The Alaska daily empire., 1917-10-25
BLANCHFIELD
 IS KILLED
 IN BATTLE
War Comes Home to Fair banks people in the Loss of One of
 the Boys.
WAS CALLED TO FRANCE
He Was Reared and Edu- Cated in Fairbanks and Left Host
 of Friends.

FAIRBANKS, Oct 15.-As never before the horrors of war are be- ginning to come to Fairbanks, with the news of the death of Percy Blanchfield. In a letter from Per cy's father at San Francisco, Fa- the sad news came. To all who knew the young man, who saw him grow from boyhood to manhood in the North, watched him go through school and graduate with honors from the Fairbanks high school but four years ago, the news comes as a terrible shock He died a hero's death for democracy. He's the first Fairbanks lad to go. Others will follow and the sadness will grow, but there will ever be the living gladness that the boys of the North are not wanting when called.
 Percy Blanchfield was but 20 years of age. He spent all his life in the North and received practically all of his education in the public schools of Fairbanks. After graduating from high school with his family, he went Outside.
 Not satisfied to wait for the Amer ican troops to get into the struggle "Old Brick" as he was familiarly known by the boys who grew up with him, enlisted in the Canadian army. For some three or four months he was on the western front before losing his life.
 It was only a week ago that ic letter from Percy, telling of con litions, his hopes for a safe return, etc It was a typical letter of the nen at the front, showing no fear, no dissatisfaction, nothing but opti- mism and determination.
 The letter, received by Father Mon roe, telling of Percy's death writ en by the father of the boy, is, in part, as follows:
 'I am writing you a few lines 70 convey to you the saddest news | ever sent to anyone in my whole life. My dear boy, Percy Joseph who reported officially killed in ac- ion near Lens City on August 25. May the Lord have mercy on his lear soul. I am, to say the least heartbroken. and simply disconso- late over my loss He was fighting 10 help dear old France against her )ld-time enemy, and one more dear young life was sacrificed for the cause of democracy. You will never 1now how awfully sad I have been since I lost my dear wife a year ago, and especially since this news )f the death of Percy Joseph just reached me.
 "The boy joined the Canadian in 'antry year ago last July. l had t all arranged for him to work his way through the California Univer ,ity as stenographer, and he was lbout to return here and enter col lege when he was called to France. He wanted to see and take part in the greatest war on earth, and he fought with the gallant Canadians, who especially covered themselves with imperishable glory at the Lens battle, and Hill 70, where. as our San Francisco papers state, it was one of the greatest battles of the war It was more a massacre of the Germans by the Canadians than a battle for a whole division of the Prussian Guard was simply cut to pieces and, to the eternal credit of the Germans, they charged the Can adian position at Lens. taken from them by the Canadians, ten differ ent times and were, as the papers state, crushed like flies. Waterloo was not in it with the awful car mage and terrible fighting there,
 "The American troops here were thrilled with the magnificent fight ing done by the gallant Canadians in the battle of Lens and Hill 70, which lasted four or five days. It started on August 15 and the boy got through that and was killed in action on August 18th. and the fur ther details I must wait for.
 "Only last night l received let ter from him written shortly before his death, in which he said he was
 IL. l.