CONTENTS PAGE BILL 7 BILL S DAD 10 THE MOTHER OF BILL 13 BACKING UP BILL 16 UP TO BILL 21 CHRISTMAS AND BILL 24 A LETTER TO BILL 27 BILL S UNCLE 29 A PRAYER FOR BILL 31 ALL TOGETHER 33 HELPING BILL 35 SEWING FOR BILL 37 A STAR FOR BILL 40 OVER THE TOP 45 THE U-BOAT 47 FOR FRANCE 48 VENGEANCE 51 THEY SHALL NOT PASS 53 THE BARBARIAN 56 THE COMFORTER . . 58 WE LL NEVER GIVE IN 60 377819 FOEEWOED Somebody s boy has crossed th sea, Tquot do th fightin fer you and me. Let s callhim quotBillquot he s anyman s son That carries a pack an shoulders a gun. BiU of the U. S. A. BILL There won t much excitement round our way, Bout th war. We tuk th papers an read em through, When we hadn nuthin better t do. We didn know which side wuz right, An didn much care who won th fight. So th ole war run along until Th President said he needed Bill. Seems like th Dutch wuz a-killin our folks Out on th sea, A-sinkin our ships an asendin em down, An lettin th wimmin an children drown. Th President writ em a note er two, em A-tellin what they d better do, But they kep right on until Th President quotIt says, s up t Bill.quot So he sent out word t count th men Ez wuz fitten t fight, An Bill he put right off fer town, An found a feller at writ it down Bout where he wuz born what town an state. An Bill he give im his age an date quotBorn up yonder an livin there still. Scratch out Exempt, I ll fight, quot sez Bill. 8 BILL There wan t any fellers much straighter than Bill Er better built. A hundred an eighty an five foot ten Th mould God uses when makin men. Bill s hairwuz black an his eyes were blue That wuz his Irish showin through. An th captain sez, ez captains will, quotSendme a million men like Bill.quot So Billhe s packed an ready t go, Way over there. A-shoulderin gun an his soldier s kit- Able an willin t do his quotbit.quot Eeady t see th ole war through, An do th fightin there is t do. They ve fought together, an allus will God an th U. S. A. an Bill. Our last sightuv Billwuz jest is back, Far off in th distance, beneath is pack. Couldn go t th train, his mother an me, A-makin it harder fer Bill, y see. We stood on the sidewalk, an watched em go Shoulder t shoulder, an row on row. Bill couldn speak, but is head wuz high. quot He gave us a look, an waved Good bye, quot An I couldn help feelin ez fathers, will, quotEf it only wuz me instead uv Billquot 10 BILL S DAD We didn say much, at supper, that night, An mother seemed older more feeble an white, She stuck it out somehow, ez brave ez could be Never thought uv herself, but allus uv me. We seen in th papers at BilPd reached France, An off t th front, at th very first chance, It told how th Frenchmen thanked God, on their knees, When the Star Spangled Banner flew out on th breeze, Still I couldn help feelin ez fathers will, quotEf it only wuz me instead uv Billquot