I have often wondered what became of him.
The Boches had evidently not expected to give up their conquests, for they
had built an enormous stone-and-brick fountain in the centre of the town,
and chiselled its name, "Hindenburg Brunnen." Above the German canteen or
commissary shop was a great wooden board with "Gott strafe England"--a
curious proof of how bitterly the Huns hated Great Britain, for there were
no British troops in the sectors in front of this part of the invaded
territory.
We worked hard "policing up" ourselves and our equipment during the few
days we stayed at Bouligny. One morning all the townsfolk turned out in
their best clothes, which had been buried in the cellars or hidden behind
the rafters in the attics, to greet the President and Madame Poincare, who
were visiting the most important of the liberated towns. It was good to
hear the cheering and watch the beaming faces.
On November 21 we resumed our march. Close to the border we came upon a
large German cemetery, artistically laid out, with a group of massive
statuary in the centre. There were some heroic-size granite statues of
Boche soldiers in full kit with helmet and all, that were particularly
fine. As we passed the stones marking the boundary-line between France
and Lorraine there was a tangible feeling of making history, and it was
not without a thrill that we entered Aumetz and heard the old people greet
us in French while the children could speak only German.
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