The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-02-21
HOMAGE PAID BY NATION AS
WELL AS BY INDIVIDUAL.
HIGHEST HONORS VOTED CITY
Military Decorations From All Parts
Of the World Laid Upon This New
Altar Dedicated To a World
Wide Democracy.
CBy Henry WOODY

Germany began its great assault on
Verdun, which by striking 4 death
blow to France, was to shatter the
entire Allied cause, and at the same
time, by the military genius displayed
in the stroke, establish for all time
to come the prestige of the Crown
Prince and the durability of the House
of Hohenzollern.s
Today, Verdun, while still main
tanning invincibly the proud position
which the Kaiser himself assigned to
it as 1.-The Greatest Fortress Of Mod
ern Times" has become something
more to the Allies, something in which
the moral and the spiritual elements
enter more profoundly and mere sig
nificantly than does its mere mill
tary Importance.
Verdun, which saved France-anC
by saving France, the entire Allied
canse-has become to the Allied ma
tions veritable shrine-a shrine to
which they pay homage, collectively
and individually and with the same
deep, devout thanks and emotions
that homage is rendered by the indi-
vidual to the person or the Divine
Providence who has saved his life
What verdun Did.
1t was Frances heroic, nine months
resistance at Verdun that not only
shattered the flower Of the entir"
German army, but that permitted the
other Allied nations to perfect their
armies and military organization to
a point that would enable them TO on
ter the arena with fair chanc"
against the military colossus that
Germany had been perfecting for for
ty years previous
This supreme, historical, epochal
fact is now recognized and admitted
by all the Allied nations and during
the past year, each and every one of
them has sought public occasion for
giving expression TO their thanks.
In precisely the same manner thai
the individual almost since the be-
ginning of humanity has laid his vo-
tive offering of thanks at the feet of
the Deity or at the shrine of the Saint
that has interviewed in his behalf, all
of the Allied nations htve now de-
posed on the shrine Of Verdun vOtive
offerings in the form of the highest
decorations and medals for military
valor which they have the power to
confer
France herself paid the first tribute
to Verdun by comforting on il in con-
formity with her time honured custom
and tradition, the cross of the Legion
of Honor TO which was also added
the Croix de Guerre. ...s..
votive Offerings.
Immediately thereafter the various
Allied nations followed suite with the
most distinguished decorations they
had to offer, and in the Citadel at
Verdun, on velvet cushion there are
now pinned, in addition 10 the Legion
of Honor and the Croix de Guerre,
the Russian cross OF the Order of
Saint George; the English Military
Cross; the Italian gold medal for.
Military valor; the Belgian cross of
the Order of leopold; the Serbian
gold medal for military bravery; the
Montehengrian's historic Obiiitch Gold
Medal and finailyfthe plaque, collar
and grand Gordon OF the Portuguese
order of the Tower and the Sword,
the highest decorations and the high
est rank of the order which the Presi-
dent OF Portugal had in his power to
confer And finally above the jew
eled and decorated cushion there now
hangs glistening gold sword con-
ferred on Verdun by the Mikado OF
Japan. Is ~
Kings Pay Tribute.
But these votive offerings deposed
on the shrine Of yerdun by grateful
allied nations constitutes only part of
the homage that has been rendered. |
In the same humanity-old custom in
which the grateful individual has
made long personal pflgrimages to
the shrine of his patron saint or his |
accepted city, the allied rulers dur
ing the past year have made pilgrim
ages to the shrine of yerdun in order
to give even more striking testimony
OF their thanks The circumstances
under which some Of these visits were
made were exceedingly impressiyel
and striking.
King Albert of Belgium, who. when
the Hun invasion swept over all but
the last few square miles of his king
dom. vowed he would never set foot
outside this last remnant of Belgium
until all had been redeemed. made
an exception TO this vow in order that
he might pay personal tribute at the
shrine of Verdun. Then on hill
summit just outside the city itself. he
calmly and majesticalIy pinned the
various Belgian decorations for milf
sary valor on the breasts Of the fndi-
vidual defenders OF verdun while at
every moment throughout the ceres
mony German aIrplanes fought oyer-i
head in an effort 10 pass the barrierls
Of French shells and the squadrons