The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-05-05
VETERAN OF TWO WARS
lie Mesnaeer, Who Fought in 10
Back from the Trenches.

he MSN0dACfg WIN ESbSiiN III 10
Back from the Trenches.
Los Angeles may hear in few days
the story of one of her grizzled citi-
zens, a typical soldier Of France of the
period when the imperial and mus
tache distinguished the red legged lit
tie Gallo warriors of the empire.
He IS George lie Mesnager, aged &c,
veteran OF the FrancoPrussian war,
who arrlved in New York Wednesday
on the French liner Espagne and who
in pip'ng times Of peace is a notary in
Los Angeles He had been three
years in California when, in 1870 his
country called him. He fought through
that war and returned to the United
States, becoming a citizen.
When the Germans invaded France
he took the first ship he could reach
and presented himself as an American
volunteer Being physically perfect,
they took him and he was sent 10 the
front as if he were Of the same age as
in the luckless days of the Franco
Prussian war. He was mustered int
Il tllt ANbiAl ihAaiANA Hbh W HNiAe'AANi
won promotion and wounds.
He was a color sergeant when Gen
Joffre gave him one of the three mill
tary medals that he wears. and the
cherishes the memory OF his meeting
with his great commander and the
salute, in French style, that Gen. Jof
| fire gave him when he pinned the
medal on his breast The General
asked him how old he was and he said
only &C.; whereupon the General re-
marked that he should take a yaca-
ton.
But he is going back, he says, in
three months. the limit of his leave Of
absence and help finish the job of
licking the "boches" He is supercon-
fident about that.
Twice the color sergeant was wound
ed, once in the leg by shrapnel and
once in the arm; but he says they
were not serious hurts and that he
was only little time off duty He
carries cane. which he says was pre-
scented to him by German shell. The
shell burst close to him and uprooted
a bigfblackthorn bush. Almost at his
feet There fell the branch that later
became tho cane He waved a mill
I tai-y salute. at the German front and
said "Thank you" Then he fashioned
thc3ourlihg root OF the stick iuto the
lhead9ef d dachshtnd with his Van see
lDenldlife and called 1t the Emperor
Pin, ,aI -. ,I'.. ll 4ifn
/ Wien the EsPngne sailed from0p0r.
deaux the sergeant was Booked for
| passage in the second cabin, Capt.
Roch noted the medals OF the blue
overcoated veteran and, after talk
with him, told him he could have the
liberty of the ship, so he became n
FIRST cabin, second cabin and steerage
passenger, which perfectly accorded
with his ideas Of "liberty, equality and
fraternity"
Naturally everybody with any mar
tial spirit at all got him to tell his ad-
ventures in the two wars. He said
there was q lot OF difference between
the methods of 20 and 1916, particu-
larly in aerial lighting and gun range
and destructiyeness
The sergeant speaks like an Ameri-
can without any accent, and he was a
bit put out when he learned he would
have to go to Ellis Island as an alien.
| He could not prove by documents that
he was not, as he had neglected TO
take his papers to France So he made
little trip to Ellis Island, where the
officials heard his story and told him
to 70 right along to Los Angeles or
wherever he pleased, as they were
| cure he was telling the truth.