Drawing depicting a U.S. Marine stabbing a German soldier with his bayonetted rifle, 1918. .

.

I was with a Lieutenant when we entered the forest (...) We were firing on the retreating enemy as we advanced, sometimes dropping to a knee for better aim. A bullet hit my bayonet (...), shattering the bayonet and leaving me only a stub.

.

A Marine near me rushed at three Germans who were also near. I speeded up and rushed at them, too, with my rifle lowered to use my bayonet. They surrendered, and then I noticed them looking at my bayonet. I tried to read their minds. They must have thought that I had broken off my bayonet in a man. Later a man in my company saw me with my stub of a bayonet and said, "Old Brannen stuck his bayonet in one and broke it off."

.

A machine-gun nest was now holding up the advance. Instead of trying a direct assault, we decided to flank it. (...) When we were in close proximity to the nest, we were a little too exposed, and the fellow on my right fell, killed.

.

As I jumped for protection into a ditch nearby, a fusillade of bullets caught me below the heart on the left side, (...)The best I remember, ten bullets in my own belt exploded, but they had deflected the enemy bullets, saving my life.

.

I collected myself together and, with the other companion in the ditch, looked for our machine gunner but saw the Americans were now in possession. (...) On going up there I found three dead Germans stretched out by two guns.

. 

Machine gunners were never taken prisoners by either side. The reason is obvious, for when a man sat behind a gun and mowed down a bunch of men, his life was automatically forfeited."

Thanks for reading , leave your thought in the comment