day, October 22nd, we marched to Tincourt. and en- trained for the back areas. Shortly after our train had left, a delayed mine exploded under the roadbed near Koisel, and delayed the rest of the division. We disembarked at Villers-Bretonneux. of historic fame, and in the gathering darkness arrived at Vaire, a small (piict town on the Somme canal, four kilometres from Corbie. We arrived there in the middle of the night, and proceeded to make ourselves at home in the wreck of a once-])rou(i dwelling of a well-to-do French countrvman. CHAPTER NINE THE ARMISTICE SIGNED From Vaire to Connerre 1{()M a i-athei- disagreeable and totally unfit place to rest in. as were our first impressions. A^aire turned out to he just the opjiosite. The month we spent there was the happiest we had known in France. Doubtless the sign- ing of the armistice, which took place while we were there, had a great deal to do with our enjoyment of our surroundings, but nevertheless we were allowed a freedom in Vaire which was unsurpassed by any town we stayed at. We lost no time in making ourselves as comfortable as possible. Salvaging was a comparatively easy matter, provided it was done (juickly. as A^aire had been under shell-fire. It was situated just l)eyond the line of the great German advance in the spring. In fact, the town of Hamel, distant two kilometres to the east, had been occupied by the Huns. From their positions at Hamel the Germans had shelled Vaire. until there was no sign of intact window glass to be found. Not only that, but the buildings were sufficiently demolished to make salvaging more simple. Above all. however, the village was comparativelv unin- habited bv civilians. Beds, made of chicken wire and Ijoards. beiian to make their appearance out of unused cellars, and chairs were eagerly gathered to ones ])articular room of the house. A few, being dissatisfied with the house jn-oper. skirmished around and found em^jtv rooms in nearby dwellings, which, with a lot of hard work, they man- aged to fix up very comfortably. Passes were necessary to visit Amiens, as there were many JM. P.s lurking around with wide-open arms, as three of the outfit found to their disadvantage. Unfortunately, not one of the three men involved had ever been an inmate of Blackwell's Island or Sing Sing (as far as we know), or else we should be able to print here an unbiased com- parison of French and American jugs. Division IIead(|uarters were stationed at Corbie, distant a nice walk along the beautiful canal of the Sonune. Consequently we were able to visit the Division Show there, as well as to buy lots of necessi- ties in the line of food. Leaves to St. Malo and England were given out for the first time while we were at A^aire. 67 08 THE COMPANY HISTORY One of tlu- best things aliout Yaii'e. however, was tlie ahundaiiee of firewood. The iiiohts luid he- a i>do'. Oin- means of ilhnm'natioii was candles, but often tlie ordy iin'ht we had was that of the tire. Tlie eompany didn't do a thin«>' to a hui^e pile of em])ty Kni^-lish ammunition boxes near the billet. Ai the rate they were consumed it is pei-haps lueky that we did not i-emain at \'aire any lon>>er tiian we diil. oi' else we should ha\e had to use some of the houses themselves for firewood. Drills were not too streiuious at Vaire. Often the eompany would .i^-o out for a hike, either throu<>h Ilamel. to search amon<>- the ruins, or alon^' the canal. We understood that tlieix- had been an elaborate schedule for our drilling-, but many a "])hysical exercise" drill, or "judging distance" exercise, or "rough ground" work, was construed to have been included in our hike. Near Ilamel was a broad level field which the English had used as a soccei- field, and on it we had some fine games of soccer, chiefly inter-platoon, though there were a few games between the ancient rivals, the privates and the non-com's. There was very little celebration at "N'aire on Armistice Day. There were so few civilians in town, and even these were so stunned with the almost unbelievable news, and there was no chance of buyhig champagne or wine without going all the way to Amiens and lugging it back, so that most of us merely breatlied a sigh of relief, asked our- selves when we wei'e going home, and went to bed. There had been more excitement the night the Kaiser was re- ported to have abdicated. The news came over the wire after dark, and Joe IIoj)kins found an old unused bugle and blew a snappy First Call — the first, by the way, that we had heard in months — and every- body came scurrving over to the head(juarters billet, expecting to see a fire, tight, or a building caving in. Hut instead Stu Ro.se read the wonderful news to the ci-owd by the light of a lamp, and. after a cheer, we went back to our billets again, wondering if it were really true, and, if so. what it would mean. The armistice came along just as we should have otherwise been on our way to the front again, and while we eould not heljj feeling thankful, mo.st of us would have been anxious to go up again for a .ook around, and to come back loaded with desirable souvenirs. From the time the armistice was signed most of our thoughts were centered around one vital (juestion. which was. "When do we go honied" and the rumors which Hoated in the company and were i)assed from one to another between that time and the time we finally did go home, late in February, would have, if printed, made volumes. We remained at Vaire until November 2()th. just before Thanks- giving Dav. taking ke'>n delight in keeping unshielded lights going late at night, and wondering whether we were going to parade in THE COMPANY HISTORY 69 Eiiuland or on Fiftli Avenue on t'ln-istnias Day. Also, there was a clia'nee of our lieiiin- deeorated by the King", though for what was not specified. , , . We (hd parade one day. however. l)efore leaviui-- ^'aire. on a held near Corbie, wiiere tlie entire (hvision was reviewed by :\Iajor General O'Rvan. The review was held on a Sunday, in nieinoriain of the division's casualties. This was the hrst review of the division as a unit since the time Field ^Marshal Haig reviewed us. early in June. On November 26th we entrained at Corbie, takiiin firewood and rations along to ])rovide against what we were told would be a terrible trip of three days. To our surprise, however, the trip turned out to be neither terrible nor long. We alighted at Comierre. near Le.Mans, and on the main road from Paris to Brest. A\'e were told that it was the Embarkation Area, and that an\- dav wc iiii(/Iit receive orders to pack u]) and hustle for the U. S. A. CHAPTER TEN THE WAR AT CONNERRE KFOKE, le:iviii<>- Vaire. we liad turned in to the British (Tovernment all our machine f>uns, together with aninuini- tion and other e(|ui])nient. so that we arrived at Connerre with nothing liut the empty limhers and nudes. There had also heen a lot of other Knglish ecjuipnieiit issued to us at \'aire, sueli as "Jerkin, leather, one." and mufflers and sweaters, hut when we were shipped south all had to he gathered to- gether and turned in. which gave the supply sergeant something else to want to get home for. \"ery ])ossil)ly if we liad known hefoi-ehand just how long, or even approximately how long, we were to remain at Connerre. we should have had a nuich l)etter time there than we did. As things were, the most sanguine among us hoped for an early departure to the States. But. even with their hopes, the soldier-characteristic of making oneself comfortahle in s])ite of the surroundings made many of us seek private hillets. with real heds. occasionally clean sheets, and a solid roof overhead. It was an awfully difficult task to roll out in the early morning and hurry around to heat the Topper's whistle at Reveille, as there was always the chance of its looking too nuicli like rain. The good old clock in front of the Hotel de Ville, however, saved more than a few of us from indefinite K. 1*. hv losing ahout five minutes regularly each night. The food served hy the kitchen was good although most of us preferred the English rations we had heen in the hahit of getting. Here, however, there was no longer the help- less dependence upon the cooks, unless one was hroke. Much consternation was caused one day hv the issue of hi-aiid- new American ^'ickers machine guns, with all their incidentals, all nicely clogged up with cosmoline. It couldn't he that they would issue all that stuff to an outfit almost on its wa\' home! The guns were not touched for some days, however, hut the wooden amnuinition hoxes were used, hut only to hold the mess-kits of the men standing around eating. Finally we were ordered to clean the guns up and get readv foi- drill. This done, we proceeded to lug them up the hill to a field where instruction in gun drill, fusee s])rings. lock spi-ings, crank handles, rollers, etc., was to hegin all over again. I.,uckily, however, hefore we could get really started, it commenced to rain, and the guns were put away and left in their cases from that time on until the time came for 70 THE COMPANY HISTORY 71 turning- them in, wlien they were again packed in cosnioline. Truly, it was a great army at that time! lint a cliange came. We got a new Major assigned to us — ^Nlajor Nathaniel H. Egleston — and Major Egleston's ideas were not en- tirely in conformity with the sort of discipline we had been having. In fact, he laid down, and enforced, regular periods of drilling, train- ing and exercise for each comj^any in the battalion, and brave indeed was the company officer who suggested a slight relaxation for the men. ]Major Egleston will remain, in name, forever associated with the two fields near Connerre which bear his name (unofficially, of course). The first, or Egleston Field No. 1, was situated on the Paris road a short distance uj) tiie hill from the town, and was a plowed field, the furrows running north and south, which made it excellent for holding- Saturday morning inspections. The second and more important. Egleston Field No. '1, -was about three miles away, across the railroad, and on its wide expanse we jicrformed many wonderful double-times with full })acks, both for rehearsals and for the real inspections. The trouble seemed to be that there was to be a comj)ctitive in- spection, by battalions, of the entire army corps, and some incautious person had informed the Major to that effect. Accordingly, we had to get oiu" wet laundry from the Frenchwoman who had just finished beating it with a ping-pong racket on a rock by the river, and roll it in our packs. This was ordered so that we might have everything ready for an embarkation inspection, should a showdown become necessary. In those days, the word "embarkation"" had a magical eflfect on our spirits, and we promptly obeyed the order. Most of the trips to Egleston Field No. 2 were failures, from the viewpoint of unrolling our packs and spreading out ecpiipment. until we began to get careless, and leave out certain heavy and unseen parts of the jKick. One day, however, we were caught by Brig-adier-Cxeneral Pierce, and had a showdown when we least expected it. Thei-e Avas much borrowing and last-minute cleaning of mess kits with the sand while the General ins])ected 1) Company, and, thanks to the help of the color guard, who were B Company men, we were able to get by. This competitive inspection idea did not arouse much enthusiasm in the men. If they wanted to know, we argued, who the best battalion in the army was, we woidd have admitted it readily enough, and saved all the bother of rehearsing, saluting the trees where the General's spirit hovered, and trying to "Rest" while standing with an embarka- tion pack on our backs. Our best drill jjeriods were in the afternoons, when avc usually ])layed baseball. Or, even in the morning drill period, frecpiently we would be taken for a long walk through the beautiful hills around Connerre. Connerre itself was dull enough until we got used to it, and by becoming used to it we ourselves became dull. When we first arri\ed there the great events in the life of the average Conneranian were the arrival of the St. Calais single-track train in the afternoon, the heavy silence when the clock in the church tower stopjjed. the daily 72 THE COMPANY HlSrOKV funeral profession up the liill to tlie eenietery. or tlie AVednesday inorniu^- markets in the Phiee. We, however, niaiia<^e(l to add a few novelties, such as the oi)enin^- of the V. ^1. C. A. window eaeh day hy our dear old friend. iNlr. Yerkes. Speakin<4' of _iMr. Yei-kes I'eniinds us of tlie Christmas entertain- ment, lentil Chi'istmas day we had seen no snow in Fi'anee. hut in the morning' of that day the snow l)e<>an to fall, possibly just to let us know that it was really Christmas. It snowed for an lioui- or so and then stopped, hut this did not dim our spirits any. Prejjaiatioiis. under the ahle leadership of Dave (lately, foi' a wonderful celebra- tion dinner were beiny' made on a lar<>e scale, 'i'he bunks of the men sleejjinj; in the lar^e billet on the corner of the line de la Jatterie and the IJonlevard 3Iareeau (im])osinn- names, wei-e they not ^vere moved up to the loft or around the corner — anywhere, in fact, to be out of the way. The committee went to work. Gus Sulzer entered the spotlight by installint;' electric lights in the hitherto dark and gloomy bai'u. Boards were obtained from somewhere and made into tables and benches lar<>e enoug'h to seat the entire company. And, last but not least, the food was roast jjork, with all its incidentals, cooked by l{o<)er Greenhal^h, liill Down and Fred Johnson at their best. Chief among' the incidentals were some home-made ap])le dump- lings, made by Jack Faniion. The bunch were nearly starved, waiting until three in the after- noon for the festivities to commence, but once they were allowed inside to .see what the transformed barn looked like, everyone forgot his trou- bles. A mimber of the fellows had volunteered as waiters, so that there was not much confusion. In fact, the chief noise to be heard after the XXX Hennessey had proclaimed the dinner officially in progress was the usual noise of a gang of hungry soldiers eating army- fashion. Cigars were included on the menus which Jack Kenny laboriously ])rinted out by hand, but which nobody ever got, so that, after liill Down had cried "Come on, you seconds!" until they stopped coming, we settled back on the benches, loosened our belts, and asked what was next. Of eoui'se. the next order of the day was speeches, accompanied i)y cheers. All the officers made speeches, from blushing liaddy to "Petite" Selbv. and e\en Scotty York became so excited that he spouted some of his ])oems, and then had remorse for being so brazen. Everything was cheered, including the army, the cooks, the 'I'op Ser- geant (actually), the food, the place, and. in fact, eveiybody and everything, with the |)ossil)le exce])tion of the Major. ^^'hen the smoke was at its thickest in the barn, somebody decided that we ought to have a minstrel show that evening, so the barn was cleared and the rehearsal commenced. At seven-thirty the dcjors wei'e opened again and in crowded all the company and a lot of curious civilians. The cooks made them- selves fore\er famous i)y mixing a huge can of wonderful punch that looked like red wine, but might ha\e had almost everything in it. THE COMPANY HISTORY 73 Music was furnished by Austin I.ealiy and ^lort Clark on a liired piano and a IxJiTowfd violin, and the minstrel show, with its impro- vised footlights and dirt (and dirty) floor, was a huge success. Jimmie Lynch saved the show from becoming too dull to everybody but the actors by giving out a "few prizes" whenever tliere came a lull in dia- logues. One of the best jokes occurred when the entire cast and chorus rose in their seats and demanded more punch — and got it! The climax of the whole show was when Mr. Yerkes was presented with his souvenir. It was a mistake to ])rolong the show as long as was done, as. if the performance had stop])ed at the end of the fii-st act, everyliody would have been hapjjy. Instead, the second act. which was more in the nature of high-class extemporaneous vaudeville, began to l)e a bore, until Eugler Brown saved the show by "singing a few parodies." We called it a day. The celebration of the conn'ng of the new year on Xew Year's Kve was performed in the same general manner by the great ma- jority of the men in the company — only they got it at different places. There was no reveille the next morning, and practically no breakfast — nor desire for any. Cieneral OKyan had called a reception for the officers of the division, but some of the officers remembered another previous engagement. From the first of the year until .lanuary Ulst very little of note happened to disturb our usual (juiet life at Connerre. Open-air movies were shown in the ])ublic scpiare by covu'tesy of the Y. ^I. C. A., but the nights were almost too cold and our billets too cozy to attend very many of the shows. On January "21st, however, we marched to the Belgian Camp, about ten kilometres on the road to Le ^Nlans, and stayed in the cold, dirty barracks there overnight. It rained hard dur- ing the night, and when we awoke in the morning we found ourselves almost marooned, with each barracks surrounded by water. After lunch we were marched to a large field near the camp, there to be reviewed by Cxcneral Pershing, as a division. On the march to the field a rehearsal for the proper method of coming into line when passing the (xeneral was staged on a very wet field. Most of us had to (loublc-tinic in four or tive inches of water. However, we were assigned to our portion of the field, and re- mained where we were put from one o'clock until four, without mov- ing a stej), and with inter\'als for rests. The longest standing at tention occurred when the General decorated the heroes of the di- vision. Possibly a large |)art of oiu' restlessness was due to the fact that no one in our battalion was on the decoration list. When we finally did pass in re^'iew, it was with stiff legs and necks and nerveless feet. By far the best part of the review, next to the close view of the General himself, was the playing of the massed bands of the division, which made itself heai-d very distinctly over the entire field. We remained at the Belgian camp again that night, and hiked .11 SI' IX TIME FOR Till'. WIIISTI.K back to C'oiinerrt' at a very rapid pace the next day, in a li^iit snow, hut heavy ])aeks. iVt ahoiit tliis time tiie daily inspeetions for cooties, etc., began to be hekl, which <)a\'e us another tlirill about leaving? for home. And then, too. oui- l)kudnjectures were made that we were to be marched right on board, but these were merely wild conjectures, as things turned out U e were destined to go through a lot before we stepped on board iMi-st ot all. we marched along, after seemingly endless waitin.v uii- slimg our packs, grabbed our mess kits, and had a good meal of hot stew which made us all feel better. After the meal we again fell in and hiked up the long hill through Brest, and on and on over the niuddy road. 111 the ram. with wet overcoats and profane thouohts imtii we reached the far end of the huge camp three miles inland ""'We were installed 111 pyramidal U. S. Army tents, surrounded by duck- hoards and mud. but with stoves and wooden floors in them ' CHAPTER ELEVEN HOME AGAIN jIIK iK-xt iii()niin,i>', Fehniarv 2.). 1919, iiiiu- iiioiitlis to tlic (lay from the time wt- first entered the I'oiitaiie/eii Hai'- raeks. we marelied to these ohl Xapoleoiiie hiiihliii,i>s wliieli are so well known to the majoi-ity of the A. K. F.. and were rnshed throu<)h a hody inspeetion. The eani]) was erowded with easnals waiting to he shii)])ed home, and in the eyes of all these men we l)eeame oi))eets of envy heeanse we were to l)e shipped home as a di\ision i)efoi'e they eonld start. We remained in the tents for a few days, gdin.y throngh varions show-down inspeetions. t>ettin^' our French money e.\ehani>ed. and eating huge, well-eooked meals at Kitchen Xo. 14. and then we were moved to what was called the "Ready Camp." This consisted of long, clean, dry harracks, with douhle-tiei- hunks, which were very comfoi't- ahle. The name "Heady Camp" had a pai'ticulai'ly pleasing sound to our eager eai's. hut it \\as not until after \\e had hecome settled there that we learned the real interpi-etation of the term "licady." Instead of meaning that the occupants were ready to he sjiipped iiome. it really signified that the inmates must he "IJeady" at all times to go on fatigue, all-night kitchen ])oliee. oi- any other little thing the fei-tile hrains of the S. (). S. otlicei's could invent. Not only was this a l)low. hut at this new camp we had to eat at ivitchen \o. o, and the excellence of Xo. 14- had sjioiled us for the trash served at Xo. ."). Consecjuently. after a fi'W sample meals at X"o. .), most of us put on slii'kers and picked on tiie prize-winning kitchens to ha\t' the iionoi' of sc!'\ing us. These were usually Xos. 8, 11, and 14. While at the Ready Camp we wei'e given another hody inspec- tion. We had all gone a full week of woi'king in the mud without bathing, and there was great feai- that the I'csult of this second inspec- tion would he sei'ious enough to detain us another \\eek or so, until we could get a hath. Hut nothing lasts foi'cxei', and just as we were resigning our- selves to the fact that Division lleatkpiarters had forgotten that tliC KXith Machine (inn Hattalion had not sailed for Ilohoken we received orders to pack u]) and lea\e. .So we got up early on the morning of ^larch .")tli and marched hack down the long hill, again in the rain, and took the lighter foi- the hattleshij) "Missouri." When the hattalion had hecn put on hoard, and the men all assigned to their ri'spet'tixe 76 THE COMPANY HISTORY 77 liaiiiiiiocks. the aiiflior was weighed and we steamed out of the harbor ju.st as iii<>ht was t'alhn,i>' on ]March otli. The shores of France van- ished from sif^ht behind us in the gathering dusk, and with mingled thoughts we said farewell to the many pleasant and unjjleasant ex- periences we liad had during the nine months of our stay there. For some the war had meant wounds and the loss of dear friends: for others the war had not left its mark, physically; and there were still others to whom their clean, healthy experience of doing a man's job had given a broader outlook on life and firm resolutions to contuiue doing that man's job when they got back to America. Almost all of us had become bettei- men for the experiences we had gone through at the cost of self-denial and self-sacritice. And all of us brought back with us many firm and lasting friendships of the kind which nothing but constant conu-adeshij) and association with a common purpose could possil)ly have cemented. The day-times of oin* trip home on the battleship were by far the best ])art of the trijj. At night, the close (piarters of the hammocks, the foul air. relieved somewhat by the ventilators, and the lack of space to properly turn in our bunks during the night, made the approach of day rather welcome. Yet it was with a growl and a gr\imble that we heard the four bells sti'ike at six o'clock. This meant "Heave out," and "Hit the deck." and hoist uj) the hammocks to their hooks so that the tables could be laid out for breakfast. Those who were lucky enough not to be on K. P. or other fatigue — chosen l)y compart- ments — immediately went up on deck and stayed there all day, com- ing down below for meals otdy. In fact, lounging around below decks during the day was forbidden, even on rainy days. The wonders of the battleship, the guns, turrets and engines, soon ceased to be a nov- elty, and books were in great demand. Those working below had more to do to occupy their time, but far worse air to work in. The chief diversion during the day was to look at the chart of the ships progress, which was published after lunch. The sailors' band, which played three or four times a day. and the canteen kept us fi'om getting too lonesome for something to do, but the old battleship plowed its way along at a speed which was far too slow for most of us. Toward the lattei- part of the trip open-air movies were shown on the (juarter-deck aft in the evenings, one party being liastily interrupted by a few stray waves washing over the low deck. English drill was performed some of the clearer days on the quarter-deck, much to the delight of the sailors. These sailors, by the way, were in direct contrast to those who escorted us over f)n the "Antigone." and were a tine set of men. One sunshiny afternoon a series of sporting games and boxing bouts was run off under the direction of one of the warrant officers on the i'orward deck. Tuesday, March 18. I'Jl'J, turned out to be a foggv and rainv morning, so foggy, indeed, that when we jjassed the lightship all we could see was the to]) of her masts and the steam which escaped every time her fog liorn blew. The rain, however, cleared awav just as we ::;:r:jr:';::;.:Ti:;;. . ":.i^s::*^:T:-ss: J THE COMPANY HISTORY 79 entered the harbor. ^Vhen we heliehl the faiiiihar 8i- it was that we left the overeoats hehind. as some of our luimher would undouhtedly lia\e heen left hehind lyin^y on the Avenue. The erowds wei'e so .i>reat. hcinu' the first parade of a division of the A. E. F. in New York, that at man\ plaees they overflowed the eurhs and we were foived to mareh in eolumn of scpiads at various points and then to tlouble-time to eateh up and avoid leaving any .yaps in the parade. These douhle-tinies did away with the periods allotted to us for fi^e-minute rests, so that, from the time we left Tenth Street we did not stojj until we reaehed 114th. marehing at attention the entire distanee. with the perspiration \nmv- ing down oui- faees and our tin hats boring holes in our heads. The ehief thing whieh made all of us keep going was not diseipline. i)ut the prospeet of seeing our families and friends at l()4th Street, in the grand-stand thei-e. \N'hen we passed that point the ovation was truly wonderfid. Hut. after we had passed, the ])arade was over as far as we were eoneerned. However. General O'Kyaii i-eviewed our tottering figures at llOth Street. The arrangements for the parade had been very well ])lamied. as we had no trouble in getting down-town and to Brooklyn again ^•ery (juiekly. Arriving baek at the Armory onee more, tired and dusty, we were informed that those wishing to do so were invited to attend a dinner at the Metro{)olitan Fife Insuranee Building at .5:30. As it was then .") o'eloek most of us went home. It may be safely said without fear of eontradietion that the elimax of the eareer of Comi)any B was reaehed when the eom])any passed the stand at 104th Street on JNIareh •i.jth. All througli its existenee it had been working to eneompass just those ideals whieh our friends iiailed in us. After passing that point, however. Company B prae- tieally eeased to exist, exeept in the minds of its members. ()n ^Mai'eh 'idth. the next day. we asseml)le(l at the iVrmory onee moi-e and entrained for Camp F[)ton to await diseharge. The week we s])ent at Fpton. waiting impatiently foi' permission to go home, and foi'gotten by almost e\eryone, was a miserable one. Camp ^ler- ritt had been a xei'itable paradise — if any army eamj) ean be termed sueh — having all the faeilities for eomfortable li\ ing, with its eafeteria, i)arber shop, and easy eommunieation with Xew York. U])ton. how- evei-. was as elieerless as Meri'itt had been homelike. Too far fi-om \ew York to get thei"e easily, cold, wind-swept, and with its ultra- poor mess, it brought us baek to earth with a jolt. Perhaps the bliz- zard we had while there heli)ed to try oui- ])atienee. but eei'tain it was that the Aveek was a long one. One bright spot of om- life at Camp Fpton was the faet that a THE COMPANY IHSTOKV 81 special pass was secured for iiuist of us to go to Brooklyn and attend the dance (i'iven at the Elks' Club on Saturday, 3Iarch -JUth. by the Junioi- Women's Auxihary of Company B. The dance was a huge success, and all the credit thei-efor was 'due to the girls Avho worked so hard to make us have a good time. They were aided in their efforts by the tact that we could liave had a good time anywhere, once out of Camp (7i)ton. i)ut, even without this assistance, they made us enjov ourselves to the limit. For many of them the hardest work was that of dancing with us. Supper was served, and we went to our respective homes feeling much refreshed at the bi-eak in the monotonv of exist- ence at Upton and with a renewed confidence that we had not been forgotten. However, we took the Sunday train back again the next mortn'ng. Wednesday. April -Jiid. lid'.), was the big day, when we were handed, aftei- houi's and houi-s of waiting until the paymaster recov- ei-ed our lost payrolls, oin- long dreamed-of dischai'ges." with the sixty dollars bonus. After a long train ride we pulled into the Flatbush Aveiuie station of the Long Island Railroad— free men at last. The war was vii-tually finished, and we had done our share to l)rmg it to a successful finish, at a cost, great though it was, compara- ti\ely small. It was oui- good fortune to return home with nearly the same men who had left home together in the dark days of ]i)17. " Our casualties wl-vv constantly in our thoughts, and our Only regret was that they could not have been with us to enjoy the wond'erfuT feeling of home-coming. Our comforting thought' regarding the three boy's who sleep in the little Saulcourt Cemetery and the others el Mas, and is — that thev did not die in vain. sewhere COMPANY STATISTICS COMPANY B, 106TH MACHINE GUN BATTALION, 27rH DIVISION, 11. S. A. Or^-anized at S])artaiil)iir<4-. S. C. (ramp Wadsworth), October 17. 1917. Sailed for France from Newport News, "Slay ](), i;»18, on U. S. S. "Aiitii^oiic." Arrived at lirest. France, ^lav 2.5, VJIH. Left France (Brest), Mardi .5, 1919. Arrived New York. >Lircli 18. 1919. Demol)ilized at Cami) Upton. N. Y., April 2. 1919. Time spent in France: 9 months. 8 days. Time spent in France before the armistice: ."> months. 17 davs. B ATTLKS : Hindenbur<»' I^ine, September 29, 1918. Jonc de Mer Bid^e, ()ctol>er 18, 1918. Le Selle Biver, October 17, 1918. Skiumishes and Kxi'KDirioxs: Knoll — Qnellemont Farm, September 27, 1918. St. Manrice Biver, October 19, 1918. East Pojjeringhe Line, Jnly 9, 1918, to .Vnoust 20, 1918. Dickiebnsch Sector, August 22, 1918, to August 30, 1918. C'asi'ai.tiks: Killed ill miction: Hardgrove, (Goldsmith IL, killed in action September 2(), 1918, at 11 :30 P. M., at Hindenburg Line. He Mas buried in the Sanlcourt Cemetery, aftei- burial service read l)v C'liaplain C. K. Towle. B. E.F. Staudenmayer. (ieorge .T. F.. killed in action Sei)tend)er 2(1. 1918. at ll:;io 1'. AL. at Hindenburg Line. Buried at Sanlcourt Cemetery. Frerichs. Ferdinand .L. killed in action on the moi-niiig of Sep- tember 27. 1918, at about (i A. ^L, at Hindenbiu-g l^ine. liuricd at Sanlcourt Uemeterv. Died ill France: Ford, .James V., died at a British Base Hospital from pneumonia about October 18. 1918. 82 THE COINIPANY HISTORY 83 Weed. Frank W. E.. died at a British Base Hospital from pneu- monia about ()ctol)er 19, 1918. Schafer, Jacob J., died at a British Base Hospital from jineu- monia about October •22. 1918. Wounded or Gassed: Byrne. Thomas E.. wounded at Hindenl)ur^' Line, Septeml)er 21, 1918. Collins. Herbert C. wounded at Hindenburg Line. Desmond, Daniel A., wounded at Hindenl)urg' liine. Dorn. Vernon V., <)assed at St. Souplet. October 20, 1918. Eldert. Clarence W.. wounded at Dickiebusch, August 4, 1918. Falk, Samuel, wounded at Hindenburg Line. Galvin, William F.. wounded at Hindenburg Line. Grimm. Ralph W.. wounded at Hindenbur^)- Line. Hein<)artner. Walter C, wounded at Hindenburg' Ijine. Heipt. Robert L., wounded at Hindenburg Line. Heng<),e. Frank B.. wounded at Ilindenburg Line. Leahy, Raymond D.. wounded at Hindenl)urg liine. Liedy, Lawrence J., wounded at Hindenburg Line. Lynch. Frank, wounded at Hindenbvu'g Line. McBrien, James D., wounded at Hindenburg Line. Mooney, Robert E., wounded at Hindenl)in-g Line. O'Reardon. Daniel (i., gassed at Hindenburg I^ine. Robinson, William A., wounded at Hindenburg Line. Schmitt. Alfred D.. gassed at Dickiebusch. August .>, 1918. Sime. Robert S., wounded at Hindenburg Line. Swan, Clinton C, wounded at Hindenburg Line. Tillson. ]Mark D.. wounded at Hindenburg Line. Yeoman, Earl W., wounded at Hindenburg Line. C^Vrt^/o H.- Fischer. Herbert (x. ]M.. a])])ointed Second Lieutenant October 30, 1918, on account of "gallantry in action and demonstrated fitness." f^\ ^.y"'^ ' ' rilK CO.AIl'AXY HISTORY 8.1 THE COMPANY HISTORY 87 THE COMPANY HISTORY 80 c;koi;c;i, .i. i-. si al di.n.ma^ i-.i; THE COMPANY HISTORY 91 THE COMPANY HISTORY i)3 THE COMPANY HISTORY 95 "^fcl^ X y-A **» -s7K' eel 7 C^ 10 m .1 a, 12 13 4^ A^" i6 .■< „i-^*'. 18 r 19 ao THE co:mpaxy history WOUNDED I. :Mark Tillson: 2. Earl Yeoman; 3. Clint Swan: 4. Clar- ence Eldert; .). Fi-ank Hen<)<>e: (l. Boh Sinie: 7. Ray Leahy: 8. Rill Itohinson: '.». P,ill (ialvin: 10, Jake Liedy: II. Vie Horn: TJ, Tom Ryrne: 13, Dan O'Reardon: 14, Roh Ileipt: }.'>. Fiank Lyneh: Ki, .Timmie ^leRrien: 17, Danny Desmond: IS. Heil) Collins: 19. AValter Hein(>:art- ner: 20. A\ Sehmitt. '^sWp -^ \>C v>6 ^ >6 sX 10 12 13 15 i6 .>o 14 16 17 ■'=»»l- 18 19 ^ ^ t 20 21 22 23 24 fS- ' — * Ci- 25 26 27 28 ^ ^ ^S, 29 30 31 32 33 THE COMTAXY HISTORY 99 1, Jinuiiie Oiiclitei-loiiey : 2. Howard Pi'octor: .'}. I'hil O'Reilly: 4, Pete Baniuni: .>. Charles Skoii<>-; (>, "Eddie" Ediiioiidsdii : 7. Hnck Raniard: S. Charlie l{ea; 9, Sam Flatto: 10. Frank Cox: II. I'aul Selhy: 12. Joliii Evans: 13, George Bneher: 14, Ralph Eehniann: 1.5, Phil Corwin; 1(>, Ed. Fitter: 17. Starr VanDensen: 18. "Hap" Fendler; 19, John Mnlvaney; 20. Eawrenee Squii-es: 2]. Jiiniiiie Cotter: 22, Captain Bonstield: 23, Terry Hamlin: 24, Clarenee Freeman: 2.>. John Me^Iahon: 2(J. "Tex" How: 27. Stu Rose: 28. .lack Rowe: 29, "Here" Belyea : 30. Pereival Whitaker: 31, Charlie Dowries: 32, Joe Schnld: 33, Tom Prior. * Mi. ^XI'« i l^> 10 #^ 4^ av, fK( ,,«l. IS 20 ^^ -& ^ M M^ 32 26 30 4l Jllb- 28 m 31 32 ='flj|P" 33 34- tup: co.aipaxy history loi 1. Lifuteiiant .McLeruoii : 2. "Y)usty" Mhodvs: ti. Moi't Clark: 4. Johnnie Mahei'; .). Tom Adams: (J, William Stephenson: 7. Ilany Hlythe: 8. Don C'am[)hell: it. Ke^'. jNIoxley; 10. (innwald Olsen: 11, (ieor<;e (xerman: 12, Les Raker: l.'{. Jack Tiefel: 14. ^Vml)rose Fnrlon,<>': 1.), (iedney l{os.s; 1(1. George I'ieree; 17. Austin Leahy: 18. (reor^e .McKni^ht: 19, Roh Lander: 20, Rill Hallahan: 21. Jack Kenny: 22. ■Chowder" Keane: 23. Charles Peiree: 24, Rill Raynoi": 2.). Kdward Terry: 2(>, Ted Xoreross: 27, William lilamire: 28, Harry Stephenson: 2!», Rob Hall: .'}(), Tony Feri-aeane: .'Jl, "Rosie" Titconih: .32, James MeC'ormiek; .'33, Herb Fischer; 34, Fred Sehlegel. 3 A 5 .ft M / t a Hii 10 if a^ 14 15 V^ 16 1^ 18 #e- 20 2i E2 23 24 >■•»» W^.- 25 26 27 29 30 31 |p^ 32 33 THE COMPANY HISTORY 103 1. Fred Johnson: 2. Tod Fisher; li, Wilhani Faulk; 4. George ^leManus; o, (ius Snpansehit/ ; (I, Hoh Soper; 7, George Snyder; 8. Jiniinie Waldron; 9, "Hhnk" Ayres; 10. "Wat" Tyler: 11. Amos Rogers; I'J. Hill Down; 18, "Red" Murj)hy: 14, "Hutch" Hutchison: l.>, Roger (Ti-eenhalgii; Ki. Jiininie Lynch; 17, Lieutenant Baden- hausen; 18. Dick Mansfield; li». Harold Bent/; 20. "Hank" ^Valker; 21. Joe Hopkins; 22. C'onstantine Makris; 23, David McAuley; 24, Joe Sheerin; 2.), Morton Isaacs; 26, Charlie Metzger; 27, Jack Correll; 28, Dav,? Hughes; 2!). Howie Retersdorf; 30. \Viniani Kaval; 31. Harrv Allison; 32, Bill Seerv; 33, "Rosie" Rosenhhun. ^?!ft 10 ..-I ■f- ^ 15 16 20 21 0^ 17 22 ■.•9W ' 18 a ^ 19 24 25 .Jilt/ 26 ■iiP' 27 28 .«. 29 30 32 33 /_J THE COMPANY HISTORY 105 1. Anton Reiners: 2. ■'Dinty" Rowan: :i. Harold Rand: 4, George Herrmann: .5. l^es Kane: (>. "Doc" Hart: 7, Gus Sulzer: 8. Bill Kearney: 9, Boh Sackett: 10, Joe Sullivan: 11. "Red" Braker: I'J. Fred \Vellinuer: 13, Jaek Greason: 14, Dave Gately: 1.). Lieutenant Fullei-: Ki. John VanDeventer: 17, Lieutenant \'onderl^ieth : IS Julius Ojipenheiin: 19, Howai-d Case: 20, Scotty York: 21, Gus Becker: 22, Ernest (Trinini; 23, "Twill" Weller- ritter: 24, Eddie Reilly: 2"). Eddie Lynch: 2(5, Jioh Spencer: 27, Earl Ran.shury: 28, Ed Kimhall: 29, Joe Mclntyre: 80, "Plets" Hetzel: 31, Simon Steinhert^er: 32, Ca])tain Alpers: 33, Arnold Hoffman. THE MOTHERS' AUXILIARY OF COMPANY B SURELY no history of Coinp:iiiy U could he called complete without ail account of the spleiuiid work done hy the ^Mothers' Auxiliary and its younger counterpart, the Young- People's Auxiliary. The value of the efforts of hoth these organizations, all of whose nienihers were interested primarily in making our army life happier and more comfortahle, was too often undervalued hy the mem- hers of Com])any \i. It is helieved that a detailed account of some of the work done hy these organizations will he hoth interesting and instructive. First, the Mothers' Auxiliary, which held over twenty meetings, had its first meeting Xovemher l.jth, 1!)17. shortly after the company had left for Sj)artanhurg. Eleven mothers were ])resent at the first meeting, which was held at the home of Mrs. Elizahcth K. Carey. 4'2(> State Street, Brooklyn. The idea seemed such a good one. however, that on the next meeting there were forty-five mothers present. JNIost of the meetings after the first were held at the Armoi-y, and a definite or- ganization, with officers and dues, was estahlished. The prohlem of i-aising money to add to the ha])])iness of the men was always the most \ ital topic discussed at tlie meetings. Surely the dues of tile memhei-s alone could not provide sufficient funds for this piirjjosc, and so \arioiis measures were suggested and adopted. Yarn was first purchased from the treasury, and the memhers husied them- selves in knitting socks. Then, on Fehruary 12tli. 1U18. was held a card party, which was (piite successful and yielded a suhstantial in- crease to the treasury. At almost everv meeting thereafter fancy articles, cakes, and hand-made goods were auctioned otY or drawn for hy lot. The ai-ficles were donated hy the memhers. and the pro- ceeds of the lotteries went to the gift fund which had heen organized hy the Auxiliary. The first definite result of this fund was a plentiful suj)ply of cigarettes and tohacco that ai-rixed in S])artanhurg for the Christmas of 1017. By the time the company had arri\ ed in l^'rance the amount accu- mulated in the treasury had reached a point where it was (|uite ])os- sihle for them to send two hundred dollars to us. This tliey did. and the money was used in hiiying chocolate, cigarettes, and other such luxuries, which reached us just after we had come out of the ITiiiden- l)urg Line, at \'illcrs-Faucon. Xo one will forget the pleasure which the gift of these supplies gave, or the added enjoyment which it gave hv heiiig a dii'ect gift from those \\'ho wei'c \ itally interested in our lOd THE COMPANY HISTORY 107 welfare. A second two hundred dollars was sent to us. and for C'hrist- mas. 1918, the Auxiliary sent over two hundred and fifty dollars, wiiich was used in huyino- the extras for our Christmas dinnei- in Con- nerre. ^Vllen the armistice was signed and the pressing need for con- trihutions to our comfort had diminished, the organization worked on jjlans for our home-coming celebration. 'I'he blue and red l)attalion banners so conspicuous in the New York parade on iNIarch 2.'Ah were the result of the united planning of our Auxiliary and the other Auxiliai'ies of the battalion. The meetings, which came to be held once a month, gave the mothers a good opportunity to gather and compare the letters written them from France, and these letters foruied the basis l)v which tiie needs of the company were estimated. A cable of greetings was sent to Connerre on Christmas, and was posted on the coni])nii\' bulletin board in the back of Cccile's court, near the kitchen. The Young People's Auxiliary, consisting of the sisters, friends, and sweethearts of the men in the company, was formed during the .summer of 1918. but it was not until ()ctober of that year tiiat they combined with the JNIothers' Auxiliary. They performed their share of raising money for the coinpany. however, holding a photo-play in the Armory. The crowning achievements of botli Auxiliaries, though, were, first, the Young People's dance at the Elks' Club in Brooklyn on ]Mai-ch •J9th. and, secondly, the banquet held by the Mothers" Aux- iliary at the Hotel Bossert in Brooklyn on April 7th, 1919. There was consideral)le d()u])t as to whether the conipauv would l)e able to secure permission to go from Camp I'ptoii to Brooklvn lV)r the Young People's dance, as the orders were very sti'ict that no one waiting for discharge should be jiermitted to leave camp. It was found to be almost as hard to get a pass for Brooklyn as it was for an M. P. to get a l)ottle of cognac out of an estaminet in Connerre. Somebody managed it, however, and we took the afternoon train for Bi-ooklyn. The dance was a huge success, even with oui- hob-nailed shoes and hot uniforms, and was the one bright spot in the week we spent at Upton. The baiKjuet at the Bossert, for most of us. was the farewell gathering togethei- of the old bunch. Even at that, the absence of the Apple-knockers from Utica and Rochester was noticeable. After the dinner, which was a sumptuous one and very well arranged, speeches were made by Ca])tain Boustield, Colonel Bryant, Colonel ^IcEear, and Bi-igadier-General DeBevoise. Dancing followed. On Api-il nth, four days after the bancpiet, was held the last meeting of the Mothers' Auxiliary. Although there still remains over two hundred dollars in the treasury, the organization has disbanded, as the reasons for its work have now disappeared. During the twentv months of its existence the Auxiliary was supported and maintained throughout by twenty-seven mothers. There were many others who were members of the organization for a time, but, for various reasons. 108 rilE COMPANY IIlSrOHV M'ere forced to di'op out and leave the work of carrying' on to these few. To the AuxiUaries, botli ^Mothers' and Yoiin<>- People's, and especially to the unfailiiiy- efforts of the twenty-se\en loyal niotliers, we of the c()in])any shall always he indehted. The final othcers were: President, Mrs. Samuel Greason: \'ice-President, ]Mrs. E. J. Byrne; "Jnd A'ice-President, ^Nlrs. Charles Waldron: Secretary, ]Mrs. Elizabeth K. Carey: Ti-easurer, ]Mrs. Charles Fisher; Auditor, Mrs. Peter jNIcIntyi'e. Alenihers of tlie Xoniinating Committee were: ^Irs. Anna Vonderlieth. Mrs. Mary McManus.and Mrs. Carl Heinyartner. ENGLISH HOSPITALS Bv JAMES A. LYNCH AL3IOST all of our wounded heroes have had the exijcrience of a rouud-ti-i}) excui-sion through an Knu'lisli hospital and eon- valescent camp. Xor was this privile<4e limited to wounded men. In faet. few there were indeed who remained uiiniune to the forei- to he devom-ed hy .some unfor- tunate vietini. Once tliese "■flu" <>erms took hold, there was nothini^- left to do hut to allez-tout-de-suite on a Red Cross train to the places al)o\ e named. The stoi-ies tolti hy these men aftci- havin<4' completed the excur- sion were at rii'st hard to helieve, hut as the hoys continued to come hack to the company, and in their turn coi'rohorated each other's statements, tlie stories were finally helieved. My own experiences were perhaps rather typical. Th()u<^h some undouhtedly have wilder tales of the "con" cam]js to relate, I am (juite sure that my tour was sufficiently like all others to cause a rush of i-eminiscent merriment to suffuse their faces. I purchased my ticket for the tour just after the conn)any left Huire, whicli will he rememhered hy all as the place where the "tin" _<>erms conducted a special drill entitled "Fall out one." ]My ticket called for a stretcher on a G.S. wa^on as far as the Casualty Clearing Station, where many were called out hut few got up — to answer "Here" to their names. I had often craved a ride in an automohile, and my wish was granted when a l)eautiful Red Cross amhulance hacked up to the CCS. to take me ahoard a lied Cross train. As I lay on my hack in the train I kept wishing that I'd he luckv enough to ])ull at least a good-looker for a nurse. But uj)on arriving at the liospital and gazing into her map, it was far from taking a shot of hi-andy. though the effect ]))-oduced was someAvhat the same. I quite disagreed M'ith the fellow who wrcjfe "I'm in love with a heautiful nurse." I Avas scarcely comfortahle in the })lace when this Xorwegian sunset came to my hedside with a thermometer in her liand. The way she placed tlic thermometer under my tongue made me think she had hit her finger-nail with a hanuner. She then grahhed mv hand to take my ])ulse. and the way she looked into my eyes convinced me that she came from one of those ]Manchester families — the kind you can't get along with. 109 110 THE COMPANY HISTORY She had no sooner departed when slie was l)aek a<>ain with a ghiss of "Kill-or-Cure" in one hand and in t!ie other a card tliat looked Hke the inseription phite on a eotfin. After takin<>' one j^iilp of tlie "Kill- or-C'nre," I was ready to fold my arms and tell them to liyht two eandles hehind my head. Tlie followiii")- niorninjj- I awoke and found I was not alone. Directly opposite there were twenty Tommies and on my side of the ward were eif>hteen others. Another Yank and myself made a foil house. Ahout 9:."J() in walked the doctor with a Cockney swin<>-, and one of the Tommies who was up and ahout clicked his heels and slionted "Shun." This brought all the Tommy hed-j^atients who were sleep- ing at an angle of forty-five degrees to the position of a man after he had been on ice for six weeks. The doctor then started his rounds, stopping at each cot, and incpiii'lng in a carefree maimer the condition of each man's health. The replies were always discoui-aging, hut they (hdnt seem to discourage the doctor any. Kach morning he would enter in this mannei-. causing much worry to those Tommies who were able to get out of bed but didn't want to, for they were sure their company was up in the line. This continued for a week, when 1 became well enough to be up and about. I had not had on my "blues" two mimites when the Xorwcgian nightingale was after me to scrub the tlooi-s. I looked at hei' very nuich surprised, and loftily explained that scrubbing tloors was not my line, and passed the buck to one of the Tommies. One of the |)aticnts hy the name of l*addy seemed to have the doctor topsy-turvy. His case interested me \ery much. Although he didn't seem to be in nuich ])ain, he always seemed to have a high temperature when the doctoi- was around. Being of a Judy-friendly sort of fellow. 1 decided to make his accpiaintance. I hadn't known him fi\e minutes befoie I discovered the secret of his tcmpei-atni-c. He had a small bag nndei' his pillow, which he showed me with a wink, and told me to watch his actions when the doctor was due. I decided to watch him the following morm'ng. Al)out the time the doctor was due to arrive he would put this bag to his mouth and take a large gulp, jumping from his bed and at the same time waving his ai'ms around. These calisthemcs finished, he would juiu]) back in bed again and await the doctor. "\Vell, Paddy, how are you to-day f" i\nd with a wail and a moan came the answci", "Oh, doctor. I'm sick! ' placing his hands above his heart. "Where, Paddy f asked the Doc. And Paddy's oidy answer was "Here," whei'e his hands lay. The doctor tested his heart, and much to the surprise ancl envy of the other Tonunies marked his card "Heart palpitation." i\fter the doctor had left the ward I asked l';iddy what was in the bag, and he whispered, with another wink: "Bluestone." THE COMPANY HISTORY ill The same evening- two Yanks appeared on the scene with not much ambition but with a terrible thirst. Waving a couple of loose francs in the air. they inquired at the same time if some kind gent wouldn't go out and buy some chan.ipagne for them. As the word champagne was mentioned Paddy's ears pricked nj), he came to one of tliose snapi^y British salutes, and said: "I'm yoin- man." He had not been gone on his ei-rand half an hour before he was back with a starboard list that reminded me of that old familiar sign on the Brooklyn Bridge. "I^oaded Teams Keep to the Bight." His sense of direction seemed to be all right from the hips down, l)ut from the head to the hips he seemed to be executing I^eft Oblicpie. This caused the two Yanks to gaze in dismay at Paddy's empty arms. Xothing would do for Paddy but to perform for the boys, but his carrying on had not been going on five minutes before the Colonel himself appeared on the scene. It was the first time the Doc had caught Paddy away from his beloved bluestone, and Paddy felt like .Samson witliout his hair. This was I'addy's downfall, as instead of getting a nice "Blighty" his card was marked "The line." On his way out to the con camj) the following morning Paddv winked at me and said: "I'll be back." The next day I was sent away to the "Con" camp in a Tommy's uniform and a pair of shoes five sizes too large for me. It seemed as though every two feet I walked forward I woidd fall back six, and I thought I would never reach the place. Upon arriving at the "Con" camp we were all lined up and assigned to a hut. ^ly boudoir con- sisted of three boards, a bed sack with some wood shavings in it (but the fellow that had it before me must have been terribly hungry one night and ate all the shavings out of it), and two blankets. Feeling very kittenish that night, and being four francs, seventy centimes short of having five fi'ancs. I ])urcliascd a reserved seat at the movies for "tuppence-hapenny" and had no trouble striking a balance after ha\ - ing paid for it. Betuniing to the hut and feeling rather tired after such a strenu- ous evening, I decided to retire earh'. On my right lay a Tommy Avith one eye open, and any one standing at a distance would think he was winking. I thought 1 would take him into my confidence and tell him what a wonderful evening I had had, but after wasting fifty or sixt\- perfectly wonderful questions and getting no reply I discovered he was sound asleej) and had a glass eye! The next day I was put in charge of a digging detail and liad twenty men assigned to me. Lining them up into a colunm of twos. I marched at their head to the tool-house, but upon arriving there I discovered the whole bunch, except the first two men, had ducked. Detail was dismissed, and back to the hut I went to continue reading- some of Nicholas Carter's great works. IIJ THE COMPANY HIS TORY THE VICKERS .303 By DANIEL G. O'REARDON 'A\e you \';ir(I of the modern lady Called Mademoiselle Mitfailleuse;' She's a twentieth-century dehutante, ^Vith morals a trifle loose. Oh, 'er mother was a gatliny .ui'ii. — ^Vlio 'er father was no one knows, liut she's trim and ])etite. and li^ht and neat. And she doesn't wear any clothes. She's a i-e!4'ular rip-snortin^' son of a .u'un. Of calihre .;}(m, With wonderful penetration. And a stin<»' like an 'ive of bees. It tikes eiyht men to keep 'er clean. And she's very dyspeptic at times. You cuss 'er like 'ell when you're out on rest. But it's "ma cherie" up in the lines. Oh, 'er hlinkin' yiits are steel clean through. And so is 'er hlooinin' 'eart. And to keep 'er always runninii' smooth. It tikes a lot o' art. She's ^ot a stutter in 'er speech. That's bad fer the nerves of 'er foes. Their wind is up when they 'ears 'er voice. Lest they reaj) the death she sows. 'Er trajectory's low; 'er velocity high. And she'll kill at a bleedin' mile. And she'll eat throu<>h a belt of ammo In thirty seconds' time. But still you can never trust 'er. She's fickle like most of 'er sex. So, if you would woo 'er, be patient. Or vour temper she'll often vex. She'll work like a charm behind the lines. — She'll be sweet as a lamb at the range, — Hut up in the line, when she's needed most. In "er manners there's often a change. When the zero hour comes whis])crin' down And the barrage opens up with a bang. And you press the hlinkin" trigger. Then surer than 'ell she'll jam. THE COMPAXY HISTORY 113 She's last in tlie rear-i^uard action. And hides Hke a maiden coy. Till the waves of life ehl) thick and fast, — Then she stutters with hleedin" joy. She fires where the ranks are thickest In a steady leaden hail. And dies like a little 'ero. Ringed "round with the hulks of the slain. Ivast in retreat, — but she never retreats, — First when it conies to a push. Then it's out in the open you"ll find "er. In shell hole, field, or hush. Pushing 'er outposts hokllv Under the enemy's fire. Shinning up trees to a nest with the bees. Or lying knee-deep in the mire. 'Er 'arvests stretch 'cross northern France, From the ocean to the Vosges rim. On hill and plain, and shell-scarred vale. Where ]Mars jjroclaimed him king. Harvests of scarred crosses, — Hosts of forgotten graves, — Carved on the fields where they lived and loved. And fighting, died to save. She's a giant without a conscience. And a vam]>irc cruel and cold. Who tights for the highest bidder. And whose soul is bought and sold. A 'owling, snapping she-wolf. Whose fangs are cruel and long. She sings like a luring siren. And men die to the tune of 'er song. 'Ere's to the lads who fought 'er And felt er miu'derous fire, — 'Ere's to the mothers who bore them. To sister, sweetheart and sire, 'Ere's to the little devil 'erself. And 'ere's to the song she sings. ***** Her voice is hushed forever. And we hear 'er never, never — In the glorious, victorious, I'iping times of peace. 114 THE COMPANY HISTORY A FIGHTER Tliei-f's ;i fcrtaiii type of lighter, lie's a dariiig'. (lasliiiiu' l)li<^hter: He never seenis to know the word retreat. With a bayonet on his ritie, yon ean het he'll never tritle^ And as a ti-;iiti if the army was calling Would you straighten and click with your heels ^ \\'ould you throw down your pen and pick up your havonet. To slog- it again through the same foreign fields^ A\'ould you leave the old home and the ties that still hind xou. To answer the challenge of some foreign foe. And go hack to the hell that you went through in Flanders — Just foi- your country — old j^al, would you go^ \N^)ul(l you stick to your joh in a lunen of safety. If over the seas they were pulling a stunt f ^^"hy, you'd oil up the Vickers. old pal, in a jiffy. ^Vnd iahel your letters: "I'm off to the front!" — Sc'OTTY York. OUR LETTER BOX DT'HIXCi the smiiiiier of 1910 several t'oi-ui letters were sent out to the men in C'oiii])any \l askin,i>- them to set down the iueideiit or thiiio- most worth rememl)eriiiLi- in theii- armv ex])erieiR'e. The I'eplies reeeived were varied, i-anyiiin' IVom the hi,i>lily sentimental Statue of Liberty to tlie t>eiieral topie of the tanks j>()in<^' through at the Hindeiii)urn- stunt. The replies as a whole were rather diseour- aging- in volume or originality. However, the best reeeived are set down below, hi the hope that tliey will i-eeall the ineident to the reader. * ' * * For example. Austin Leahy reealled the time when the train bear- ing- its human ban'^at^e was passini^' over the bridge at Kouen. Those sitting' on the door-step of the car lie was in noticed a peculiar odor in the atmosphei-e — one which was unrecognizable to them. Vai'ious con- jectures were made, and the prevailing- opinion was settled ui)on that there must be a .n'lue factory in Kouen. as nothing short of a ylue fac- tory could produce such an etfect. At that ])articular moment, fi'om the interior of the car came Jake Liedy's tremulous voice, saying: "Oh. mv feet hurt — but tliev feel better with my shoes off." * ■ * * Buck Bai'uai-d writes as follows: "The most amusing thing I I'emember occurred when we were figuring the fii'ing data in the ^"aux Andigny woods, and one of Jerrys nose-caps made a graceful and whistling entry on the scene. Mc- lutvre scrambled behind Lieut. Badeiihausen with a look of absolute protection." * * * Eddie I>ynch is frank, at any rate. He writes: "Just i-eceived your letter, as I have bei'U u]) at Saratoga for the last month. There is no particular incident that I can mention, as my arniv life was a blank." * * * Tod Fishei- went on record for saying that the Christmas dinner in Connerre. and tlie entertainment afterwards were the things he re- membered most vividly. "Particularly." says Tod. "the time when mv dear old friend. Mr. Verkes. got his pi-i/,e."" * * * Oddlv enough, no one recalled the time when this same Tod Fisher bade the men in the elephant hut at Kaincheval a fond good- night, saying, "And once more before I say good-night. . . ." when he was interrupted by the captain's indignant voice. 118 THE COMPAXY IIISTOKV 119 Or who fan ever forget Jake I.iedy telling the storv of his hfe to eager listeners in this same hut at Raiiicheval ;• Jake is Verv modest abont appearing in print, as may l)e judged from the following: "I enjoyed heing with B C'om])any nnieh more than with F Troop. In regards to a few lines from me on the Company History, put in A. Ivincoln's speech for me. Some time if you come to Staten Island, dro]) me a line, and I will endeavor to take you to the Seamen's Home and other places of interest."" * * * Jimmie Ouchterloney is both generous and helpful. He recalls the "first night in Dirty Bucket Woods, when the shells were scream- ing over oui- heads, and Mc- Intyi'e and Kay Leahy were running around, shouting, 'Theyre shellin' the woods." while every one else was reaching for that little ol" gas mask and tin hat."' Others may remember, says Jimmie, how, during the air-raid on Xiemdet, when the bombs were falling the fastest. Jack Kenny was insisting that "They were only small bombs, and Jcrrv will call again with larger ones in an houi- or two."" Again, to (piote Jimmie further, we have Gns Sulzei- leaning out of a box car, greeting his Iienchmen. the Cicrman jjrisoners. with a "Wie gehts. Frit/,!'"" Or Jake I>iedy. once more, who is pei-haj)s too nmch ])icke(l upon, in his high j)itched \-oice, s])ui-ning shot and shell, and remarking coolly, "I 11 go for the i-ations — this war is a joke."' * * * Possibly most of these recollections h.ave ])assed into the most un- used cubby-holes of our minds by this time. At any rate, no one but Scotty York was vmfeeling enough to set down Victor Selig as an ex- perience. But then, as we all know, Scotty was prejudiced in favor of his protege. SiJeaking of Selig reminds us of S/x-zecinski trying to imbibe the proper way to execute "Scpiads Left"' from the all-too-])atient non- com"s at Camp Stuart. * * * Countless recollections will come crowding each otheV in our memories as a result of a few starters such as these. Who can ever forget the sight of ]Mulligan"s stroke as he was swimmhig in the canal at Setcpies; or Kdmondson, on Xew Year"s morning, with the c;r()11' Ar v,\\ I'.iixiF. 120 TIIK COMPANY HISTOHY Fi'fiK'li ci\ili;iii clothes on. (lis<>iii.siiio' liis walk: or Ijance-Corporal 'I'aylor of the Hritish Maehiiie (riiii Corps histriieting- on the "Firiny- ])in-"ole"'; or Haddy l)hishin<4- and jjullini"- down his coat-tails; or oiling up the linihers for ins])ection: or the sergeants going to the head of the mess line: or the geiidarines at C"onnei-re: or the time Dan O'liear- doiTs jjistol went off at inspection at Haincheval: or ^lajor Egleston ins])ecting the l)attalion at C'onnerre: or Kddie Hurke shooting crap; or climhiiig over the fence at Hay l{idge; or, in that same connection, JNIoxlev and Lehmann getting caught hy the M. V.: or the ash-cans in the middle of the com])any street at S])artanl)urg: or Joe Kiley get- ting his National Ciuard discharge at Spartanl)ui\g: or "jjassing the \vor(r" to fellows in the stable tent; or the "rookie" moidvey drills at the armoiy: or e\ en our tri])s to Parish Paul Selhy contributes the l)est one from far-away Odebolt, Iowa. He says: "Tlie most amusing thing I remember was when Ilet/el came running into the company kitchen at \"aire. with a grenade in his hand ready to explode, which he proceeded to ])ut into Bill the Cook's pocket, together with the a(l\ ice for Hill to run like hell so he ^vouldn't s])oil the kitchen." * * * Aftei- all. the most agonizing times are glossed over thi-ough the kijidness of time, and now we only remember the amusing or the in- tcj'esting ones. It is best so. ADDRESS LIST OF COMPANY B t™^'"^' '^^'^^^■^^ ir^, Huiitinutoii. I>. I. RA T^r^^.^t ");5^ ^ 161 Cypress Street, Rochester, N. Y. RAn.v„;r''''°'''''' " ''' ^-'•'» A—' R-'-^ter N. Y. r'aIkr T V f/^- -''''''^'^" " ''' ^---'-^^ «*-^*- ^^*^P''-^-- ^-^ V- ^^^^O^nU- - State St.et, Br. ..Y. T> » r.x-r-,, . „ Vernon Center, N. Y. BARM M, ARTHUR M ,,18 Sevnun.r Avenue. Utica N Y BARRETT. CARLETON R. , . . " " , ^/ A' BEcSf Ii-r^"" ' ::::::-;oH.w street,- i^S;: ': I: HVT v^f' ;\,.i''^ ^' ^^^ MeDonough Street, Brooklvn. N. Y. pr^tn^t „ .^ ^ ^^^ Seventy-fifth Street, Brooklvn, N Y ^^«"^o^i^u ■" ^■" HT't 'T -'n ""■ " " BLAHA JAMES J f.i-r,„g,„„ M,„.. I-ln.l.ing, N. V. B^A^S;;;;;^'^^. :::::::::::::::; ...,.„;, ..„..,..„::;';;.- RT VTHi,- ui.'x'i.,' T, Emdenhurst, N. Y. boItsi'cIht ,nLL. '' """""' '"'■"■ ^°"" ^^«"- '""■ BODETTE. EUGENE J /,' ' ' 'P"'*' ^'l^- BOTT. EDWI\ \ Address unknown. BOUSFIELD, HAROLD W '.r'., p, ' ■'^'^^'']\ unknown. BRABENEC. FRANK H ,o.o'^ h 7"" \ ""''''"■ ""■ ''• BRAKER, HARRY D . . ; ''■'' "^ ' ^^VTI. T''^' ''' BROWN. FELIX ''*'*'' ''"■'*• ""'^''""' ^- ^'■ BROWN. JOHN W ioo. '^^ U ■/ No™ood. R. L BUCHER, GEORGEV '''■"""^' ^'^"""^' ^^'^'^^''"-*- ^■°»"- BULLiNGi?^ tSn^iri,''' ''-' '''-Tn T'r ^r ]-'.■ ?• ^• BURKE. EDWIN A ' ^^ ^ ''^"'''■'"^' ^ ^'""■ BYRNE, THOMAS E. '^'c>'. r ii '^.^ ' ' '^f'^'^'' ""known. CAMP. BI AGIO . . : . 'Z « «'■" i', °°' •"'• ''• '' CAMPBELL. DONALD B .o^ s, 7" T' '''""^"' "' CARNEY. LESTER T Muyvesant Avenue. Brooklyn. N. Y. CARPENTER, ROBERT S a^^ , '^!!''''"' ""'^"o""- CASE, HOWARD T %T 1 ^"'"''' """''"'"■• ''• ''• CHA^'OUS. RUSHA , ' 'wT"' ^'•""'^^'J"'''*- N- Y. CHOBOTSKY. ADOLPh' J "■ ^*'''*' ^"^"'^*^' ^^• CLARE, PHILIP J Cicero, 111. CLARK. MORTON S . . . .>„: ,, ' ' i ' oV ' ' ' ' „: V ^'■""'^'•^■"- ^^- Y- CLARKE, HAROLD L. . ''^' ""'"■'• '''^■'""""^' "■''• L- I- COLE. ELMER E. . ^^'''''^' ^- ^'- Brooklyn. N. Y. 121 122 rilK COMPANY HISTORY C OI.LINS, HERBERT Cx 21!) West 'I'liirtx -tourtli Street, New York, N. V. CONNOR EDWARD E 3<>- Di nineade Avenue. Columbus. Ohio. CONNORS, C HESTER T Address unknown. COPPENS, .I.VCOHL'S Titus Avenue, Irondequoit. N. Y. CORRELL, .JOHN H I">'I Cypress Street, Rochester, N. Y. CORWIX. PHH.n' G 7 Brifigs Avenue. Richmond Hill, L. I. COTTER, J.\.MES E 11 Frederick Street, Framinjiham, Mass. COX, LE MOYNE FRANK :-' ^^'t st Cliestnut Street, Norwalk. Ohio. CU.M.MINGS, Lieut. ,IOHN Address unknown. CURTISS, JAMES M Petersl)urg, Tenn. D.WISON, Lieut Address unknown. DEXE^'E, PETER •'"' Oak Street, Green Point. Mich. DESMOND, DANIEL A «-'0 First Street. Rensselaer. N. Y. DORN, VERNON VICTOR 1"> i:i Howard .\venue. Utica, X. Y. DOWN, MII.LIA.M 1 1-^* H.immond Avenue, L'tica, N. Y. DOWNES, CHARLES DeB I2(;8 Pacific Street. Brooklyn, X. Y. ni'CHEN, BEXXIE •'iH-'t ^Vtst Thirteenth Street, Chicago. 111. DYKE, ALBERT Brooklyn, X. Y. EBSTEIN, LEO J Address unknown. EDMONDSON, ARTHUR S 55 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, X. Y. ELDERT, CLAREXCE W --'OCj Fulton Street, .Jamaica, X. Y. EXGELMANN, VICTOR M R. F. I). Xo. (i. Box (il. .Maitowac. Wis. EPSTEIN. .MORRIS I -"^'i"- Poland. ERICKSON, ALCiOTH E Box 1 !••_'. R. F. D. 1, Iron River, Midi. EVANS, JOHN 220 Daniel Low Terrace, Tompkinsville, S. .I.,X. Y. FALK. SAML'EI l I'JJ Xorth Talman Avenue, Chicago, 111. FANNON, JOHN R. F. D. 1, Dennison. Ohio. FAULK, WILLI A.M E Box 25 L Stuart. Fla. FENDLER, HAROLD F: 20 F'ast I'ourth Street, .Mount Vernon, X. Y. FERGUSON. BRADFORD D Mount Vernon. N. Y. FERRACANE, AXTHONY 2022 .Vmsterdam Avenue. New York. .X. Y. FISCHER. HERBEK r (i. M 28 Whitney Place, Buttalo, N. Y. FISHER, CH.VRLES B .330-B President Street, Brooklyn, N, Y. FITTER. EDCiAR A 3tl Washington Avenue. Brooklyn, N. Y. FITZGERALD, WM.l.LV.M J 309 Carroll Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. FLATTO, SA.MUEI 610 West 152nd Street, New York, X. Y. FORD, JAMES V., .Vildress of parents, 122 Fourth Street, New Brighton- S. I.. X, Y. FRANKS, CHARLES S Stateii Island, X. Y. FREEMAN, (T.ARENCE S Utica, N. Y. IHEKIC IIS. I'EHDIX.VXD J., Address of parents. 130 Lnderhill Avenue, Brooklyn. X. Y. FULLER. KAXDOl.PH M 2 Tennis Court. Brooklyn, N. Y. FURLOXG, A.M RROSE B (iO St. Marks Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. G.VLVIX, WILLIAM F 70.5 C arroU Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. CiARTHE. DAVID Address unknown. GATELY. \).\\'\ 1) T 1023 Lincoln Place. Brooklyn. X. Y. THE COMPANY HISTORY 123 GERLING, GEORGE I Rochester, N. Y. GERMAN, GEORGE, Jh 18 Seminole Avenue, Forest Hills, L. I. GILMAN, FRANK Address unknown. GREASON, JOHN M 281 Carroll Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. GREEN, KNEELAND 1 171 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. GREENHALGH, ROGER ■ 83 Dove Street, Albany, N. Y. GRIFFIN, JEPTHA Hoboken, Ga. GRIGG. GEORGE D R. F. D. 1, Glenn Allen. Ala. GRIMM, ERNEST .505 West 164th Street, New York, N. Y. GRIMM, RALPH W lOl.'J Greenfield Avenue, Canton, Ohio. GROVE, OLIVER M R. F. D. 1, Mt. Union, Huntin^on Co., Pa. GWYER, CHARLES I Brooklyn, N. Y. HAIR, LAWRENCE F 419 Greenwood Avenue, Atlanta, Ga. HALL, ROBERT M 30 Church Street, New York, N. Y. HALLAHAN. WILLIA.M H., Jh H3 Fifth Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. HAMLIN, THOMAS 1 10 Hamilton Street, Rochester, N. Y. HAN LEY, ,K)HX G 20.51 .Morris Avenue, New York, N. Y. HANSIRD. .JOHN \V Eton, Ga. HARDGROVE, GOLDSMITH H., Address of widow, 1 U)l \\'oodhaven Avenue, A\'oodhaven. L. I. HARGATHER. PETER J Address unknown. HART, HOWARD R 5 Paris Street, New Hartford, N. Y. HAY, DANIEL B Address unknown. HE.\TH. GLENN J Box 154, Andover, Ohio. HEIFFEL- CHARLES EUGENE, Care of E. B. Owen, .Seliofield Town Road. .St;imford, Conn. HEINGARTXER, WALTER C lo()(5 Newkirk Avenue. Brooklyn. N. Y. HEIPT, ROBERT I r.'S Kingsland Avenue. Elmhurst, L. I. HENGGE, FRANK B 1 12t Summit Avenue, Utica, N. Y. HERR.MANN, GEORGE Ill East ISOtli Street, New York, N. Y. HETZEL. MERVIN GEORGE 33 Coenties Slip, New York, X. Y. HILDEBRANDT, GEORGE F Cameron, Wis. HILL, E.M.MERT Rock Bottom. W. \'a. HOFFMAN. ARNOLD R 1 lot Bnnckerhoff Avenue. Utica. N. Y. HOLMES, CHARLES V 3018 Orleans Street, Pittsburirli. Pa. HOPKINS, .lOSEPH G. X 319 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn. N. Y. HOW, ARCHIBALD ST. G.. Care of Mr. Brow?i, Prospect Avenue. Mount Vernon. N. Y. HUGHES, DA\'l D B 5« Broadway, Utica, N. Y. HUGHES, JAMES Address Unknown. HUTCHLSOX, FRANK R 115(5 Hopkins Street, Oakland, Cal. ISAACS, MORTON 57 East Ninety-sixth Street, New York, N. Y. JOHNSON, FRED A 1225 Green Street, Utica, N. V. KANE, LESLIE 840 Church Street. Richmond Hill, L. I. KAVAL, WILLIAM 507 West 159th Street. New York. N. Y. KAYE, JAMES E Rochester. X. Y. KEANE, ARTHUR J 131 Ashland Place. Brooklyn. N. Y. KEARNEY, WILLIAM T 165 East 104th Street, New York, N. Y. 124 THE COMPANY HISrORY KELI.Y. KDW'Alil) .1 Address unknown. KELLY, FRANK R liiis M.inli.itt.m Str.tt. Pittsburgh. Pa. KENNY. ,I()HN .1 Wt-stbrook. Coini. KIDD. .JOHN .1 Uannttte. P.i. KLMBALL, EDWARD 1... ,(h 7() Hartl.tt Strr.t, Maiden. Mass. KLINE. CHARLE.S I Lewisburj;. Pa. KLINE, .L\MES Aidire. Pa. KOHL. JOHN 1 107 Rush ,Str, Sixth Street. Brooklyn. N. Y. MOONEY'. ROBERT E 93 F^dinhurnh Street. Roeliester. N. Y. MORGAN, ARTHUR ,1 5K) (l.^issou Avenue. Brooklyn. N. Y. MORSE, DONALD E Address Unknown. MOXLEY, REGINALD 323 East 2(!th Street, Brooklyn. N. Y'. MULLIGAN, ,TOHN .1 82 I.ayton Avenue. New Brighton. N. Y. MULVANF:Y. ,K)HN F 9(3 Henry Street. Brooklyn. N. Y. MURLEY. .lOSEi'H F Address Unknown. THE COMPANY HISTORY 12.5 iML'RPHY, EDWARD H 5 Mt. Pleasant Park, Rochester. N. Y. NORCROSS, THEODORE W 372 St. John's Place. Brooklyn, N. Y. NOR.MILE. JOHN J 32 Suffolk Street. Cambridge. Mass. OESEN. GUXWAED M 511 West 186th Street, New York. N. Y. OPPENHEIM, JL'EIUS 725 Riverside Drive, New York. N. Y. OREARDON, DANIEE G 85(3 Greene Avenue, Brooklyn. N. Y. O'REILLY. PHILIP 519 Lincoln Place, Brooklyn. N. Y. OUCHTERLONEY. JAMES D Cherokee Avenue, Hollis. L. I. PARENT, ED\\'ARD B 280 South Gartichl Street, East Rochester. N. Y. PAYNE, JAY Utica, N. Y. PEIRCE. CHARLES E Pleasant Avenue, Roosevelt. L. I. PEIRCE. ROBERT E 76 Jackson Street, Hempstead, L. I. PIERCE. GEORGE H 2101 Mermaid Avenue. Brooklyn, N. Y. PRESTON, ALERED (i Address Unknown. PRIOR, THO.MAS 328 East U)9th Street. New York, N. Y. PROCTOR, HOWARD W 35 Strong Place, Brooklyn, N. Y. RAND. HAROLD E 426 State Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. RANSBURY, EARL S 27 Paris Street, New Hartford, N. Y. RAYNOR, WILLIAM I 336 Front Street, Hempstead. L. I. REA, CHARLES W 2322 Andrews Avenue. New York. N. Y. REILLY, EDWARD J Ul West Sith Street, New York, N. Y. RENNER, .MARTIN 388-A Monroe Street. Brooklyn, N. Y. RETERSDORF, HOWARD P New Hartford. N. Y. RHODES, WILLIAM A 15Ist Street .ind Riverside Drive, New York, N. Y. ROBINSON, WILLIAM A 157 1 Ea.st Uth Street. Brooklyn, N. Y. ROGERS, AMOS 228 Lansing Street. Utica, N. Y. REINERS. ANTON D 1052 East 1.2nd Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. RILEY. .JOSEPH T Address Unknown. ROSE. L. STUART 312 West 72nd Street, New York, N. Y. ROSENBLUM, ISIDORE 259 West 1 12th Street, New York. N. Y. ROSS, GEDNE Y B 83 West 1 28th Street, New York. N. Y. ROWAN. JOSEPH D 103 Berkeley PLace. Brooklyn, N. Y. ROWE. JOHN J 833 Post Avenue. New Brighton, S. I., N. Y. SACKETT. ROBERT S 90 North Second Street. Hudson, N. Y. SCHAFER, .JACOB ,1.. .Address of parents, 11 Merritt Place. New Hartford. N. Y. SCHLEGEL, FREDERICK G 271.5 Atlantic Avenue. Brooklyn. N. Y. SCHMITT. ALFRED D 53 Avon Avenue. Newark, N. J. SCHULD, .JOSEPH C 135 Westervelt Avenue, Toin|)kinsville, S. I.. N. Y. SCHROTH. JOHN F Address Unknown. SCOTT. FRANK C Address Unknown. SEELHOFER, ERNST Address Unknown. SEERY, WILLIAM F 252 Kings Highway, Brooklyn. N. Y. SELBY. PAUL D c/o Western Land Co., Odebolt, Iowa. SELIG, VICTOR E 100 West 118th Street, New York. N. Y. SELMER. EDWARD Address Unknown. SHAW. CHARLES M.. ,Jr Address Unknown. SHEERIN, JOSEPH I 203 Underhill Avenue. Brooklvn, N. Y. SIME. ROBERT S 350 Left'erts Avenue. Brooklyn, N. Y. 12(. THE COMPANY HISTORY SlN(iKR, MAX Address Unknown. SKOL'G, t'HARLKS K Troy Road, Albany, N. Y. SMITH, ,IA('K K 5!»rj (iriswold Avtiiiif, t'leveland, Ohio. S.MITH, OLIVER C Address Unknown SNYDKR, CJKORCiK H -.'TO Ryerson .Street. Brooklyn, N. Y. SOPKR, ROHKRT R 4319 Rieliin,)Md Terraee, Staten Island, N. Y. SPENCER, ,I()HN H 1731 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, N. Y. SPENCER. ROBERT ti 577 Howard Street, Roeliester, N. Y. S(H'IRES, LAWRENCE r>l West 37tli Street, New York, N. Y. STEINHERGER, SI.MON 112 East 1 Kitii Street, New York, N. Y. STAUDEN.MAYER. (iEORCJE ,L F., Address of parents. 7 l(i Hlandina Street, Utiea, N. \. STEPHENSON. HARRY ,1 -> I S Hroadway, Carmen, N. ,1. STEPHENSON, WILI.IA.M P 14.9 Williamson Avenue, Lyons Farms, N. .L STONE, HAROLD H Address Lnknown. SULLIV^AN, .lAMES ,1 i) Huckinf-liam Road, Brooklyu. N. Y. SULLIVAN, .JOHN .1 Brooklyn, N, Y. SULLIVAN, .JOSEPH .1 18 Marlowe Avenue. Elmliurst, L. I. Sl'LZER, CilSTAVE 355 Columhia Street. St.iten Island, N. Y. SUPANSCHITZ, ALXiUST A H'ii I'oxall Street, Everjireen. N. Y. SWAN, CLINTON C K)7 .Madis,.,, Street. 15rooklyn, N. Y. SZCZECINSKL CASI.MIR LUnWrCK Vddress Unknown TERRY, EDWARD F I(i7i» Madison Street, Queens, N. Y. TIEFEL, ,IOHN S •_']() Lind.n Street, Rochester, N. Y. TILLSON, .MARK I) 3(! Thayer Street, Rochester. N. Y. TITCO.MB, (JEORCiE P i;i().S Caton Avenue, Brooklyn. N. Y. TYLER, WALTER .( 811 Beverly Road, Brooklyn, N. Y. VAN DEUSEN, STARR N.w Hartford, N. Y. VAN DEVENTER, ,)()HN First Avenue, Atlantic Hifihlands. N. .1. VON DER 1.EITH, HARRY lilt Ber-en Street, Bnmklyn, N. Y. WALKER, HENRY E r,2 ( amlnidur Place, Bro,>klyu, N. Y. WAI.DRON, .JAMES .M Bn.oklVn, N. V. WARD. ERNEST R Address Unknown. WEED. I' RANK W. K.. .\il(lress of parents. ]7(i N. Smith Street, Poni;hkeepsie, N. Y. WII.DEV. WILLI.VM H Vddress Lnknown. WELLFRRITTER, .lERO.ME W (ioi W,st Avenue. I'tica. N. V. WELLINGER, FREDERICK t 1183 Lexin-ton Str.ct, Richmond Hill, I.. I. WHITAKER, PERCIWM k;;) T, nth Stn.t, Brooklyn. N. Y. WORK. MTLLIA.M W Brooklyn. N. Y. WV.NN, Lieutenant Vddrcss lnknown. VAEDE, LOUIS Address Unknown. YEO.MAN, EARL W l-_-'5 On-m Street. Utica. N. V. YORK, FRANK SCOTT. .Ik 233 East I7(ith Str. ct. New York. N. Y. YOLNC;, REGINALD S Vddress Unknown. OUR OWN BOOK REVIEW "What a Young Man Should Know," by (hi rente Kldert. I'^nio.. ))rofu.sely ilhis- trated. Barker's. 1920. .tl.-50. In this great work the author has spared no effort to portray the ideal life for tlic individual. The work is thrilling throughout, in many eases being a eounterpart of the author's own experienees. "^'oung or old, its readers will profit by its teachings. It shoukl attain a wide sale. "How I Cornered the Stock Market," by James A. Lyneli. 8vo., ilhistrated. .Sinn & Co., 1920. iJ^KfiO. With introduetion by .losepli I. Slieerin. By following the author's example in this magnificent work, it is ea.sy to see how for- tunes are made and lost in a moment. The scenes de])icted are vivid, and the plot and counterplots are excellent. The author established his re|)utation in 'Map-a-lac and Its f'ses," which is now in its 12th edition. "The Evils of Prohibition," in words of one syllable, by Frank Lynch. The Mae- Nolan Co., 1920. 12mo. $.2.t net. Like Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" and "('■ulliver's Travels," the author uses the simple direct sjieecli of the proli-tariat in bringing home his arguments. The arguments, by the way, are the only things he l)rings home. F.vei-y .Senator and t'ongressman should read this book. Other works by the same author: "The Misuse of Politics," "Mike Leonard, or The Mystery of the Crossed Fingers." "How I Won My Discharge," by ,lose))li '1'. Riley. ,S\o., illustrated. William Beineman, London, 1918. .^1.80. Theodore Hoosevclt's Biogra])hy could scar<-ely be more straightforward. His style is faultless and the general a])]iearanee is quite the thing, 'i'he author adds charm to his book by a frontispiece containin.i;- a ()ortrait of himself being bona' in triumi)h on the shoulders of bis fellows. "The Upright Life," by \'ictor L. Sl-Vm^. 12mo. Christian League Publisliing Co., 1920. $2.2.5. Copies of this great work are limited, and orders must be placed inuuediately. In the book, which contains over two liuiulrcd ]ihotographs of himself in different stages of development, the author makes (|uite clear the only true and upright life. Other works by the same author; "The \alue of C aec-e|it. "Souvenirs of Ancient Babylonia and Egypt," by Donald 15. Caniplnll. Tile antlior is a noted eiirio-eolieetor, and lias exhiliited his eolleetion many times liefore the crowned lieads of Knro|)e. His description of the scenes amid wliich, at };reat per- sonal risk, he olitained his present nnrivalled collection of cnrios is a romance in itself. He is also the author of '".Skulls .ind Their L'ses." "The Stage as a Profession." Iiy Cliarlcs ]?. Fislier. I)oul)l(iii,ulit-\V,ii;f Co.. 1920. Clotli. it^2.()(). The traffcdy of many a sim|)le eonntry lass may he laid at the door of the evident truths expounded in Mr. Fisher"s theories. The f;lare of the footlights can almost lie felt Ijy the reader throujih the magic spell of the author's convincing arguTuents. "An Artist's Reverie," hy .lolm ,1. Kenny. Holtoii, .Muffin Co., 1920. .t2..")0. Few artists ha\e had the distinction of being selected to engrave the menus for Christmas dinners in France, but such is .Mr. Kenny's proud boast. .Mr. Kenny is not only an artist, hut a Jioet, and his prose is inters])ersed with really ex<'cllent )ioetry, such as could only have been jiossible during times of extensive leisure. "The Full Bread Basket," hy David T. (iately. :V C. .Sheath cS; Co.. 1920. .+ 1..00. All rights reserved. The author is most competent to demonstrate the evils of the |iresent system of the food supjily and its illegal control. His description of the excellent dinner of Louis XI\', on jiage 1.S3, in particular, seems to savor of the utmost in luxury and variety. "Step by Step," by Anibmse H. Furlonf;-. A|i|)hni.ins. I!»2(). ^3.1)0. This is the story of a young and ambitions b.ink messenger, wherein he succeeded by dint of perse\'erance and care in details. A\'e suspect that the .author is writing his auto- biograjihy. "The Silver Bugle," by .St.irr \'aii Deusen. Sinn \' Co., 1920. 3 volumes. .tl..")0. This book contains not only the principal bngle-ealls of the various nations, but adds a treatise cju phonetics, and the jn-oper method of pursing the lips so necess.iry to the .success of the truly great liuglcr. "The Missing Helmet," by L.twrence .1. l.iedy. .St;iten Isj.ind Publication Co.. 1919. $2.00. In this m.tster]>ieee the author s]iares no effort to make the reader acquainted with all the details of his great mystery -story. The style is a bit heavy, however, and .i repeti tion tends to s])oil an otherwise excellent novel. The author's other great work is by far su[icrior: "\in<' months on the Border, ;nid Still a High Private." "Finance and the Banking Business," by .Vdolph H. IJ.ulenli.iusen. with eomiiila- tioii of tal)les by ,Iolin \'an Deventer. D.S.C.. P.D.(^. B.-irker's, 1920. ."}<.5.00 net. The author has devoted consideralile space and effort to m.ike his story com|irehensive to even the most ignorant. He conuuences with the rudiments of tJie banking and money-lending business, exjilaining very clearly the causes which led up to his following this busim-ss as a ]n'ofession. It should prove a N.iluable addition to everv librarv. "My Success in Life," by Casimir I.. .Szczeeinski, D.B.. A. L. Dirt Co. 1920. .-fs.'f.OO. The author's first claim to fame was in his excellent interpretation and para|ihrasiim of the Infantry Drill Regulations. In this prescTit work he goes further and excels himself. even to the most increus. "Travelogues Through Paris," liy .lohn MnU.iney. H.W, The 'rwcntietli Centurv Co. 1920. 12mo., |)rofnsely illustr.ited. To the- writer of .such a book as this nothing ap]iears too insignificant to esc.ipe notice He has a very dee]i a'sthetic sense of biauty arul its true re|)rcsentations. 'I'lie book will iriake an admirable study, and should lie (ui every jiarlor t.ible, if onlv for its illustra- tioi\s Other books by tlie same author: ".Mustard Gas and Its Properties, I'he Ser- vant (iirl Problem." THE COMPANY HISTORY l_'i» "Prisons I Have Known," bv John W. .Malicr. Sinti: Sinir Puhlic'.itioii Co. li)20. .^3.00. The author sptviks witli the saiu'tion of sueh well-kiioHri prison authorities as F. S. Vori-c, Jr., J. B. Melntyre and C. O. Downes. His authenticity of detail <'annot he questioned. His hook is pleasinf; and instruetive. The ])rison scenes rehited are such as wouki stir the very de|>ths of emotion. "Morning Exercises," by Harold \\. Hoiistieki. A])i)kman s. 1917. .^2.00. The author, who is well known a.s the author of the thrilling- serial, "The Delinquents t'lul)," which had a most successful run in "The tamp Wadsworth Road Review," has given us a hint of still greater promise in this work. It is more than a text-hook on hygiene, and the fact that its author teaches us hy his example is still luore a claim to fame. "What to Do When Challenged," by Hugh N. McLernon. 12nio.. translated from the original Greek. Henry Bolt & Co. 1920. $2.00. ()ne of the most absorbing of the after-war publiugh,Mit his hook his stvle denotes a thorough knowledoe of his subject. '" "Selling Short on Biscuits," by V. .M. C. A. Yerkes. Sinn & Co. 1920. $1.00. A notable tra\esty on Iuuomii Hfe. with a slightly satirical turn. "The Chemical Properties of Oleomargarine," bv Fred A. .lolmson The Mac- Nolan Co. 1920. Cloth. $2.00. The author is a well-known authority on his subject, and has made an exliausti\e studv of oleomargarine. His experiences with this interesting [jroduct are minutely related. "The Missouri Mule," by Howard W. Proctor. E. P. Mutton & Co. 1920. $3.00. .\n admirable treatise on animal psychology. It enables one to understand the human race, even after the first reading. We advise a second perusal. "Phrenology and the Art of Dodging," by Phili,, (;. Corwin. Barkers l<)-'0 $1.00. The author is a w.-ll-known advocate of all forms of skull exercise. He claims in his great work that the thicker a mans skull is the better he can keel) from danger Other works by the same author: "Why I Smoke," "A Skin One Loves to Touch." "Beards and Their Uses." by Clustave A. Sulzer. Danderine Publisbin.,- Co l9->0 $1.00. Tracing the habits of beards from the period of the 1-aU thic Age, the author iiresents his undebatable conclu.sion that a heard is more healthful, cleaner and hetter-lookin°- than the sii th-slia\i-M countenance. "^ "The Mucilage Industry,"by William Down. A. L. Dirt & Co l9-'0 In leather $3.00. The author incntions the origin of the manufacture of mucilage, and brings its consump- Mvster?-""T; l^ '"---"t/l") ■ ^■*'"'" *''"**'"-^ ''>' ""■ -^"'"^ '""'"'- "The Oatme ,1 .Mvsterv, llie .Seconds Paradise. "Whistling as a Recreation." by L. Stuart Rose, American Book i'ublishing Co 1920. In morocco, $3.25; In tune; $1.00. Seldom have the minor arts been .so clearly demonstrated as in this hook The uitlior is not higoted in any way, hut urges his readers to practice their own favorite form of vvhistlmg. However, he gives a remarkable jirefercn.'e to his own method, which is-hut that would spoil his story. Kveiy I'hihl should read this book. 180 THE COMPANY HISTORY "A Pleased Customer," >y K;il|)li K. Ltlnnaiin. Sinn & Co. 1920. .$'2.00 postpaid. Coinpri.scs ii ooipr.sf in coinpctitivc salesniaiishii), in twenty .short lessons, "'riie value of a pleased ciistoiiier," s.iys Mr. lyehuiann, "cannot he over-emphasized." "Clearing the Mask," liy George F. Alper.s. Grentano's. Hvo.. .$2.00. The unl)iased o])inions of an enihient .-nilhority on niatlieinaties. Should he stn(>rs- Xot . Trotter ^j^ -*_ _j_. _;_- . ^i^a 1^ WEAR O'CORWIN'S MOUNTAIN HEELS OCOKWIN & SON, Maki:rs, GARDEN SPOTVll.LK, L. S. A. KEEP BEAUTIFUL BY USING JOE RILEY'S TOOTH PASTE llr. Wliite, the author of "Clozahii," writes, "It keejis tlie teeth iti perfect con- dition. 1 have never used anvthini; like it." SEND 10c FOR A FREE SAMPLE Will II iin.iu'iriiiii ailvK. iileu i iluii'l fonjil I In liislnni. 134 ADVKKTISKMKNTS Cecile'g The T^tniost in (iowiis ••iikI XN'diiRMi's Wear 1. A T K S '1' PARIS V A S H I () \ S I'fithrns Si III I'/xin l,'ri{iH'.st TADY MIFF DRKiKON FIITH ANFNTi:. XFW YORK ri.iis, Miiilhn) till lllsh.ni ADVERTISEMENTS 13") OH, YOU DEAR- Yoii Ji()u<'lit Your New Suit at Oiif Si/.f Only Mndf Ciood (mmkIs Hifihest Grades of Hurlap and Asbestos Tniil)- Murk THE HOUSE OF LEHMAXX The Home of C'lothinj'' Satisfaetioii '•TFiKV Fll' SO WKI.I. AROrND llll-, XKCK- I'rircs Moderate F.asv Pavnients "I'nifonn" Stvles If our fiarTiients do not fit the cii.stoiner, the enstoiiier can lie made to fit the parmeats Your l'iilroiin(/e Ik Solicili'il ■rHK HOUSK OF I.KH.MANN— Main Office— Fiftli Avenue. New York (III siili ,il (ill ilniii-stiiri:! iHiijiliiijinii this siffii SELIG'S EMULSION OF CALVES' L[\'KR OIL THE HOUSEHOLD REMEDY I'se it for all strains. s])rains, lirnises. indifiestion. Also used as a siilistitute for: iioad iiii|ir-o\ emeiit. gasoline, salad dressinfr, soda water, mustard gas, mucilage, tooth paste, disinfectant, lilu-ary ))aste, maple syrup, axle grease and condensed juilk. I'nnl, M.irk Better Than Two or Tliree Mustard Plasters DE.\L\ND THE ORIGINAL Removes Stains Uemo\'es Hair Removes Trouble hini'l Fiiriji-t thf /tixtori/ |ilVw*,'^^,,,9r„90NGRE" 020 ■915"44l"9i '.■■V.'X