The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1916-11-30

prised US. They were making for us
when Hill, as coOlly as IL he had been
going 10 meet a boxing opponent.
sprang at them and as quick as light
ming bayoneted them both. IL was one
Of the finest pieces Of pluck I have
ever seen or read about. this little fel-
low, only five feet three, accounting
for two big burly Huns. He returned
TO me as II nothing had happened; and
the next thing We found that We were
surrounded by some twenty to twenty
five Germans Hill remarked: Ser
geant, we look like being taken pris-
oners.' / replied: They will not take
Us alive. We will fight for II. 80
sooner said than done. We both got
our bombs and Hill flung two bombs
with surprising accuracy straight In
eighteen and wounded and scattered
the rest.
Proud Of His Bag"
"Stlll he did not think he had done
anything big and when suggested he
should go TO the right and try 10 find
some OF our company he was ready in
stantly. He went and reported TO the
sergeant, and heard while there that
Captain Scales and a scout were lying
out dangerously wounded. Hill at once
volunteered 10 fetch them In. He sue
ceeded in bringing the captain to safe
ty, but the officer died soon after.
"Hill then started to return to me,
but on the way he found two Germans
in a shell hole. How he found them is
a puzzle, for II was dark. He leveled
his rifle at them and the Huns put up
both hands before this little man and,
as they always do, pleaded Mercy,
kamerad.' Hill then took his prisoners
down the line and that was the only
time he thought he had done any
thing big. He was proud of his bag
He performed all these feats in less
than half an hour"
one particular incident stirred Eng
land deeply. II was the death Of John
Trayers Cornwell in the battle of Jut-
land. A boy of sixteen on III. NJ. s.
Chester, he was mortally wounded
early in the fight. Nevertheless he re-
malned standing alone at most ex-
posed post to the end of the action,
with the guns crew dead and wound
ed all around him. He said simply,
when asked why he had remained
mere, he thought that he might be
wanted. The boys body was brought
back to England and buried by his
parents In n London cemetery. The
British people had not then heard the
story Of his death, but when Sir John
Jellicoe's dispatch was published tell
ing about young Cornwell's heroism a
wave of emotion swept over the coun-
try.
Two months afterward the coffin
was dlsinterred and buried with hon
ors In a new grave.
Wins v. c. Twice.
One man has won the V. @. twice in
the present war. He was still alive
when last heard from and may yet win
the medal again. Lieut.. John Jacka
OF the Fourteenth battalion of Aus
trallan infantry Is the man. He won
the V. c. first in the fighting at Cal
lipoll. He was then corporal. On
May Is, 1915, the Turks made a fierce
attack on the position held by the Aus
tralians. The onslaught was one of
the most furious of the disastrous
series OF battles that marked the Gal
lipoll campaign. Ii was necessary to
capture a certain part of Turkish
trench and Jacka undertook to accom-
pllsh that job alone. He got in be-
hind the trench. With his rifle Jacka
shot down five Turks, with his bayo-
net he killed two more, and the three
who remained TO oppose him he cap
tured. His achievement saved part
of the allied line.
| On August 8 last Jacka won his v.
c. the second time at the battle of the
Somme. He had been promoted to a
lieutenancy and was in command of u
platoon sent to relieve a force of An
zacs In an advanced trench near
POzleres. In the morning Jacka's lit
tie command was attacked by force
of 600 Germans. Only seven of Jacka's s
men, including himself, remained alive
after that charge. These seven decid-
ed TO die fighting, even against over
whelming odds. With bayonets they
charged at the Germans. They fought
like tigers and were able TO keep the
Germans busy until the reserves came
up and the tide turned. Ii Is said that
not single German of that GOO got
away. Many were killed and some
were captured.
In any record OF the Victoria Cross
one cannot omit the name OF Lieuten
ant Warneford, the first man to de
stroy Zeppelin single-handed. A few
days after his exploit Warneford was
killed while flying with an American