Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-11-06

< " q bOUUCT COOS0VU.
Washington, D. c., Nov. 5.-Merle D
Hay of Glidden, Ia, was killed and Dew
, ey D. Kern of Collins, Iowa, is reported
among the twelve missing Americans
, who are thought to have been cap
tured by Germans Saturday morning
when the enemy made his first attack
on a small party OF General Pershings
troops in the French trenches.
| Two of Hays comrades were killed
and five were wounded.
MAY HAVE BEEN TRAPPED.
The American troops probably were
trapped in their dug-outs and forced to
surrender or be blown to pieces with
hand grenades without a chance fol
their lives.
This is the only explanation which
occurs to army officers today, lacking
any details Of the fight.
General Pershing's brief report
merely stated that the German
, artillery had dropped a .avy barrags
fire about a sector OF the trench, cut
ting the men off from help. No ex
plAnatior Of the eight casualties and
the twelve men taken prisoners was
received. The fact that one wounded
German was captured. however, indi
Gated that the trench had been reoccu'
pied by the American forces.
MANNER OF DEATH UNKNOWN.
Whether the men killed and wound
ed received their injuries In hand to
hand fighting with the raiding Ger
man infantrymen or were struck down
by shrapnels is not known. A single
shell, scoring direct hit in the trench.
might have caused all the casualties.
However that would not explain the
surrender Of the remaining twelve.
+ The general practice OF trench raid.
ing all along the front, however, seems
to offer possible explanation. 1t has
been customary for French, British or
German raids to be carried out with an
intense barrage fire used to isolate the
small sector Of the enemy line which
it was planned to invade.
IN ADVANCE POST.
Presumably the American trench
raided was an advance post. With only
twenty men in 1t. it could not have had
{; front Of more than fifty or sixty feet.
Possibly it was the head of a sap
driven out into No Mans Land at right
angles with the general trench line, to
be used as listening and observation
post
It appears possible that the three
men killed and five wounded may have
been the sentries overwhelmed by the
rush Of the German raiders In the dark
and that the other twelve were in their
shelters and were hailed by an unseen
enemy and told to come out or bombs
would be thrown in among them
There would be no choice for them but
to surrender. A majority OF the Ger.
mans captured by the British and
French In trench raids are taken IN
this way.
cAPrvvE's MOTHER NOTIFIED.
Chicago, Nov. 5.-A tear-choked
voice answered a telephone at the
residence OF William G. Oberst, STEP
father Of Herchel Godfrey. 1t was q
woman's voice and there was no need
to ask her If she had heard the news.
YES" she said, "A telegram came
from the war department at o'clock
this morning. Do you think 1t is
right? I thought maybe it might be
he-was killed, you know, and they
didn't want to say so right on
FEARS PRISONERS FATE.
The reporter reassured her. He ar
gued that the list Of killed was at hand
and that her sons name was not
among them.
"Oh, yes; but don't know: maybe
1t would be better If he had been, the
way those awful Germans treat pris-
oners. He's my only boy. Do you
think
LIE COMFORTS HER.
II think" lied the inquirer, that
you are a lucky mother. or course
the stories are exaggerated. We hate
the Germans and when there is cruelty
to prisoners we naturally don't give
the boches the best of it."
Godfrey is 20 years old: was em-
ployed by the Western Electric com.
pany. and was among the first to en-
list upon declaration Of war.
SAILORS IN NEW BARRACKS.
Chicago, ILL.,. Nov. 5.--Blue Jackets
at the Great Lakes naval training sta
ton areNnow quartersd in the new $10.-
000, 900 barracks. the last OF the tents
being put away for the winter today.