The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-07-19
Captain Charles Sweeny, of Idaho, Tells
of Fight for France in Foreign Legion

Captain Charles Sweeny, the Idaho
man who. has won distinction in the
French army. Is writing a series OF
articles for the Associated Newspapers
on the war from the standpoint of the
private He enlisted In the Foreign
Legion, an organization that has gain
ed world renown on the west front
was severely wounded. decorated will
the highest, military honors by the
French government for distinguished
service, returned to native land to re-
cover from his wounds, entered the
service of the United States govern
ment with the rank of major and may
be called to command the third Idaho
regiment IL organized by the state
Captain Sweeny was born In San
Francisco and came to Wardner, Idaho
when child, his father, the late
Charles Sweeny, being prominently
identified with mining in this district
his most important achievement being
the organization Of the Federal Mining
& Smelling company, of which he was
the president and managing director
for many years. AS a young man
Captain Sweeny worked in the Last
Chance mine at Wardner and the STAN
dard at Mace. His brilliant career
has been followed with much interest
by many friends In Idaho, who expect
him to win further distinction before
the kaiser is down and out The first
of Captain Sweeny's letters follows
Training the Private for War.
We met in Rouen on August rs. 1914,
we recruits for the Foreign Legion.
1t seemed to me the veterans of the
old Legion who HAD been given the
task of breaking us in wore an air of
detection. Certainly no crowd ever
looked less soldierly than we did.
There were a dozen nationalities and
as many tongues. Rich men, handles,
poor men, toughs, of all heights, COM
plexions, ideals, clothes and morals,
stood in disorderly group. We were
alike in but one thing.
We meant to fight for France, We
loved France. Something in each of
us, voiceless and confused as We We're,
told us that the world would be the
gamer If France won and immeasur-
ably the loser II France were crushed.
do not know that many of us carried
the argument further. The officers
hurriedly sorted us into groups by ma
tionalities. | was sent to the English
group. Not many of us had had any
pr evious military experience. We
seemed hopelessly amateurlsh in our
stained cit clothes. Most of us
souched. We were to get rid of that
fault.
Fall I'M"
We staggled down Rouen's streets
In a disorderly column of fours. That
night we slept in straw under the
benches Of a school. Next day uni
forms were issued to us. and we en-
barked upon the course of training
which in six weeks made us over into
the raw material for soldering No
other nation than the French ever at
such a thing in so short a |
time, but France was driven by neces-
sity. At the end of our six weeks we
were sent into the trenches. We COM
pleted our training under fire.
At o'clock each morning at Rouen
we heard the reveile. At first we
stumbled out of the school. AS the
lays went on we emerged from our
straw more alertly, for our physical
was lettering. The first
ask before our instructors was to
make us fit men for the hard work
ahead. We used to walk to 10 miles
,ut in the country and back again each
lay. No bands for us in those days.
There was no time for bands. We
Soldiers of the King" and
and kept step to the
unes. Our non commissioned officers
we're all old Legionaries from Algiers.
Left, right, left, right"
Aching muscles and stiff joints ana
wollen eyes were the rule those days
'he old Legionaries had no pity on us.
We thought they were iron men, but
" and by we became iron men, too.
We had got as far as about face" in
ur instruction when one night we
we're loaded on cattle cars and taken le
o Toulouse. Forty men to the car,
lot enough room to lie down or even
0 sit up. No straw. An agony OF
atigue. Three weeks at Toulouse 20. e
0 miles a day, hours spent in squad a
nd company formation. Fat fell "a
way from us. Our faces grew lean q
md hard and eager. On to Mailly for
and battalion formations.
What is that?" L