Show TANK STRANDED BY y MANS DEATH sergeant tells how bullet entering peep helep hole killed his buddy SHOTS RATTLED OFF SIDES machine gunner first kept count of germans slain but soon forgot the number slain at the wheel with the american for forces cesin ln france american fighters in the french two man lacks faults ran into hot work in front of romagne in tine the american ardys a advance along the west bank of tile the meuse early in october and james avertt of birmingham ala with his its buddy did their share in gluing giving the hun ills due Avert ts buddy was killed in the thick of the fight by a bullet that entered a n peep hols hole in tile the side of the tank and struck allm in the face it was in the american push in the argonne sector Avert evertts ts tank went along with a lot ot of brother tanks in line with the amerl american can infantrymen fantry men crowding them in the rear avertt was vas the machine gunner of ills his tank ionic while his buddy ran the engine and steered the tank 1 I wai was so near a number of germans encountered in a shallow trench that I 1 could see the terror on their faces when my gun began to let fly bullets almost in n their very faces sergeant avertt said these were the first bodies I 1 ran into on this drive find and I 1 certainly let them have it jis is fast as my old machine could fire ond and that was some fast and I 1 jurt juat kept going ahead and pounding away until every last one of them was stretched on the ground keep tab on each bach other passing beyond this hastily dug trench in the meantime watching my brothers on my right and left and at the same time keeping tab on the doughboys dough boys coming up I 1 got sight of a little batch of germans behind it hump in the hill along tile aliu lo io adway on what had been a roadway before our heavy artillery opened up that morning these were machine gunners I 1 soon learned and bullets began to splash off the tanks sides particularly those which struck a glancing blow 1 I ordered my tank buddy at tho the wheel t to keep alter after abos gunners if 11 it cost us all ail tour four wheels he did and we went up after them sort nort of sideways and I 1 got around on the side of the bump and my br brother on the other side was doing the same and we wiped that bunch out oot in a jiffy I 1 believe it was by enfilading fire as the officers call it sergeant avertt explained that the tank men all of whom were americans am erl using two men tanks invented by the Frenc ii always watched one another closely or endeavored to the idea being to keep a hundred yards yard S or so apart for their mutual protection and it being important also that they not get too far ahead of the infantry just beyond the hurup hump was a clump of woods find we began to pour bullet belleti 4 into that sergeant avertt continued and lor for it a time there was some smoke arusing above the tree tops so we ive knew there were bodies in there about four of us opened up tip in full force find and showered that woods with lead the machine gun answers were pretty still for 4 a while as we went forward but I 1 just kept peppering awny away and talking to my buddy all the time find and telling him what we were going to do clean out that woods I 1 my brothers on oft either side tied had the same hunch bunch the doughboys dough boys back ot of tile me too were firing bring along with us find and the boche bioche in that thicket must have thought all hell had broken loose because first tiling thing I 1 knew the firing virtually stopped and I 1 figured all tile he bodies bad been killed or had find decided to beat it before we all got there in fowe slain at the wheel along about this time I 1 noticed faint ant the tank boys on tile the right were swinging around the side of the clump of trees find from the position 0 of their guns find the speed of their tanks I 1 judged that they were giving fits to some Fritz les running away I 1 then switched so us its to run niong alongside sid e tile the thicket at a distance and joined the tank boys going around the end just about that time there was as tt a volley of machine gun bullets and some antitank gun stuff too from a hill a bit to my left suddenly my tank just began to tremble or something and then stopped and shuddered all over I 1 looked down find my buddy was limp in his seat one of those damned bullets had come in through my buddys buddes bud dys peep hole and lilt hit him square in the face sly ay iy buddy was waa dead ills hla final clutch on the throttle ile shut off tile gas and aad be old tank it stopped and there I 1 was and the boys went on about all I 1 know about that fight r whatever it was |