Evening star., 1917-09-08
FOREIGN LEGION
IN VERDUN FIGHT
Brooklyn Machine Gunner Tells
How the immortal
Band Won.
AMERICAN BOYS THERE
Ry PtIL hYHES ROCKWELL.
CnbieSram to The Evening star ana
l.hicn:o DniIy Vows. (0p!right. I'i..

PARIS. France, september > 'ue-
lavcD How the immortal foreign lF-
cfon fought and won at Nerdun IN Au-
gust is told to me by NaChtn" Gunner
Christopher Charles, a Bro"h hiNh iau.
who has served vtliantly With the pony
EIot corps since 1914. HIS ietttf IL
written ON pa GcS torn from a SIaiH Ter
man officers notebook
The foreign legion, writes charles,
''hrokc camp ON the evening OF AuShSl
Is and started on the long ma r"h 10
the trenches Tht, boys knew why they
were marching. every one was happy
and the different companies were sing
ing as they marched through the Nafi-
Gus villages. Believe me. the CtNllldns
seemed surprised To see a regiment GO
ing away to fight singing after three
years of warfare.
we arrived in the trenches a.
o'clock on the morning of the 18th, The
Germans must have been expecting us
for they gave US a frst-ciasS welcome
in the way of shells OF every caliber
and kind. Judging by this welcome We
certainly had to believe that what We
had heard about the most famous sec
tor in France was true.
An Uncomfortable Spot.
I'VE slept throughout the day OF the
18Th. About midnight We started to
relieve the men in the advanced hrst
line and my company was the last to go
up. We got there about a m. and
lay with the rest OF our battalion in
shallow trench hetween our regulars
lines and The Germans. We stopped
there for some time waiting for orders
to go forward. 1t surely was un-
comfortable spot, for the beches Were
firing away at our old trenches. Their
shells falling I bit short were landi ng
around US so that we were getting all
the fireworks At ) O'Clock on Monday
morning came the order to advance and
you may be sure We We're all pleaseth
to get out OF the inferno We had BEEN
In for nearly two hours.
We passed through the curtain fire
pretty easily Shells We're burning
around our feet. but with few quick
steps we were beyond the most dan
gerouS point II was fine clear morn
ing and day was lust breaking when
we started to advance. We got to the
first German lines without trouble and
found a few lost hoches. who did not
seem to know whether they were in
France or Russia. l don't think they
to give up. We kept on going with
grenade fghtirg here and there
Saw American Boys.
BY o'clock we had gained three |
kilometers us miIes) in distance and !,
two kilometers I.2 miles) in width. !
Then we rested until the afternoon for |
we. had done some hard hin elm bins g. |
While were reposing / saw quite a I
few Of the American boys. Among them
were Oscar Mouyet of New York. JACK ,
Moyet Of Mobile, Ala. and Ivan Mock. a |
Baltimore mining engineer. All seemed |
to be looking for more sport Later
met Marius Philippe, nephew of Oscar |
/. Luning of San Francisco. He is a |
newcomer in the regiment, but he look |
ed as if he had been used to this game
all his life. ] also saw Arthur Barry,
the Boston sailor lad. and William Par
ingfeld of Butte. Mont Both must have
had an awful argument with barbed
wire. judging by the looks of their |
clothes.
About 1 o'clock in the afternoon we
started to do u little more work and |
take d hill of which you have often !
heard. We captured the hill in less |
than hour. There We stopped for !
the night During the night of the |
2G-h the Germans made three stiff !,
counter attacks, but didn't succeed in t
regaining any ground,' On the 2lst we
were pretty lazy and did not start for
ward until the afternoon, when we
were told to take villas ge, and the
village was carried in short order. Dur
ing the fray Barry got hit by piece
of shell and was sent to the rear. Mock |
and Philippe were also damaged by
shell fragments and gas. which the en-
emy was using in large quantities.
so far as the legion was concerned |
the fight ended 1t the village. for We
camped there for a rest. In all We ad-
vanced about three and a half kilo-
meters f2.1 miles) on a -kilometer
az mile) front l did not see r. A.
Rlount. a new man from Wilson, \. C, /
or Nick kornies of New York, but l am !
told that they pulled through all
right.