By John Hale Chipman, Class of 1919

"September. 21, 1917, Friday, Fair.

Up and 7:00 and breakfast but left at 2 P.M. for S. one of the most active batteries in this section. We arrived and unloaded there at night for at day, the Germans can see the roads and shell them as they please. The big guns were going tonight and how they would thunder. We had two arrivees, however, when we were eating supper. You see we have our supper brought to us, the vegetables in a thermos sort of can and a kit of meat with bread in hard loaves in a burlap bag and cans of confiture or preserves or jelly. Well we were eating supper just outside of a wood here, the edge of the field of which was rutted by these long entanglements of barbed wire which goes to show this particular spot was once hard fought over. As it happened we were right under a French observation balloon at which German 78s were popping. Two came very close and incidentally broke about 50 yards from us. As they would approach you could hear a swerving whistle followed by a deafening bang which would leave a blot of black smoke in the sky. It certainly is an interesting sight,--also to see the way some fellows jump and duck out and under their cars. Human nature is a wonderful something, believe me.

We got unloaded about 9:30 and started back some tired crew. In fact, we flew home in spite of the dust, darkness and drowsiness. We got home at 11:30 but I was so tired I piled into my bed regardless of the "inch" of dust I had all over me."

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To see the actual diary, come to Rauner Special Collections Library in Webster Hall and ask to see MS-1229 during normal hours of operation.