The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1918-10-11
Yank Lieutenant Feels Huns VIII
Get Him, but Will Take
Few Along.
.PROUDEsT man IN UNIFORM
Wins Promotion From Corporal 70
platoon Leader for Daring Piece
Of Work on Night Pa
troll Duty.

scant half block away. And II was
dark, both the Opera and the boule-
ward. The only light came from the
kiosks advertising Paris newspapers,
patent bouillon and talcum powder.
There / heard the typical story OF the
American second lieutenant, the pla-
&foon leader who's doing wonderful
bit in winning the war.
Call him Prettyman, which isn't ms
name. He was deputy superintend-
ent of banks before the war. AS ne
said himself, he'd never been out in
his life after one in the morning ex-
cept in a taxicab. he used to earn
$4,000 year, have his bath every
morning and cocktail before dinner.
He is a typical successful young New
Yorker.
Gosh, he said, "I'm the proudest
man in this army. I've got two kinds
of itches at the same time.
ave came over on the Justicia, the
one that was torpedoed the other day."
he said.
"And they spewed us out at an
English port at eleven o'clock one.
night, and at eleven the next night
we were back Of the lines In Flan-
ders. was only corporal then.
Then we were moved to Alsace ana
there we got our first taste Of war.
Incidentally, there ] got to be a pla-
toon leader.
On Night Patrol.
,'Here's what 1t was. Up ip the
first line the Heinies were just about
fifty yards away. One night the or
der came for patrol. Now, It's hard
to tell you about patrol standing
here in the boulevard. Out there it's
as black as the inside of your shoe.
It's into that that patrol IS sup
posed to go. And we went. Sure !
was scared. Scared green. didn't
know where was, and / had the lives.
I OF go men in the hollow Of my hand.
But we went. We laid for IA hours
right up against the German wire and
we located every machine gun they
had, and every man jack of us got
back to our own lines safely.
ss 'sMy God! it was different from
New York. It was Il lot different from
Paris. It was hell. hut when the
Heinies came over the next day we
knew where they were coming FROM.
And we sloshed them.
'.Thats country Is full of spies and
our wires from the trent line back
were cut. So I went back myself.
They'd laid down the best box bar
rage have ever seen. Oh, got
through it, because was lucky, sup
pose. got through it hree times
that night, in fact. And me, never out
after one o'clock in my life before ex-
cept in taxicab. SHY, 1t was fierce.
Right out in the open country. All !
had to tell me where was were the
telephone wires. And they We're cut.
was almost sick TO my stomach when
II hit the break in that friendly little
black wire I'd kept running through
my hand. But we did get word
through. And all the Germans got by
way of prisoners were II cripples that
had been sent up to the front line by
mistake.
"aAnd. say, feel they're going to. get
me. I've got my second lieutenancy
and I'm going back up to the front In
few days, as soon as this celebration
is over. And have a bunch that /
won't come back.
eve got d little sister and a dear
father that I'd like to so back to, but
there's something bigger than that.
I'm wearing the uniform, ! am. It
don't make BIT Of difference II die,
because there are four, five, as many
millions as you want. more. Only
when do die I'm going to take at
least five Heinies with me. And Tn
going to handle the sixty or seventy
or the hundred and twenty men un-
der me so they'll do the same.
Allies Are Fine Soldiers.
.sure, I get awful impatient with
the French sometimes because they
don't understand our language. And
the British sometimes rub me the
wrong way. I've had fist fights with
'em both--before got to be an Off
Ger. But they're all in the same game
and you can tell the folks back home
that they're damned good soldiers.
those British and French, every one OF
them. Only we're going to go them
one better particularly the--platoon
of the company of the --th.
You'll hear from us. Only If you're
dropping a line to the folks / know
Just tell them that you saw me-in
Paris celebrating, and on the way to
the front, where j don't expect ever
to come back from. Good-by, old man;
good luck !"
And he strobe across the street and
disappeared His job ahead of him
to do, full knowledge of the cost Of
that job, and proud to pay the price
demanded--even to the ultimate. He's
the platoon leader, the q. s. A. pla-
toon leader, that's going to win this
M2r.