The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-09-18
YANK FIGHTERS
DETERMINED TO
RID The WORLD
OF HUN BRUTES
That Is the Impression of
Corporal Keegan, Re-
turned Soldier
AMERICANS ARE |
HARD FIGHTERS
Win Praise of French and
IS Respect of Germans for
Their Daring
AMERICANS ARE
HARD FIGHTERS

81 '' -
France, war weary and almost
ready to give up the fighting, was
the France in which Corporal Henry
t.. Keegan, Of the American engt-
neers, landed in France last Decem-
Der.
Five weeks ago WHEN he quit
French soil, sent home because of
wounds that Incapacitate him for
further service, the spirit of France
could not be bettered. Her people
are confident today in the outcome
of the war: the old war WEAKNESS
of the time before America became a.
factor in the fight Is gone, and they
talk today only Of the victory they
use DUST q short distance ahead.
Corporal Keegan arrived in Far
go today to speak in North Dakota
IN the Fourth Liberty Loan, and
he opens his speaking campaign in
New Rockford on Thursday.
Arriving In France in December,
Corporal Keegan, a native |irginian,
went into the front line with an en-
gineers' regiment in February, when
the Americans took over the Toul
sector, and he was wounded in June.
Subsequent to that date he has been
in ten hospitals and still is in the
Service. He carries his left arm in
q sling, the results Of injuries re-
ceived when the ammunition train
he was driving on narrow gauge
track from the supply base to the
artillery was wrecked in hole
created by German shells.
III was wonderful, the reception
the French accorded us. II never
forget it," said Corporal Keegan to
The Forum today.
In an engineers regiment with the
2Bth division, Corporal heegan's
work kept him in the area between
the ammunition supply bases and
( the artillery, a region almost con-
tinuousIy under fire Of German
artillery because Of the importance
of keeping supplies from The oppos-
ing artillery.
"The Americans work in this dis
trict almost without regard for the
German Shells" said Corporal Keeg-
an this morning. Their behavior
under fire is remarkable, and has
excited the admiration Of the French
and Germans alike. The Germans,
according to their prisoners, of
whom I have seen many, though
they would go through the American
line almost without effort, but they
found differently when they went up
against our boys, particularly at
Chateau Thierry.
"The Americans. while they lost
heavily at Chateau Thierry, stood
through ground against dense waves
of German soldiers, when they NOV
ed down like wheat before binder
That is the story as the American
soldiers told 1t in the hospitals
where was a patient when they
came in.
1.-THE spirit in the hospitals is re-
narlzable. I have seen lines of SOL
dtsrs, waiting for operations, joking
with each other I'm better off than
you are, I've only lost an army one
soldier will say to another, with the
very likely comeback from ;he other
that 1--WE got far the best of the
argument: I have lost only leg
It's the spirit that can't be beat.
When one goes into the front
trenches for the first time, 1t is only
natural that a feeling of nervousness
is experienced. After a week or two,
however that wears off, and one is
ready for whatever may come.
German Outraaes.
81 went to France only partially
convinced that stories of Hun bru-
tality are true. have seen enough,
however. to convince me that the
worst things said OF the Germans
are mild in connection with some
of the things they have actually
done. Belgian and French refugees
from the conquered districts tell
Kruesome stories of German horrors,
OF little babies snatched from the
arms of their mothers, and dash
J cd to the stone pavements and kill
ed, of little children mutilated by the
German sword, of crimes against
women that are unspeakable.
Z The American soldier knows
these things are true. He Is possessed
Of but one idea-that Of going
Straight through to Berlin. The
American soldier fights when he is
gnad-and the American soldier in
France today hates the Hun; hates
the Hun so thoroughly that any
peace without absolute surrender
won't set well with him.
THE boys are there to do q GER
tain thing; they are determined to
see it through. Under fire, they are
calm; in the face of danger, they
are spirited and brave soldiers. The
American soldier as a fighter has
bested the best the Hun has, and
lie has done it so effectively that
Germans can no longer discount the
Yankee as a factor in this war.
II have seen hospitals in which
German shells have killed doctors
and nurses while they were operat-
ing on wounded men; / have seen
schools in which little children were
killed as they studied. and have
seen churches In which praying
women and children were shelled to
death. l have seen 500 French ref
lfgee women and children, babies for
whom mothers had no food, cared
for by the Red Cross. 1t is the same
thing that other American soldiers
have seen, and 1t has left with them
init one idea, to beat TO earth the
brlItes that have brought such woe
and misery into the world.
An American Air Victory.
ssIn the section where we were sta
toned, we had an opportunity OF see
ing an American airman conquer and
Kill a German aviator and his COM
panion in a hot fight directly over
head One of three German machines
searching for our base of supplies
passed through the barrage fire and
cot well behind our lines. Then came
an American airman ON the scene,
riding considerably below the German
laThe German opened fire, the
American doing q loop into a dense
cloud that obscured him from the
vieW Of the German airman. The
German Ciiyed to follow the American,
who in the meantime quickly went
up, with the result that the American
was soon above the German. He open
I'D ere, and shortly afterwards there
was an explosion on the German plane
arid it fell to earth.
We examined the two men, one a
German lieutenant, the other a c0rS
porai The lieutenant was shot