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McKEAN C(BALLADS OF AN OLD RANGER ON THE IIAID”Come lad, bring my pipe and sit hare on my knee Oil. but I’m old. conic light It up for me,My talc is whut happened buck In *43 Twns u gory battle us yon .soon shall see.Twits a long cold ride that night to our rendezvous Twenty-four to rlclc. foiii'Uwn lo hike before cluwn broke through. Ws, lad a long old hike and a tiresome one,But we reached our jxriiil at the rising sun.Rural cs Oil1943loyeslount) tlu* s his licet-Witll tense, eager eyes we watched Hie moon sink low.smalltheirpentwise.| We silently filed through a rooky pass Into a valley maLted with dewy grass.Our objective—a toe held lull a mile away Foreboding, grim, distant and gray.oJ i None knew what the enemy held in store {il[ions icers I of for•CSS-'.UIIllriedI Of Oll-fin-n inOur hill grew near, t was silent stillrhen a rifle trucked. the lead whined high and shrill.Tension left as leaves before a windin-forScreams of wounded foe were heard near and far , U5 Mid the staccato burst from the B. A. R.Our mortar shells screamed overheadi itsm.andder,cowtied,den$75i-in-lalerug.rom■eg-icli.-1.8iply red I In u. a 4-1epsas-Night fell, our trucks came in at last. •Drive.’* we said and they drove them fast. At the olive grove, our pup tents there The smell of coffee filled the air.aloep, Ultlv trooper? in no man's land?We all stayed awnko with guns In hund. KWe liiy there nil day and all were chilled.Canteens empl.v, stomachs unfilled.At lour P. M. the order came through All get ready lo march to a position new,Dead tired, wc marched over hill and dale well An(* :i hllch In a bushy vale. I(lead-1 11,f! (ll | All whispers now, Clgarcltos out w01The mulesl whisper was like u shout.We strained our eyes ugninsl the wall or night, fLBut no lurking foe came into flight. V(' the *»:VIThen a whispered order readied our ears.The kind of order that Jerry fears.When me moon goes flown chat's zero hour, £ljCheck your pieces, or ud a shrapnel bower.”1IV.s we* And T,Kn il °n vo,,r fcct* ,c,s 8° rntctotocnmwere they alerted or not? What was the score? se.Jn wc marched with unfaltering stride ' “ firNo gasps of fear, ihev were soldiers bona fide. c0Battalion front,” the order came.Not a one faltered, all were game.atyoItmepaotlA bit of hell broke loose a Corporal said and grinned. jiafeiForward we went, we knew our job. juij1 The general order was just play hob” \Ali. gallant men. they were heroes all.AU about the foe began to fall.onnir; jjp A machine gun nest tby bad luck In our path)JSlf j Was the first to receive u shrapnel bath, who ; Close work now with ba’onct alld knifetries Ril,e ,;uJl l00, tock il s 1011 of 11 fe- N]f|Iv,m_ Harmonizing with llie final rn tiling breath drawn by the dead.uld Ij Like the sun through the fog. the order came through, can! *’aU back on the double, bring prisoners too.Back wc fell to our medics post cenWhere Doc with bandages was playing host. *fruiOur wounded lads were quite a few hasSome bad. some slight, they all came through, is sAh, that long march back with them m tow Fourteen miles we had to go.IVwasRotThey started out. without a sigh Vomiting some, some with fevers high, .VHour after hour we marched and marched, itinOur wounded sick, their throats were parched. renThe sky grew gray, dawn was nearIn friendly land wed naught lo fear, r*r‘A friendly outpost came In view, JFood, rest, water for our wounded too.Alb•Trucks, we were told, will come nfter dark, IVRemove your packs, find a place to park. BraEnemy tanks tre coining. was the rumor wild. andAh, hell! we said and smiled.ciauBraandM RoyAh. little trooper, dream on of gilded knight Pori1 pray, you never spend such a gruesome night «.As when wc went out on that little spree, _Over In Africa in *43. corBinWritten on an outpost in Africa— March 6. 1943. by PFC Robert C. Dunn. RCompany F'\ 1st Ranger Battalion, in E
Newspaper Details
McKean County Democrat
Smethport, Pennsylvania, US
Thu, Apr 08, 1943
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Julie B.
ME, USA 14 Mar 2017
Other Publications Near Smethport, Pennsylvania
McKean County Journal
Smethport McKean Citizen
Smethport McKean Miner
Smethport M Kean Miner
Smethport Forester and Smethport Register
