Letter from Charley Jackson to Rev. & Mrs. R.N. Buckner

Date: 10 Nov 1918 [unknown]
Location: Saint-Mihiel, Commercy, Meuse, Lorraine, France

THE KANSAS DEMOCRAT, THURSDAY. DECEMBER 5, 1918. SOLDIER LETTERS.

(The following letter, from Charley Jackson, was written Nov. 10, 1918, one day before the armistice was signed, and should be of much interest to everyone. It is herewith print est to every one. It was written to Rev. and Mrs.. R. N. Buckner.)

Near St. Mihiel, France.

Well we have had quite a bit of hiking to do the last week or so, having been relieved from duty in the trenches where we had bucked heads with "Jerry" for nearly a month, or to be exact, 24 days, of which I was on patrol 9 nights and had small encounters to the amount of bumping into a machine gun post that "Jerry" had slipped out and put up after dark but we never had much trouble in showing him where he belonged, but what made me "mad" was that he was always faster than I was and would always get back to his lines before we could get around him and cut him off, but he had a good way of telling when we were around, here's how he did it-- first of all the ground out in " No Man's Land" was low and marshy and about 100 yards from "Jerries" lines was swamp with a small lake in the center about 25 yards across and 60 yards long and the ground around it was practically level but was always soft and wet. ,Well. "Jerry"" caught some wild ducks some place and had them all picketed out on this little lake with a heavy string tied to their foot and then down to a log that was on the bank and was about 30 feet long. I guess you have heard a duck "squak" when they start to fly or when they are caught so that is how they found out that we were prowling around because every time we got within 200 yards of those ducks they would start to fly and of course the string would pull them down and they would begin to "squak" and about that time "Jerry" would make his guns "squak" and of course we would have to follow suit and our grenades and pistols did their part in the show unless we didn't care to give our position away. All of that depended on what our mission was, if it was to find out where his machine guns were located so that we could send back a message to the telegraph operatorn so that he could in turn notify the artillery. Then we just simply went back about 300 yards after we had located them and marked their position on a map and sent it back and in about 15 minutes, "Bang" goes a little French "75" which is a 3-inch piece and then the long wait until the whistle of the shel can be heard then we follow it by the noise and watch where it hit and if it got close to where it was supposed to go we would send up a signal and the next shell would most likely change its location in the way of scattering it all over the map of France and part of Germany.

This part of the game of patroling is the most Interesting as well as exciting as we could go out there and see the actual effect of our work and the artillery and how the two work in conjunction with one another because over here the infantry and artillery are the main factors and one can't work without the other's help and it was an artillery officer that taught me the tricks of that game and here is how it happened. After we came out of the drive and were sent back to take over these trenches here the "Bosche" machine guns were continually pecking away at our outposts and

(this paragraph appears to be a typesetting error of the newspaper) gather and what is the difference about his modesty in appointing himself as chief. There Is no place for the modest man nor woman, either these days. This mock modesty that hides in dark places is suspicioned of evil deeds. Here is one on the editorial writer.That Roosevelt editorial sending Teddy to the peace conference was be

patrols and they changed their places so often and made it look as though they had lots of machine gun posts on their line because they would stay about 3 hours in a place and then change to another one if they had much firing to do and in most cases the wire in front of them was so thick and so many belts of it that It was too far to throw a grenade and by the time we cut through the wire and got close enough to throw one they would be gone some place else. They did this for 2 or 3 nights and we went out 3 nights straight to try and beat them at their little game but I was always dissatisfied with what I was doing and discouraged and I felt as tho the Major was but he always told me he was satisfied with what we were doing but I couldn't figure out -just how to catch them and on the afternoon of the fourth day I was at headquarters with my Lieutenant and we were discussing with the Major and other officers there how we were going to stop that machine gun sniping and while we were talking this artillery Captain came Into headquarters and listened to our arguments and after he heard what our trouble was he told us he could solve our problem for us and here is the way he suggested he looked at our map and we showed him where the machine guns were the night before and we also told him about their changing positions so often.

Well he said that was easy to stop if he could get one man to go out with him that night that had been out there before and knew where these places were and how to get there. Well that suited me as I felt as though I was the one he wanted as I had been out every night before and knew just where they were but it was a "rough" way that I found out but anyway I found out where they were. So I told him that I would go with him but I couldn't figure out what 2 men were going to do out there with a dozen machine guns facing them, but he soon told me what he figured on doing. He said that he would go and get a telegraph key and a roll of wire and when we got down to the place where we went out he connected up with the telegraph wire and called up headquarters and told them to connect us up with his battery which had 6 guns in it and to keep us connected for 3 hours or until we came back. Well, out we went letting the spool of wire unroll as we went out. We headed straight for the nearest machine gun post except for a detour that we made going around the ducks, after we got around them we threw a rock back in the lake to make the ducks wake up and believe me, he sure did and then the machine guns began to spit fire and that was just what we wanted it to do so that we could locate it without having to get too close so that we would draw fire ourselves.

We stopped there and connected the key to the wire and the Captain shot a message back to one of his guns and back we went about 300 yards as fast as we could crawl and hadn't any more than got clear than "bang" went a "75" then there was an interval of what seemed to be 5 minutes but it wasn't over a few seconds till the whistle of the shell coming could be heard and down in the shell hole we went and you should have seen that Captain and me scrap and scramble around to see who could get the farthest down in the shell hole, because in the drive I learned to get down pretty deep in a shell hole when the shells were coming over, and it wasn't any trouble for me to get down. This Captain was a dandy fellow and he acted as though he was enlisted man instead of an officer with 2 bans on his shoulders and they didn't make him a bit proud because he was an officer and I was just a common N.C.O., as over here in the trenches one is just as good as the other, but anyway I can assure you that both of us had our heads well below the surface of the ground until the shell passed over us, then we got up and watched it hit. It missed the machine gun post about 75 yards and the Captain shot another message back and in less time than it takes to tell it over came another shell and what was left of that machine gun post wasn't worth mentioning, as pieces of wood flew this way and some dirt and rock went that way and the best of it all the machine gun and crew went straight up and I don't know where they came down wasn't much bothered about that part of it although l would liked to have had some kind of a souvenir but it was too much trouble looking for one as I might have gotten a souvenir that I didn't want if I had gotten up and went prowling around.

So we got up and went to another place where I knew for sure a machine gun was located so the Captain figured out the range and deflection for the gunner and sent another message back and It took 3 shells to. get that one as he was near some trees and it was- hard to figure out the exact place without going up and drawing fire first and we decided that wasn't very profitable under those conditions as he didn't have a duck up there to "squak" and make the machine gun open up, but would have had to go up close enough: to draw fire, then go back out of range of the artillery before we sent a message back because we would have been under fire both ways and might have gotten too close to the shell that was coming over, so we just let the shells find them and it only took 3 to do it and I figured that was an easier way to do it than the other and it is a whole lot more comfortable to sit back out of range and tell the gunners how far they are missing the target than to go up and be a target myself when the other way Is quicker and a lot more satisfactory, especially to, ourselves, as I have learned to respect a German machine gun even if I don't respect what is running it, for they shoot pretty fast and it is hard to dodge bullets per minute. The only way it can be done is to make a flying leap for a shell hole or a tree and then it Isn't very pleasant to have the dirt kicked all over you or to have bark knocked off on both sides of a tree that you are standing behind, because I have seen trees that don't act that way and I don't know but what I would like to be standing under one of them right now instead of being here in this little billet made of a few boards and tar paper inside and out.

but there is one good thing about it, we have plenty of company as my bed tick has lots of "cooties" in it which seem very happy to get acquainted with a fellow and the worst of It is they get too well acquainted with you for they like to play "hide and seek along about 2 a. m. And that usually gets a fellow up out of his slumbers and when he hits the floor he starts the game with a "hob-nail shoe" and board. and after he is satisfied that he has got them all, then back to bed he goes and just about the time you get asleep a big rat comes along and hops upon the table and kicks a mess kit off on the floor with your knife, fork and spoon in it which are all made of metal and you can guess about how much noise that would make in middle of the night. Anyway you hit the floor in a fighting mood and your hob nail shoe is your weapon again and here you go, you and the rats, around and around until one of your buddies over in the next billet appears on the scene to see what is going on and if he happens to catch you looking under the table or bunk he usuallv helps you to your feet in a rough way that usually ends the battle with the rats and you finally get back to bed and finish your sleep till morning so you see we have plenty of company.

You will have to excuse me for getting ahead of my story and leaving the Captin and myself out in "No Man's Land" by ourselves, but we got back to our lines all 0.K. and I can assure you that I was much wiser when I came in than when I went out as I had learned a much better way to get rid of a "Jerry" and his machine gun who had gotten too far away from home and all together too close to us to be comfortable. instead of taking out 15 or 20 men and driving him away when 2 men can do the same job much easier and quicker and I guess "Jerry" is still wondering how the artillery can see them after night and can tell when they move, and I can say this much, he is very careful not to get his machine guns too close to our lines and they haven't got those ducks out there quacking, and we got 5 machine guns that ventured out too far and a few of us fellows had duck for dinner rather high living when chickens sell for 20 Franc which is about $3.50 and eggs cost about 15 cents each. But that was like visiting a neighbor's water melon patch when you wasn't welcome and met up with some beans or popcorn from the neighbor's shot gun, but the duck was worth the time spent getting it.

Well I guess I had better ring off as you might think you was getting a book instead of a letter, although could tell you of the big drive that we were in but when I start writing about that I always forget myself and don't know when to stop, but I spent 5 days in It before I got put in the hospital with gas but I never got it very bad and was out in a week or so but that week seemed like a month. I must close as It is 8:30 and I feel as though I might have to have a battle with the "cooties" before I go to bed, so goodnight, and hoping to see you soon, maybe. As ever, your other boy, CHARLEY.

The Kansas Democrat, December 5, 1918, Page 3. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-democrat-charley-jackson-writ/140286709/ : accessed February 17, 2024), clip page for Charley Jackson writes Rev. and Mrs. R.N. Buckner by user sleepmere