St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1917-12-19
WRITES OF co. D.
BOYS DEATHS
~ - e 49, Z - - - In 8.
Chaplain Moody Tells of the
Last Hour Of Sanborn and
Heron; Military Burial
Thanksgiping Day 1q15

= ~
Thanksgiving Day, 1917.
Dear Mr.. Babcock:
You will doubtless have learned
through other channels before This
OF the death of Martin Heron, but
since he wanted me to write to Won
when he was sick, and since I doinot
know that he had any relatives I3fe1t
you would be glad to know some
thing of his last hours. He went TO
the hospital on October 31st and at
the beginning was not considered 50
dangerously ill. / do not remember
under. what date wrote to you at
his request but remember that it
must have been somewhere in the
nelghborhood ] of two weeks ago at
least After that he was much worse
but about ten days ago he was. so
improved that the doctor moved him
out of that ward into another and
he was thought to ibe out of danger
entirely. / saw him after he was
moved and he seemed to be doing
nicely. The sickness at that partic-
ular hospital which is over six. miles
from here let up so much that is /
was busy did not get up there as
much, and when 1 was there a week
ago Tuesday I was in a hurry and
saw his doctor in the corridor and
he reported him as doing very well
indeed as he was. I did not go into
the ward at that time for, as / have
said, i was rushed and there were
several that 1 felt it more important
to see, particularly Lynn Sanborn,
who had not gotten along so we'll, so
I did not go in. Sanborn was also
better, but the doctor was under the
impression that. I had better not go
in the room too much as he reused
up every time 1 went in. For that
reason i did not get up to the hos
pital again till Monday of this week
and then / found that early that
morning fresh spot sof infection
had broken out on Herrons lung,
and that Sanborn had had a sinking
turn at midnight and had died at 3
a. m. on the morning of the 26th. /
went at once to Heron, who was
then in the doctors hands. Lyon,
the doctor, worked desperately and
continuously over him. I was with
him few minutes, but the doctor
did not want him to use his strength
in trying to talk and said that if his
heart was able to hold out he would
come along all right he thought. ]
went back again in the afternoon
and he seemed much better. He
asked for. Sanborn, SANDY as he
was accustomed to call him. and ]
told him that Sandy was better,
without going into details as to what
meant by better He also asked
about his pay. He had not heard
that his company had been paid, and
when I told him that they had he
asked if / would bring the money
up. SAYING that he did not know if
he would know it when he saw it.
having oeen SO long without pay;
this he said laughingly and he seem
ed in good spirits. 1 left and came
away and when I got down to our
town and went to supper | learned
that he had died. The end must
have come very suddenly finally. The
doctor was with him all the time
that I saw him in the afternoon too.
Certainly he did all that could be
done for him. -
1t had been planned at first to
hold the funeral for Sanborn on
Tuesday but when Martin died it was
decided to have a Joint funeral and
this was ON Wednesday, the day be-
I fore Thanksgiving. They had both
come from the same company in the
Vermont regiment and they had
both entered the same company in
the 103d, and they had both been
taken to the hospital the same day,
and they had for about two weeks
been in adjoining beds in the same
small ward, and they had both died
the same day, and it was appropriate
that they should be buried together.
The entire machine gun company at
tended the service which / conduct
ed and the captain of the company,
Captain Ashworth, rose from sick
bed to attend in person. Lieutenant
Ireland had visited them both while
they were sick, at my suggestion.
The band went up and it was the
most Impressive military funeral
was ever permitted to witness. Their
graves are in a little cemetery which
r understand the French government
is going to turn over to the Ameri-
can authorities, in a town the name
of which the censorship rules will
not permit me to divulge. I felt that
you and all who know him would be
interested to know this, and / am
leaving it to you to communicate
with any one who had an interest in
him. Also to see that the papers
know about it. i am writing a more
or less similar letter to- Sanborn's
mother. only add that since death
came to these two Vermont boys [
am glad that the chaplain of the old
regiment could be the one to stand
by their graves and perform the last
rites for them.
With best regards, / am.
Sincerely yours,
PAUL ID. MOODY, s
Chaplain 1895, U. S. Infantry,
26th Divisior. A, f. +.
p. S.-The bearers were all old
Company d men, Roy Waterman,
nr,-aJ PIatt R0dger Mcnamara Adj