WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 15, 2018 29
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
I’ll never forget, for I was in the
open fi eld, they turned machine guns
mounted in the church steeple on us.
There was practically no cover, and
the bullets were snapping and cutting
down the wheat around us. Several of
the boys saw their last there, and some
were wounded.
There was a powerful machine-gun
nest situated on a hill in the woods a
few yards to my left . It was charged
again and again without avail and at
great cost. So we pushed the line on
further, isolating and thereby cutting
off this hellhole from supplies. We
pushed on to the other side of the town,
and took a position in an open fi eld.
Talk about ambition, when a fellow
has to dig himself in for protection
against lead and pig iron, then is the
time the dirt fl ies. Those who were
lucky enough to draw a pick or shovel,
others used their bayonets and
mess tins.
Well, it was night by this time, and
all went well except when the Boche
artillery got busy on us which lessened
our numbers a few more. All went
well the next day, but the following
night we held off a counter-attack successfully
and without loss, and early
in the morning were relieved by an
Engineer Company, and went back in
support. Another spasm of digging in
for self-preservation ensued.
Well, there is a good deal I could
tell would pass the censor, Pop, but
it makes too long a letter. The fact remains
that I went through the battle,
even in the fi rst line, and came out
without a scratch.
I can’t say, Pop, whether we are
going back to the line again, or going
to be relieved, but I really think we
will be relieved. We have done our bit
and more than our share for which we
have been cited twice by the French
Government, and we rate a rest and
relief. Where are all those troops in
France? Do the regiments, the 5th and
6th, have to do it all? We already have
the honor of being the fi rst line of the
fi rst drive the States have made, and
we gained our objective.
Some German prisoners say that
they were retreating in disorder, and
with a few thousand more men we
could have pushed them away back.
Some prisoners, it is said, were waiting
for the Americans to come over, so that
they could be taken prisoner.
Well, let’s change the subject. I think
I’ll be able to write oft ener now, for
there is some pretty good dope going
around. Got a letter from Walter two
days ago, also one from most everybody.
How is this - got a letter from
you, Pop, from Aunt Mary and Aunt
Helen, just before the battle. Believe
me, Pop, it brightened me right up and
I had lots of pep.
The Red Cross sure is doing fi ne
work. They supply us with chocolates,
and peaches, and nuts and smokes.
That Tobacco Fund sure is good too.
We don’t get them very oft en, but about
twice a month. Pop, I can’t write to everyone,
but please remember me to all
the folks and men at home, also Uncle
Herman and the girls. I sure am in
good health now and hope to remain so.
Faithfully, Eddie
The letter was passed by the censor,
E.E. Kalbfl eisch, 1st Lieut. U.S.M.C.
The photograph shows Private
Edward Kahrs, United States Marine
Corps. He had blonde curly hair which
was covered by his Marine Corps hat.
Thankfully, he returned from France
in good health except for some of his
fi ngers which subsequently ached due
to being frozen during the fi ghting in
France.
The Old Timer is forever grateful
to Mrs. Seelig for the photograph, and
the letters of Edward Kahrs.
* * *
If you have any remembrances or
old photographs of “Our Neighborhood:
The Way It Was” that you would
like to share with our readers, please
write to the Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood
Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY
11361, or send an email to editorial@
ridgewoodtimes.com. Any print photographs
mailed to us will be carefully
returned to you upon request.
Private Edward Kahrs wrote home to his father from the front lines of
The Great War
A cross made of trees was erected in Ridgewood in 1919 to honor those who fought and died in World War I. It
would later be replaced by a more ornate monument at the Ridgewood Veterans Triangle, located at the corner
of Myrtle and Cypress Avenues.