Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-08-09
D'Artagnan Had
Nothing on Bogus
French War Hero

Correspondent Associated Pressl
Paris, July 15.-The heroic exploits
and hair breath escapes OF d Artagnan
as narrated by Dumas in The Three
Musketeers' fade into comparative 1n-
significance when compared with, the
achievements of Rene Bertrand as told
by himself. Minus an arm and a leg,
with nine medals glittering on his
breast, and asserting that his body
bore more than thirty bullet and bay
onet wounds, Private Rene Bertrand
of the French colonial infantry" posed
In Paris as the greatest hero Of the
war.
Now he has been arrested as per
haps. one of the wars greatest fakirs
and the police authorities declare that
he lost his leg and arm il ra,.wa.
accident and that five imprisonements
instead of Ave citations compose, his
record. 1t was the publication of Be-
rand's photograph in French newspa-
per that led to his undoing. Y
Meantime, while revelinS in the
fruits of his own romance, Bertrand en-
ioyed the confidence Of army officers
and the credit of the leading Paris
safes, One famous~and fealess aviator
made Private" Bertrand his godson and
adopted him for the balance of, the
war. 80
The medals he wore incln I'D .he
cross Of the region OF honor. the mill :
tary medal. the var cross with seven
palms and FIVE stars, the British mill
tary cross the Belgian war cross, the
colonial medal. medal of Morocco and
the medal for saving life. ant the med
al for wounds. In addition he wore tho
"fouragere" of the legion o. honor.
Where he got them has not been
disclosed but to account fer them Be-
trand constructed a story OF wonderful
incidents. According to this tale he
won the military medal by SAYING tho
lives of two officers and was himself
wounded in the thigh wheE surrounded
by natives while fighting with the
French territorial forces, in Moroc, U,
In 1913
Then according to his owr story. Be-
trand won the war cross in a patrol
exploit in the present war, when. after
his companions were killed he captured
Ia whole German cooking outfit. at
Laon, having killed most Of the cooks.
Next, fighting with the British .nn the
Somme. he won the military cross by
capturing twelve Germans single hand
(sed. Meantime he had been captured
FIVE times by the Germans but always
managed to escape.
In the next chapter of his biography
Bertrand appears in the fight around
Monastir on the Macedonian front
where he simultaneously operated four
machine guns and wrecked such an
awful havoc with the enemy that their
attack was beaten off. At the battle
of Nonasir he essayed to rescue an Of
ficer who lay wounded in mo mans
land" and was himself wounded in the
abdomen. Despite his pain he dragged
the officer back to safety and went
out again to rescue wounded nurse.
In the last trip his arm was shattered
by bullet and later was amputated.
Next we find Bertrand passenger on
board a ship bound for France. The
torpedo which hit the vessel shattered
one of Betrand's legs. Calmly amputa-
ting it with his knife Berand bound up
the stump dragged himself to the rail,
threw himself overheard. paused long
enought to rescue the captain and
swan to piece Of drift wood where
he lived for three days and three nights
before being rescued by Spanish
vessel For this Bertrand said he re-
ceived the medal of the legion of honor.
Numerous stars and leaves of palms
that Bertrand wore upon his war cross
had been acquired, according to his tale
by twelve distinct acts of hero:sm
which worthy of the coveted cross but
the details of these incidents have not
yet been given to the public.