The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-09-09
TELLS HOW 69TH'S
MEN SAVED PARIS
Floyd Gibbons Stirs Carnegie
Hall Audience With
Battle Stories.
FRENCH GENERAL QUOTED
"Nothing for Me to Do But
Fight War Out Where New
York Irish WISH"

fIoyd GlDo0ns, war correspondent and
holder OF the Croix de Guerre, opened
HIS notebook Of experiences at the from;
last night for the beneflt OF several thou
sand persons who gathered IN Carnegie
lectures under the auspices OF Selwyn &
Co. His talk was an impressionism OF
life in tho trenches with the American
troops and was replete in the little hu-
man high lights that go to make up the
romance OF war.
good slice OF his narrative was de-
voted to the gallantry OF the thin lines OF
d; American marines who saved Paris by
standing firm at Chateau Thlerry. and
the bravery of the old Sixty-ninth Regf-
ment.
The part that probably pleased his
hearers most was his repetition of the
historic remark made by a certain
French General when the Sixty-ninth's
mon and an Alabama regiment which
fought beside them, refused to fall back
TO a position of safety during the fight
ing before Rheims.
Fail to Bulge Americans.
Wave after wave Of picked German
shock troops stormed their position" said
| Mr.. Gibbons, ''only to be sent scurrying
back to their holes. Then the Germans
sent low flying ,airplanes over their lines
TO rake them with machine gun fire.
When on the fourth day the Sixty-ninth
and the Alabama regiments failed to
bulge from their positions the French
General said:
"'well 1 guess there is nothing for
me TO do but to fight the war out where
! the New York Irish want to fight it,"
| Mr.. Gibbons still wore the patch over
his eye and his arm in a sling. but he
| gracefully ducked all mention Of how
] he had been wounded while attempting
/ to save tho life OF Major of marines
during whitening fire at the Eois de
Belleau. The nearest he came to mem
tioning the subject OF his own injuries
was when in praising the skilfulness
and kindness OF the American surgeons
he said
What do you think OF doctors who
can take n battered up man. patch him
| together and hand him back his boots
and spurs after ten days in the hospital
and then make it possible for him to get
back to the front line in n month"; I
have personal knowledge of n case just
like that. for I happen TO be the man."
OF the sacrincial spirit of the Amer
icHI fighting man tho speaker had much
+. ay. BY way OF illustration he told OF
to a hospital back OF the lines the day
he was wounded at the Bots de Belleau.
| Gibbons had had his wounds dressed at
Il first aid station and was riding on the
| seat with the driver. inside the ambu-
lance were four men, one shot through
the lungs and the other three with
splintered bones.
| Sacrificial Spirit.
Every now and then as the car struck
| rut," he said, "the men with the
| splintered bones would vince painfully
and ask the driver to go little slower.
Then there was a knock at the parti-
| ton separating the drivers seat from
| the body of the ambulance and the
| driver got down to see what was
! wanted. The man who had been. shot
| through the lungs was sitting up with
| blood on his lips. He told the driver to
get him to n doctor as quickly as pos
sible, and the driver laid the case be-
fore the other occupants of the ambu-
lance in this way:
Boys, have been going az slowly
az possible for your sakes. but this man
needs the attention of a doctor or he
will die. The hospital Is ten miles away.
If l drive as fast as l ought to II Ia
going to be painful to you. What shall
! l do about it?' To which the other three
men replied:
Drive ahead and drive like hell"
The passion OF the American soldier
for tho collection of souvenirs was
another subject on which the speaker
touched. One German prisoner. he said,
had summarized the objects for which
the various allied nations were fighting
in these words:
THE English are fighting us because
they hate us: the French because the
war is on French SOIL but the Americans
are fighting US because they want
souvenirs"
II once saw diminutive American
sergeant leading three Boche prisoners
back from the front line trenches
Dangling from a string over one OF the
sergeants shoulders were six German
field glasses. each worth about $40.
over the other shoulder were hung four
automatic pistols That sergeant's name
was Harry Silverstein."
The speaker reiterated his warning
against the peace offensive which he said
Germany was preparing to launch this
fall. This drive. he asserted, would be
conducted with the object OF reaching
the weak sisters and the Landsdownes
in the United States" To heed the Teu-
tonic overtures he declared would
amount to d betrayal of the boys at the
front.
German Superman All Bunk.
'-They have the Germans on the rum"
he declared. "They learned after the
first few days in the trenches that all
this talk about the German superman
was bunk. The American soldier has
met the German fighting man in the
field and has got his number. The
American soldiers only fear Is that
peace may be concluded In the back
yard. He wants a peace by military
decision. Don't stop him; don't impede
him by hanging TO his coat tails He
knows he can lick the Boche; let him
do It."
March, the American Chief OF Stan, as
capable. unassuming man, anxious to
share all the hardships experienced by
his soldiers. His usual attire. Gibbons
said. was the regular 80 khaki suit
handed out by the commissary depart
ment to the enlisted man.
II have seen him In hip boots work
ing In the trenches" said the speaker,
land his stubby beard and the cigar
In the corner OF his mouth reminded one
Of the description so frequently given
Of Gen. Grant"
In the audience was a liberal sprink-
ling OF soldiers. sailors and marines.
One OF the latter--a young man In his
early 2os-had lost a leg at Chateau
Therry.
Mr.. Gibbons will lecture tonight In
the Brooklyn Academy of Music.