Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-12-24
WONDERFUL DEEDS
/. Of 82D DIVISION
TOLD BY MONTAGUE
Captain, in Letter HOmeY
Describes Drive in St, Mi
hieI Sector and Other Gal
liant Actions

mo American unit had harder
fighting or endured more hardships
than the Eighty-second division. The
work they did was marvellous. Re
member, this was in the Argonne for
est, where, at the beginning, the
French troops who were being re-
lieved took the aggrieved atti-
tude of being forced out of their
nieely-prepared winter quarters to
let the Americans try q hopeless
task. For they argued that they had
been there for over three years, and
that they knew You couldn't drive
the enemy out OF those forests.
But our boys made it in the face
Of almost insurnUuntaple obstacles.
They did such things as march hall
the night and lie on the cold, wet
ground the other half until dawn;
Ihen wade the AiSue river, from waist
to neck deep, in the face Of the enemy
machine gun hre, ana take ridges that
were hard for me to climb when
there were none but dead men on
them, while at the time of their TAX
ing they were literally covered with
machine guns and gunners.
ION the top of all that, the enemy
deliberately left whole batteries OF
heavy and light artillery TO remain
and 1ire to the last, often with direct
ire. l have seen just such battery
after battery, often on the top OF a
high ridge where it was out of the
question to think of moving them
back or Withdrawing them, but where
they overlooked miles Of low country
around"
Letter Tells OF Deeds
These paragraphs from letter writ
ten home by Captain Allen Fairfax
Montague, OF the Three Hundred and
Nineteenth field artillery, are a liv-
ing page from the history OF the
Eighty-second division which trained
at Camp Gordon. 1t shows that the
Eighty-second did the impossible;
that il swept the Huns from posi-
tions thought impregnable by vet
eran French troops; that these boys,
who were walking the streets OF At
lanta less than a year ago, did as
great fighting as any troops in Eu-
rope.
The Eighty-second was Differed
largely by Georgia men, all of whom
are well known in Atlanta, and in
cluded in its ranks thousands or
troops from Georgia and other south
ern states. Because of this fact and
because Of its training at Camp Cor
don, the Eighty-second division IS
peculiarly near and dear to Atlanta
Captain Montague, who is twenty
nine years old, is the son OF Mr.. and
Mrs. F. +. Montague, whose home is
at the Georgian Terrace. Mr.. Mon
tague is one of the officials of the
Southern Ball Telephone company,
and Captain Montague was himself
connected with the telephone compa-
NY before he entered the first OFF,
GERS training camp. After being
commissioned he was assigned to the
artillery brigade at Camp Gordon.
Before entering business, Captain
Montague was a student at Georgia
Tech, and in the field of athletics
became known as one of the best
baseball catchers Tech has ever had.
Mr.. and Mrs. Montague have two
other sons in France-Lieutenant
Edgar 3. Montague with the Three
Hundred and Twenty-hrst artillery,
Eighty-second division, and Lieuten-
ant John Tyler Montague, who is
with the TWenty-sixth division.
But the unfortunate part" con-
tJnue5 Captain Montague, sis that
after the me work OF the line officers
and men, the Eighty-second was re-
leved and lost its general, General
Durham, by transfer, at the time
when &c had Just about finished
Fritz. The new gsaeral-General
Duncan-naturaIly couldn't under
stand Just what those boys had done
and the relieving division-the
E5ghtieth-virginia boys, by the
way-had merely to march their
heads of to keep MP with the retreat
ing Boche. So, the Eighty-second
probably will never get full credit
Tor its work"