Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1916-01-01
HONOR THEIR DEAD
French War Graves Are Marked
With Care.
Authorities Aim to Have Complete
Roster Of the Fallen soidiers-Liv-
Ing Pay Tribute to the
Dead.

London. - Interesting details re-.
garding the manner in which the
graves of soldiers who have fallen on
the field OF battle are identified are
given in the following article. trans
lated literally from the Paris Matin:
Leave for minute those trenches
and earthworks. Let your gaze wan
der little from the firing line Look
there in that orchard or there in that
copse, or yet again ON that crest.
See, one, two, three, twenty little
mounds. On every mound a wooden
cross and on every cross little
khaki or red cap. The orchard is full
OF them; the copse is studded with
them; the brow of the hill is fringed
with them.
Now cast your glance toward
those two soldiers sauntering along
with their pipes in their mouths or
watch that cook hurrying along with
the soup.
Suddenly they come before the
little mounds and they stop abruptly
At once the smokers take their pipes
from their mouths, and the cook lays
the pot upon the ground, and at once,
silently, solemnly. reverently each
right hand goes up to touch each
forehead in the military salute.
ITS only for moment; the tribute
to the great dead is paid, and then
they 60 on their way again.
Along the whole battle line from
the wooded mountains of the Vosges
down to the sand dunes of Belgium
every single sector has been placed
under a separate officer, whose sole
duty it is to identify and collect mat
ter concerning every one of those lit
tie mounds.
mot a single piece of information
is allowed to slip by uncatalogued;
each cross has its own humble chron-
icle all written down and indexed and
catalogued
Each tragedy once chronicled is
then copied in duplicate, one always
accessible in case additional informa.
tion should crop up and the other de.
posted at the nearest general head
quarters.
Nothing is omitted which could
possibly afford clue to the dead
hero's identity--name, surname, regi.
ment and rank-and then each grave
given a number corresponding to the
document.
often the number is burned on
with red-hot bayonet for fear by any
chance the rain or mud should oblit.
crate the treasured mark. In word
every chance of error is reduced to a
minimum.
Suppose, then, after the war, q
family, English or French, or Belgian,
wishes to trace the sacred soil where
lie so many buried hopes. All they
will have to do will be to address
themselves to the civil authorities Of
the town where all the plans will be
gathered together and they may OBJ
tain information as detailed and as
complete as If they had themselves
been present upon those terrible bat
tlefields and will be guided to the
lonely grave, be it lost amid some
forest or hidden amid the quarries or
simply one of forest of similar en-
blems upon some open field.
ut is holy ground, each little hum
BILE grave-ground which was not
bought by gold or by work, but by the
mans own blood that has mixed with
the dear earth that gave him rest
there just where he fell.
rs 1t not all marvellous? When
ever, too, some poor corpse is dis
covered during the course of the noe
turnal patrol along the front Of the
trenches, outside the lines, there is
no rest or respite till it is brought
back to safety and to love-often at
the cost of yet another new corpse in
the rescue.
Gould any parent do more? The
soil of France is the French soldiers
birthright, and they feel as If the
dead could not sleep the great sleep
IL German feet moved above the heads
of their comrades, and so the chaplet
of miracles goes on, each corpse max
ing another hero
Weep not, you mothers, you wives,
you daughters. though the days seem
long and sad away from those spots
Of sacred soil whittier your sorrows
would bid you rush and mourn.
mo, weep not, but rather rejoice
In your glory, you mothers and wives,
and when the day comes, as come 1t
must, when you will clasp these
crosses to your bosoms before you
take the sacred soil away-they will
seem light crosses indeed, for in that
day all your sufferings will have vap-
lshed before the strength of your Joy
the Joy Of victory that will Civ
"a afipv paaea m whnIa world "