New-York tribune., 1918-12-13
Fighting Men
OF East Side
Home i'm Glory
Continued from pnge 1

were gaining on the Germans, who were
retreating' but at the same time pound
ing away with machine guns" he said,
Suddenly | felt burning sensation in
my leg. looked down, and Just then I
was hit twice again. That's all I re-
membered until | woke I'm in tho bo.-
pital. I'll be darned glad to get nv
one foot on American ground again"
1T was not onlv the men from the
77th aboard the Mercy. There were
united States marines, who fought
through the hell of Belleau Wood. and
some of the men were members of one
contingent that went over the top nine
teen times.
The ship carried 396 wounded in all
and she docked many days overdue,
stopping at Bermuda because of the
hurricane encountered at sea.
of the Belleau Wood fight. He is viii
IAN Rhodes, of the 5th Marine Regi-
ment, who lives at % Washington Ave
neu, Hawthorne, N j.
we were IN there from June / to
the last day of tho month and it was
game of catch as catch-can. We had
10 keep our eyes open all around our
heads at once. 1t was the greatest
sport in the world; l. wouldn't have
missed 1T for anything. used to read
ABOUT men who liked biggame hunt
ing, but it mas nothing on hunting
German machine gun nests in Belleau
Wood" 'e""
VI the marines there were fourteen
stretcher cases and twenty walking
cases. Lieutenant Colonel John A.
hughes was among them He is a
regular army man of nineteen years
service and at present attached to the
Marine Corps. His left leg was shat
tered, and on his chest as he limped
off the boat we're observed the Croix
de Guerre and the Distinguished Ser
vice Cross. He previously had served
IN the Philippines, Hayti, Santo Do
mlngo and Mexico and was in manv
of the big battles in France.
1T was in the big push at St. Mihiel
that got bumped up" he said. owe
been in the army all my life and they
can't drive me out. I've been all over
the world, and when they patch up
my leg and my other injufies I'll be
PACK again. I've got nothing to kick
about The soldier knows his duty and
what to expect, and Pm just lucky
didn't get any mere than l did"
Another New York marine, severely
wounded, who lives at 21O West Eighty
fifth Street, told how his outfit went
over the top nineteen times
II was hit while my company was
capturing Mount Sec. We used to call
that the German Gibraltar. The French
had previously lost $4,000 men trying
TO take It,. 1t was the strongest part
of the whole German line in that
sector and was protected by about ten
lines of artillery and concrete pits.
"The American artillery concen-
ttrated its fire on it for twenty-four
hours and then we marines went over
and took it. 1t was the strongest part
OF the whole German line. We lost
200 men, and we learned the difference
between German artillery fire and
American artillery fire. The Germans
just shoot off their guns, while the
Americans always hit something vital.
In all, my gang went over Heinie's
heads nineteen times"
ne wouldn't say anything about his
personal injury. That would be blow
ing his own horn, he laughed.
IL hope you guys won't make hero
OF me-" were the words of Private Pete
Flanagan, of the "Old 69th." He suf-
fered bullet wounds in both lungs at
the battle of Champagne, where the
l66th saved the day on July 18, and
Just escaped pneumonia.
"lf you'll only cut me out Of what
ever your goin' to write, I'll tell you
about real hero" he suggested.
This fellows name is j. j. Collins,
an old 69th boy, whose father lives on
Street. When I got mine I fell, feel
ing dizzy, but not out, and the first
thing | knew Collins was bending over
me, and was asking me if l was in
bad. | tried to tell him l thought
was when he picked me up and Drawing
machine gunfre and high explosive
shells, started to carry me to the rear.
Two or three machine gtn bullets hit
him, because l heard him groan
little, but he stuck to me and carried
me to she'll hole. I saw him drop
and | became unconscious. I think he
died. | never could find out"
Private Arthur Block, of 842 Van
derbilt avenue, Brooklyn, marine,
said he was just beginning to enjoy
things in Belleau Wood when sniper
got him.
Lieutenant George H. Morgan, of 122
Sterling Place, Brooklyn, fought with
the 18th Infantry in the First Division,
and got compound fracture of the leg
at scissors. After reading in the
morning papers, which had been put
aboard the ship when she left Quaran-
tine, of the exploits of the men who
returned Wednesday on the Tenadores
and the Kroonland, he would only say
that he was one of thousands who
only did their duty.
Lieutenant Samuel Shannon, of "a
Thomas Street, Brooklyn, 127th In
fantry, 32d Division, was with the vic
torious Americans when Fismes fell.
Both Of his legs are out of commission
temporarily from machine gun bullets.
II think that history will show that
the fighting around Fismes was the
wickedess of the war;" he said. at
wasn't fortified town, but they had
hundreds and hundreds of machine
guns which were more deadly than the
batteries of hundred forts. The ap-
proach was through narrow lanes on
the opposite side of the river.
Eventually we took the town they
had boasted was impregnable, but we
suffered terrible loss The Germans
make the lower part of the body their
targets, reaching all the time for the
abdomen. They had mania for tear
ing the insides out, it seemed. Nearly
all our boys were hit in the legs"
"The grandfather of the 59th" was
an interesting passenger on the hos
pital ship. He is Lieutenant A. P.
Conover, of Company l., 59th Regi-
ment and he is ffty-nine years old. |
He came back with his left arm gone,
his right leg paralyzed and his left
leg broken. He got his wounds from