Rum surplus

Just while Passchendaele was on and we were supposed to do anti-aircraft work. If an airplane came over, a German airplane came over, we were supposed to shoot him down or shoot at him or chase him away, or do something or other. However, it seemed that these men with these batteries, they got surplus issues of rum. Well, to get our rum ration and our food and what not, I had to send a detail, a man, over to the battalion, to the battery headquarters and I’ll be doggoned if the battery man didn’t send the whole jug of SRD rum over with him and I had quite a time keeping my boys from getting so doggoned badly plastered - they were going to shoot all the airplanes in the sky whether there was any out there or not. Oh, there was the odd comical thing that happened, I suppose. The next thing was for me and my crew to find the battalion. They didn’t tell me exactly where to go and the military police were after us. They thought that maybe we had deserted or something and I had quite a time saying, “Look here, I was left up there with a battery to do anti-aircraft work and all I’m trying to do now is find my battalion.” Eventually we found them and everything was all straightened out.