Sergeant Bradley
Tells of Big Fight
Sergt. Edmund H. Bradley has written his father, Mr. J.D.
Bradley of Rutherford College under date of November 24 a long and rather
stirring account of his activities in France along about the time the Hun was
being put out of business, and just before the war closed the young man was
sent to school to receive training for an officer. It was “dad’s” day when the
young soldier wrote, and he sent a cheering message to the father at home. The Record is permitted to make extracts
from the letter.
After reciting various incidents from May 11 when his ship
sailed from Philadelphia, the writer takes us rapidly to the Belgian frontier,
being the first Yankee troops to enter that country, and he heard that King
Albert was going to give all the boys a memento of some kind. On the morning of
September 9 Sergeant Bradley was in the push that began in front of Bellecourt,
and that broke the Hindenburg line between Cambrai and St. Quentin. The enemy
was pushed back about 30 miles here. He did not attempt to describe the fighting,
but told of the preparations for it, the great illumination, the rattle of
machine guns and the roar of the heavies as both sides sent big shells against
the other. That was hard work, and occasionally the men would be compelled to
dive for shell holes to prevent a strafing. When the time for attack began, all
the noise in the world was concentrated, it seemed, on that one front, and the
boys went over the top.
Sergeant Bradley told of a raid by a platoon that proved
disastrous and a rescue party by his platoon. The platoon moved up and placed
its guns and the enemy seemed to be fighting the Yankees from front and rear.
No counter attack developed and the next morning the Americans again went over
the top and continued going.
Sergeant Bradley left his company here and was sent to a
school, where 17,000 other boys were learning new tricks. He had just begun his
training when the war ended.
The young man told his father that he feels that prayers had
much to do with saving his life.
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