Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-17
MARINE HEROISM AT BELLEAU
DESCRIBED BY PHILADELPHIA
Lieutenant Colonel Frank f. Evans Writes Major General
Barnett of Fifteen Days Unresting Struggle
Against German Hordes

TNHERE were dark hours Just before
l. the dawn of the marine victory at
Belleau wood-hours that were terrify-
ing at times for those directing the
! fighting and receiving the reports, and
/ no one could describe them more vividly
than the man who passed through just
that crisis
He is Lieutenant Colonel Frank T.
Evans, a Philadelphian. the youngest
son of the late Rev PR. Frederick Evans.
for many years pastor of the Tenth
Baptist Church.
In long !ottor to Major General
George Barnett. Commandant Of the ma
rine corps. Lieutenant Colonel Evans
has written a description of every phase
of the activities Of the marines from
, the time they started from their bllets
until they were withdrawn from action
after battle that lasted fifteen days
He tells a story of intense interest
Half Of the letter appears below. The
remainder will he printed tomorrow:
At the time of this fighting LIeuten.
ant Colonel Evans was major and
adJutant of the Sixth Regiment of Ma
rines. Since then he has been promoted
and July he was awarded the Distin-
suished Service Cross by General Per-
shng. He also has won the Croix de
iuerre. His wife is the former Miss
Esther Townsend. daughter OF the late
Franklin Townsend. also of Philadel-
pha.
The Letter
The first half of the letter follows:
d My Dear General:
Il have been hoping to find time to
write you something about our recent
| activities. if as mild term can cover
the capture of a boche town two kilo-
meters away from our front line. and a
weeks fighting in woods honeycombed
with maChine-gun nests. ! asked Lieu
tenant Leonard. Infantry, T. :. r, at
, tached to Zane's company. 10 stop in
and give YOU SCme first-hand informa-
, ton, and know that you will find his
news of great interest. He was selected
to return to the United States as in
structor and his orders came while he
was in Bouresche. ! got Holcomb by
phone one of the times his line was not
cut. in his little cave behind a rock out
IN front, and Holcomb relayed his orders
into Bouresche. Two minutes later
Leonard was out and on his way in.
Under Terrific Drive
We have all been under terrific
drive from the time we left our rest
area on the 30th until we left our trucks
on the LIST and went into line the after
noon of June l. Holcombs battalion
was unloaded just In rear of the sup
port position to which our brigade was
assigned, and his company command
ers got part of their orders while their
men were disembarking and then they
! deployed and went in. The strain ac-
cumulated like a SNOWFALL running down
hill until we We're pulled out tempo
rarily on the 18th. and at times in
that long stretch IL looked IA though
the elastic backbone of the men and
officers could not stand another tug. but
they were always ready on an instant $
Z notice to deliver a new attack or stop
n new counter-attack. It made a fatalist
of me back at the p. G.. where we were
in constant communication by phone or
runner. until the last five days in line,
, | couldn't feel any more strain. nothing
but an absolute and serene confidence
that the people higher up knew what
thev were doing, knew me conditions
and that our battalons would come
across without a moment of hesitation
or faItering and carry on, no matter how
black things were out there IN the
woods or how close they were to human
limit of mind and body.
We left our rest area at a. m. May