Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1918-01-10
DETAILS GIVEN
OF HAYS DEATH
How Savagery of Huns Composed
Death of Carroll County Brave
nnv

D6aUn Oh CarfOll county brave
Boy
The last issue of the Saturday Ev-
ening Post contains the first definite
story of the battle in which Merle
Hay, the Carroll county boy, was
killed. The article is by George Pat
tulo, a newspaper correspondent, who
has been on the front occupied by
the Americans since they have been
in France. 1t tells details which
have not been given before and ex-
act locations of the troops at the time
of battle are given. The following
particulars are taken from the re-
ferred to article:
1.-The Americans were given over
portion of the line on the French
front and, when the raid occurred
in which Enright. Hay and Gresham
lost their lives, the Americans were
holding the front only for the pur
pose of training. The sector was
under the control of the French ar
my and nothing had been done to
give the American army men the
command of the line.
That part of the American line
where the American troops first saw
/ battle was near the south end of the
| French front and was in a part Of
France where little fighting has been
done for two years. The trenches
had fallen into decay and the sector
had been among the quietest Of the
whole front. If the reader will take
down the map of France and look
for the town of Artois, between YER
dun and the Swiss border, he will
observe about where the Americans
were killed. 1t is generally known
now that our troops are operating
on the southern part of the French
front and will eventually take over
the battle lines in Alsace and Lor-
raine, south of Verdun.
1t is told that the battalion of
which Hay was member went to
the trenches in the Artois salient
about nine-thirty on the night of No
vember second. They took their
posts and little happened until two
fifty in the morning. At that time
number of German batteries open
ed up on the line held by our boys.
A little later on the Germans began
bombardment with the heavy guns
and had soon segregated the trench
in which Hay and his companions
were stationed, from the rest of the
battalion. sHay's platoon was COM
pletely cut off from advance or re-
treat and the boys had to stay and
wait for the German raiding party.
At that time the French batteries
were backing up the Americans and
the lieutenant in charge of Hays
platoon frantically signalled for a
counter fire from the French artilley
but no fire was forthcoming. This
fact is the most unfortunate feature
of the episode, for had the French
gunners opened uf as they should
have done the German raid of No
vember third would never have TAX
en- place. The Frenchmen, it is thot,
disregarded the order for artillery
fire because they thought the Ger
mans were making a spasmodic bonn
bardment, and were not preparing
for a raid.
At three-fifteen on that morning
the German troops attacked, cut their
way through the barb wire entangle-
ments and started for the Americans.
The raiding party of the Germans
was made up of 210 men and was un-
der the command of a. second lieu
tenant. The party raided the Amer
lean trench, and in less time than it
takes to tell it, had completed their
work and started for their own lines.
The details of the raid itself will
never be known accurately, but when
the raid was over Private Hay was
found lying dead in the trench and
shot. Private Enright was discov-
cred by his companions on the top
of the parapet, with his throat cut
/ from ear to ear. Nearby, at the door
of the dugout. the soldiers found
Private Gresham dead from a gun
shot wound. 1t is related that Gresh-
am was the sentry at the front of
the door and when ne saw two forms
approaching in the dark he called
and told them not to shoot as he was
an American. He thought that the
men were Americans but instead they
were Germans and replied to him in
perfect English that Americans were
what they were looking for, and shot
| him dead.
The raid took not more than five
minutes and during that time three
| <hLCI WcIc hlllCu, lOuI
ed and twelve taken prisoners. The
Americans found one dead German
in the trench the next morning, the
rest of the German dead being car
ried away in the retreat of the raid
ers.
That the German soldiers are sup
piled with knives for murder Is
shown by the fact that they killed
Enright by cutting his throat from
ear to ear. Canadian soldiers have
often told how Germans were armed
with knives in their boots and when
holding up their hands to surrender
would pull the knife and treacherous-
ly slash their captor. This resulted
in the Canadian resolve to take very
few prisoners. Enright was butch
cred like an animal and it Is said that
every man in the Sixteenth regiment
of which he was q member has vowed
to fight to the last drop and take
few prisoners, dispatching most Of
them.
The story SHOWS that Merle Hay,
the Carroll county boy, whose name
is familiar to every household in
America. died fighting and justly de-
serves everlasting glory for his sac
rificaD