Ira L. Kent
G. Co – 363 Infantry

Dec. 25th 1918

Dear Mother;

Today is Christmas, about four o’clock in the afternoon. You have just finished breakfast over there. We had chicken for our dinner, plenty of smokes but I sure missed the box you have sent me.

The doctor has me booked for Blighty in England. I don’t know what the idea is to send a fellow over there when he is all night. I am going to have a talk with him in the morning and see if he won’t mark me duty instead. If I should be sent over to England, then I presume they will send me back to the U.S. on a hospital ship. If would be much easier for me but I prefer to go back with the boys if I can.

I was with the company when we came back off from the Belgian front and in order to billet the outfit every night we had to march long distances. Just about the time we started, I picked up a good cold and by the time we reached our destination I was about all in. in the mean time I got the pleurisy which bothered me more after we got to Watou. –One night it kept me awake about all night, so the following morning I reported at the infirmary to see if they could not give me something for it and the doctor booked me for the hospital. After I was in the hospital for a few days, I got straightened out, the pain went away and I feel just fine now.

This is the entire story:

One of the doctors examined my chest the other day and he said I still had some signs of it. The nurse told the doctor I wanted to go back to my company and he stated that I was not able to carry a pack and marked me Blighty.

Well I tell you I have seen the time when I had all I could do to carry a light pack and a gun. I never saw such a bunch of skin and bones in my life as when we came back off the Argonne front. Bully beef and hard tack straight for nine days, only one time we had a few spoons full of hot coffee. Something gave us the dysentery, a fine thing to get on a battlefield indeed. I never saw anything like it in my life. I did not get it near as severe as most of the fellows. Every time we would get out of our holes to go out, a Hun would start in to shoot at us with a machine gun. I remember one day I made a high dive for my hole with my pants down. I heard a big whiz bang coming and I could tell by the whistle that it was going to be close. It was close enough, about forty feet past me, I thought sure I was gone for I did not have time to make it before the shell hit. Wounded two of our men in the second wave, a piece of the shell hit one fellow in the leg just above the knee and practically cut his leg off. The other fellow was hit in leg also.

On the Argonne front, it was more of an artillery battle against infantry. (Which we won on the line.)

The second battalion of the 363rd (e.b.g.l. Co.’s) took over the second line of trenches about five days before we went over the top. The Germans were located on one high hill and the French on another. Second attacks had been make by both sides to drive each out of these strong positions but each time they did not accomplish anything, therefore they did very little fighting for almost three years, each side simply held the line. This was to be a surprise attack by the Yanks, all movement of hoops and supplies was done at night and camouflaged in the woods during the day time. In the meantime the French sent over a [patrol] and they managed to get through the German’s lines and since some valuable maps and papers giving the locations of the German’s artillery and machine guns.

Well, when the French and Yanks artillery opened up with the barrage at two in the morning, they simply ruined Jerry’s strong holds. It was a wonderful barrage, most all big guns. They simply knocked h--- out of things.

It was easy for us when we went over at daybreak. The Huns were vacating their positions and falling back. They could not stop us, for they did not have enough artillery to do any good. We advanced fast all day, taking them prisoners and clearing the machine gun nests and snipers.

What artillery Jerry had left in front, it kept him busy that day moving it back and by evening he got his guns working. Probably brought up more from the rear. From that time on it was awful, he just hammered h--- out of us with artillery. He had one big gun working that we could always tell, it had an awful cough when it went off and in about eight seconds you could hear that shell coming. Oh what a (kick) when it hit, tear up about half of ground.

From that day on we had no artillery support, infantry can’t fight artillery. They didn’t get the artillery up for two or three days and then they opened up on our own men several times. You could hear the word come back from our infantry to “raise the artillery.” From then on we never made any big advances, because we met with great resistance. Jerry there in some of his crack troops against us and we had to fight both infantry and artillery. All day long, Jerry’s machines kept coming over giving the artillery the range on us infantrymen. And he sure did slaughter us.

One day on the drive, G Co. was on the front line, and I was I the first wave. The Huns had a line of resistance on the opposite side of a straight road parallel with the line of battle. They occupied a fine position. We advance on them out of a ravine in a unit until we got to the crest of the hill, then man by man. -- One fellow at a time, jumps up and makes a dash for a few yards and then falls. He never has any difficulty getting down for about that time the bullets are numerous and he don’t care whether he lands on his belly or face, just so he gets in a low spot and out of sight. We finally killed or wounded about a third of the Huns and the balance gave themselves up as prisoners. Then we advanced about three hundred yards across the road on a slope of a hill when we met another line of resistance. This was the warmest place that I ever experienced on a battlefield. Some tanks came up from the rear to help us out. They went ahead and opened up on Jerry’s troops. Jerry couldn’t see the tanks from his observation balloon, as well as us infantrymen. Then, Jerry started shooting at those tanks and about that time one of his birds flew over and gave the artillery the range on us infantrymen. Then the Huns got busy on a counter attack. The big gun was operating on us from the side and doing excellent work, getting somebody nearly every shot. The bullets were thicker than bees, three or four hit in the ground along side of me, one hit right in front of my face, one scraped my helmet and another punctured a can of bully beef in my pack on my back. A fellow just on my left was shot thru the head and another just in the rear was dying from a piece of shrapnel that hit him in the head, oh what a sight and how that fellow did cry. During this time four HE shells hit right close to me and the concussion was enough to get a man’s goat. I sure did some praying for I thought I was next on the list.

Well it got so hot and we were losing so many men we had to do something. We had to chance to dig in because we would get punctured with a bullet. About that time the order came to retreat and say, you never saw me for dust. We ran like a bunch of wild cattle and I wasn’t very far in the rear either. -- I never stopped until I got back in the ravine, then I sat down and smoke a cigarette to quiet down. Jerry could see us all this time from his balloon and when we started to retreat he kept raising his artillery every shot and he knocked us down right and left. None of the shells hit very close to me for I got the lead on him. Then when he got us back in the ravine, he shot gas shells at us and we had to put on our gas masks and dig in. That was sure some day. That night we went to the rear and the artillery threw over a barrage. The following morning we were in support.

I am not very particular what they do with me, as long as they get me back to the U.S. -- It rains here about twice everyday.

Just met a fellow from my company who left the outfit day before yesterday. He says the company are still at Watou, and the latest dope is they are going to leave on the 9th of Jans.

There is no use writing me because I don’t know where I will be. ---If I should write to the company and ask them to forward my mail here, then by the time it reached here I would be someplace else. I will let you know where I am at.

You may let Jack see this letter as I have never written him since I came across.

With love to all from your son,

Ira L. Kent.

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