Letter From David H.
Dillard
It was Sept. 29th; the stars were shining
everywhere and the boys were on the job to give the Kaiser’s boys h--- that
day. The roads were filled with trucks hurrying up provisions for the boys.
Just about sun up I was standing at my machine gun when one of the boys told me
to get ready for we were going to begin in a few minutes and I was the one to
fire the gun. I was just watching for the fun to begin—we boys called it “fun”
to get after the Huns and turn them around. I just turned around from my gun to
look behind me for I heard something that sounded like thunder, and as I
turned, just opposite to the bank was an air plane carrying our boys over. I
was telling the other boys about it when old Jerry begun firing a machine gun
right over by me. One of the boys said “You had better get down,” and you bet I
sure did get down and that quick. Well, when old sparkler 330 came around every
man was on the job. Not a man of us was missing when it was through. Just as
the sun was beginning to peep up I heard one of the first guns fire that meant
that the North Carolina boys were to follow the barrage in an hour and then we
started for the Hindenburg line and were given command not to hurry and fire, fire,
rapid fire of the guns. We slipped all around our guns and just in a few
minutes I looked over the other line and saw our boys going over in the face of
death and everything just looked like a ball of fire where our boys were
letting their artillery fall, but our boys were just walking on over and I was
letting the old Germans have it with my machine gun, with about 75 more helping
with their guns., Then our boys began to come back out of the lines, bringing with
them autos and 15 German captives, some of them were wounded, of course. I was
all the time looking over at our boys going forward, until at last they broke
through. My officers said we were going to a dugout and fix to go on further up
and do more firing. That just suited me and I started. The Huns began to shell
the trenches I was in and I picked up a little faster. When I got to the place
where I was going my officer said we would have to clean up our guns and I
started to clean mine. Just about the time I got started they began again and I
just kept on cleaning and studied where
I was going for I knew that we would do them a job and we did. I got my gun and
sat down again in the trench and there came a bomb that like to have covered me
up. I had just about gotten straight when they began fire again and I said to
my buddie “This won’t do.” By that time that old machine gun of mine got right
behind them again and my buddie and I cleaned up things awhile, believe me!
Then things began to die down. Then we had to go further and I would have my
gun ready for him this time. I never saw him for this reason: he was a coward.
And this was the way I got through the Hindenburg line.
As I am one of the old Co. A, 115th M.G. Bn., I
will always remember the 29th day of September and the boys of the
company and battalion.
Best wishes to all the boys around Sylva. I thank God for
protecting me through all this. I hope to see all of you around old Sylva again
some day.
Love to one and all,
Corp. David H. Dillard
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