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Show RECEIVED SEVENTEEN WOUNDS ON THE BATTLE FIELD. Mason N. Burnside, son of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Burnside of this city, returned re-turned home Monday from San Francisco, Fran-cisco, California, where he has been recovering from wounds received in action on the battle fields of France. Mr. Burnside was among the men who left Mount Pleasant for Camp Lewis, Washington June 26, 1918. He only remained at thiB place for two weeks and was then sent to Camp Kearny, California, where he remained about the same length of time, leaving there on the last of July for Camp Mills, N. Y. On August 11 he set sail for Europe and two weeks, later landed at South Hampton, England, from which place he traveled another day on the water, landing at Havor, France. He was formerly a member of the 4 0th division, divis-ion, but was later transfered to the 77th division. Mr. Burnside was in the French training camps but two weeks before he was sent into the battle lines. On September 25th he went direct to the Verdun front and joined the Allied forces in the Argonne Forest. Upon the morning or his third day In the fight he was hit by shrapnel which wounded him severely in the back and shoulder and cut off the little finger on his right hand. When he had gained sufficient strengh to be able to crawl about he tried to make his way to a near by shell-hole but while doing so he was struck by a high explosive which wounded him in different parts of his body, making a total of seventeen wounds he had received within a few minutes. This happened about 10 o'clock in the morning and it was 9 a. m. of the next day before he dared to move, on account of the heavy shell fire from the German front. He then managed to walk to a hospital, by the aid of a German cane which he found on the battlefield, a distance of over a mile. He remained in the French hospital for more than two months and was then sent back to the United States, landing in Virginia in the later part of December. From there he was sent to San Francisco, Cal., where he remained re-mained for about seven weeks and was then released to return home. Mr. Burnside was with Jacob Hafen, Ha-fen, who died in France on October 6th, constantly from the time they left Mount Pleasant until the middle of September, when they were placed in different organizations. He says that Mr. Hafen was feeling fine at their last meeting and was anxious to get into the fight. Soon after this Mr. Hafen contracted pneumonia and died without realizing his ambition. Mr. Burnside is the first Mount Pleasant boy to return home after having been engaged in actual warfare war-fare on the fields of France. Mount Pleasant is proud of his efforts and is glad to welcome him home again. |