Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 February 1919 — HAS SIX GOLD STRIPES. [ARTICLE]

HAS SIX GOLD STRIPES.

The following letter from Clifford' Ogle to his parents, Mr. arid Mrs. H. M. Ogle, formerly of Milroy township, but now of IdaviHe. is one of the most interesting we have published. The letter is quite long and is slightly' abbreviated, and will be published in 'installments: • Beau Desert, France, December 6, 1918. - Dear Parents:— We sailed from Hoboken on the 14th of June (1917). It was so foggy we couldn’t see a thing. Landed at St. Nazaire, at the mouth of the Loire, June 26. Came into the bay the evening of the 25th, but didn’t get ” off the boat to stay until the 27th. . We marched out to a eamp a couple of miles distant. Our battalion (the 2nd being appointed to go to Pari* for the 4th, we left 'by train on the afternoon of July 2. We went via the Paris-Orleans Ry. in third class coaches. Ordinarily, troops are hauled in freight cars. We made a short parade in Nantes, but it was dark when we passed through Tours and Orleans. I told you about our stay in Paris some time ago. Anyway, I will say that no troops ever got a finer reception anywhere. They couldn’t. The evening of the sth we marched from the barracks in the Ruede Reuilly to the Gare de Lest and left by theChemin de Fer de Lest, which is the Eastern Ry. The French Red Cross gave us our breakfast, coffee, cookies an<L cherries, at St. Dizier. Another hour or two took us to Gondreeourt. When we rolled off a platoon of chasseurs, or Blue Devils, were lined up and at “present arms.” The ■streets were decorated with evergreens, bunting, and I remember an arch of flowers over the street with the word “Welcome” worked on it. We, that is, the second battalion, were stationed in Gondreeourt till about Oct. Ist. The other battalions as well as other regiments, were dn neahby towns, and we marched out to the drill grounds six days a week, where the chasseurs went through bayonet exercise and we learned it from them. They were sure fine fellows, too, but not at all like some people imagine. They are men just like anyone else. • \ . I took the mumps Aug. 29th. and went into field hospital 13 at Gondrecourt, the same one George Pattullo of the “Post” was in with the mumps. I came out of there Sept. 19th. That was sure nothing but confinement, contagion, you know, and weren’t allowed out of the ward. ■ . ■ - - ' ■ , ■

From Go ndre court we went to Demange-aux-Eaux, about five miles north of there. We drilled and maneuvered all around there till the last of October, when our battalion left in trucks for the trenches. We rode all day and unloaded that evening near Nancy, . T _saw_the first aviatabnbamp that day. It was near the town we slept in and several of our men walked out there. The ne'xt a. m. we got in the trucks and went to near Luneville, got out and walked to Bathelemout, about two miles. We were there two days. A shell went over the place one day, the first I had heard. Went from there at .night into the trenches, about two miles more. Mud knee deep. About two hours after we relieved the French the Boehe put over a barrage and made a raid on the company next to Co. G. That was the first engagement of any Yanks and Germans. That’s the only bombardment I was ever in where I wasn’t scared. I didn’t know what that was. We were there seven days, during which* the sun shone about two hours. It was the most miserable week I ever spent anywhere. After we hiked out we got trucks again and rode all day. The first town we recognized was old Gondrecourt, and it was like coming home. ' • 1 ■ (To be continued.)