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Second Lieutenant Boyd.  I was the only American billeted in a house on the outskirts of town.  I was still asleep around 8 AM when an enlisted man came in to tell me that my horse was waiting for me outside.  The battery, he said, was about to move out.  Breakfast was out of the question, for the men had all been served and the kitchens were packed up.  I did not have time even to shave.  I got into my clothes.  I asked the enlisted man to gather up my stuff from the room and put it into a wagon.  Then I mounted and hurried to catch up with Captain Woodward out on the road.

Woodward had a sheet of typed orders for me.  He detailed me to command the two gun crews.  He rode with us off the road and posted us on that hillside.  At our back were woods, in front a wide field sloping downward.  About two miles ahead, hidden from our sight by hills, was our infantry.  They were scheduled to move forward on an attack some time during the day.  When the infantry moved we were scheduled to begin firing, contributing to a rolling barrage that was supposed to keep ahead of the infantry.  The trick was that we were not told when the attack would start.  The infantrymen were to notify us by rocket signals when they were about to jump off.  Therefore we had to keep a vigilant watch all day for the rockets.  When we saw them we were to record the exact time, so the brass would know we were not cheating.  And I was supposed to memorize the orders that had been given to me in writing.

The morning passed and nothing happened.  I set two men to keep watch and told the rest they could get in under the trees for as much shelter as they cound find there.  They tried to build a fire, but everything was too wet.  Noon passed.  and I was hungry.  For reasons explained in my last letter, I had eaten nothing since mid-afternoon of the day before.  Finally one of the sentries called to me.  "Two officers coming, Lieutenant.  I think one of them is General Pershing."  (That's the way he said it).  He was right.  General Pershing was accompanied by General Summerall, then commanding our brigade.

They rode up to our post and stopped.  I saluted and identified myself and my unit.  Pershing didn't look at me at all.  He made a fine figure on horseback and he just sat there like a statue, gazing