Memoirs of 2dLt W. B. Jackson, USMC
WOUNDED, ARGONNE FOREST,
4 November 1918
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On the morning of the fourth the 3rd battalion of the 5th Marines with which our machine gun company was operating, was relieved from assault duty and was about the sixth battalion in line going forward. Our progress was over a series of low ridges. The policy was adopted of lying on the reverse slope of a ridge and sending a man to the top of the ridge to signal us on when the battalion ahead left the reverse slope of the ridge ahead and went over its top. At one ridge apparently our signalman was hit. As he fell his arm moved as if to signal us ahead. Up we went only to find the preceding battalion still on the reverse slope of the ridge ahead. Our battalion commander ordered us back to the slope we had just left. I had another of my hunches to move to the right and started to do so. The left gun crew got tangled up and stalled where it was. I started over to the left to straighten them out. As I
did so a shell landed and exploded almost beside me. A piece traveling almost straight up entered my left leg above the knee. I broke and splinted my upper leg bone, ricocheted back and tore through the muscles of the higher leg. My war days were over. First aid men took care of my wound. They straightened my leg out from under my back where it had turned as I fee, put a tourniquet above the wound, put me on a stretcher and started me home. I left my map case and field glasses with my gunnery sergeant and my pistol and belt were I had fallen. Some miles down the field we reached the field dressing station. I was given a tetanus shot, my tourniquet was loosened and then tightened again and I and my stretcher were placed on the floor in a row of stretchers and men along the wall. Aside from occasional loosening of my tourniquet nothing further was done.
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