The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-11-22
FIRST WAR MEDAL
May Go to Lieutenant for Res
cue in NO-Man's-Land.
Defied German Bullets and
Brought COmrade to Safety.
BY J. w. PEGLER.

American Field Headquarters,
France, Nov. 22.-The first congress
sional medal of honor of conspicuous
bravery may go to a young army
lieutenant from Meeteetse. Wyo. 1t
was expected at headquarters today
that General Pershing would make
such a recommendation for the Off
GERS rescue of one of his men from
No Mans Land-under heavy Ger
man fire.
The exploit occurred in broad day.
light The lieutenant had led night
patrol He and his men had already
been on duty thirteen hours in the
trenches. They crawled out over No
Mans and and lay flat awaiting and
listening for German patrols. one
Sammy, utterly exhausted by the day $
work and the eXertions of the night
fell asleep in a shell hole close to the
German wire entanglements.
Discovers Man Missing.
When the American patrol returned
to its own lines just before dawn, the
mans absence was not Immediately
discovered, it was not until daylight
holes of No Man't Land that a count
disclosed one man absent Then the
lieutenant, sweeping every inch OF the
ground with his glasses, located his
missing Sammy tucked away in
crater, 1t was about the same min
ute that the Germans discovered too,
the soldier crouched down in his
haven while the boches loosed their
machine guns and began hurting
grenades at him. His lieutenant, dis
regarding concealment, stood up over
the trench and violently tried to wig
wag him on how to creep back to the
American lines. But the Sammy was
too busy watching in the other direc-
ton to see what his enemies were
getting ready TO do.
Then the lieutenant slipped over the
top of the parapet and craWled nat
on his belly down the ravine. The
Germans discovered him almost at
once They turned all their fire to
his creeping figure. BACK in the
American trench tho Sammies watch
breathlessly, firing as fast as they
could a barrage to protect the slow
moving creeper In some miracu-
lous way the lieutenant reached his
man and the two turned back, scut-
thing along close to the ground, with
bullets cutting the weeds all about
them. They made the trip safely
and were welcomed back with cheers
and yellS of joy no less than of adj
miration for the officers feat.
Is University Graduate.
The lieutenant who thus braved the
dangers of No Mans Land to rescue
one of his own boys is a graduate
of Wyoming university.
Normal artillerying and rifle firing
continued over the American sector
today. Another relief of the front
line troops was accomplished with
out incident. The troops now on the
fighting line are the fourth unit to
be sent there for finishing Off of the
training for war. The men they re-
heved were examined in small groups
back of the Hnes-a disreputabIe
looking bunch covered with mud, but
all perfectly willing to trade places
with the boys going into the line.
Some of the evacuated battalion
Stunned the road and took short cuts
to the rear across craters. The Ger
mans, however, did not know a re-
lief was taking place and did not
fire. An American patrol encoun-
tered four Germans in front of No
Mans Land the other night and
fired. The Germans fled.