In an irresistible, sublime dash we hurl ourselves to the assault,
offering our bodies as a target. It was at this moment that Alan Seeger
fell heavily wounded in the stomach. His comrades saw him fall and
crawl into the shelter of a shell hole. Since that minute nobody saw
him alive.
I will spare you an account of the rest of the battle. As soon as the
enemy was driven back and Belloy-en-Santerre won I searched for news of
Seeger. I was told of his wound and was glad of it, for I thought he
had been carried away and henceforth would be far from the dangers of
bullets and shells.
Thus ended this Fourth of July that Seeger had hoped to celebrate in
Paris. On the next day we were relieved from the first lines and went
into reserve lines. A fatigue party was left to identify the dead.
Seeger was found dead. His body was naked, his shirt and tunic being
beside him and his rifle planted in the ground with the butt in the
air. He had tied a handkerchief to the butt to attract the attention of
the stretcher bearers. He was lying on his side with his legs bent.
It was at night by the light of a pocket electric lamp that he was
hastily recognized. Stretcher bearers took the body and buried it
next day in the one big grave made for the regiment, where lie a
hundred bodies. This tomb is situated at the hill 76 to the south of
Belloy-en-Santerre.
As I think of the circumstances of his death I am convinced that after
undressing to bandage himself he must have risen and been struck by a
second bullet. I asked permission on the night of July 6 (1916) when I
heard of his being wounded, to go and see him, but I was refused.