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| | 1ST CL. PVT. ALLEN E. GASS
Serial No. 2,983,716
Fiber. Mich.
Gass joined the Battery June 25. 1918, at Camp Custer. He was one of the men contributed to the service by the Upper Peninsula. He was of a sanguine temperament, ardent and impulsive, with dark complexion and deep-set eyes.
At Coetquidan, Gass was detailed as orderly to Sergt. O’Brien, and later to Sergt. Kebbe, because of his acquaintance with that four-legged friend, the horse.
An amusing incident was furnished by Gass during his first few days’ experience in the service of Uncle Sam. Lieut. DaPrado had taken a group of men over to the firing range to watch the artillery in action. Private Gass became so interested and enthused over the target practice that he forgot the instructions he had received in regard to addressing military officers. In fact, he clear forgot he was a recruit and asked Lieut. DaPrado if he was going to get a chance to fire one of the guns. The lieutenant, who read the mind of the recruit, answered him as a civilian, telling him that he had brought the boys over merely to see artillery in action, and that perhaps later on he would get all the chance he wanted to fire a gun. The benevolence exhibited by the lieutenant was lost on the recruit. To the pleasant answer he had received from the officer he retorted: “What the hell did you bring us over here for?” This was greeted with a laugh from the men and ignored by the lieutenant, though under military rules it called for punishment. However, Gass learned soldiering so well that a little later on he was promoted to be first class private.
He was full of jokes and liked to write spicy limericks, at which he was rather clever.
In France he employed his spare moments in making silver rings out of French francs. They were fashioned so the inscription remained intact on the inside of the finished ring, and were really a nice souvenir. This was one of the ways initiated by the Yanks for making French francs scarce. |