Evening star., 1918-06-30
AMERICAN DARING
UNDER GERMANF|RE
Canvas Strip of 600 Cart
ridges and PIucky Michigan
Boy Hold Huns Back.
OTHER DEEDS OF HEROIsM
BY JUNIUs b. WOOD.
Cablegram to The Sunday Star an
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918

By JUNIUS b. WOOD.
Cablesram to The Sunday Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY
ON THE FRENCH FRONT. June 81
Private Frank Lahaye of Ludington,
Mich, with two men from an auto
matte rife team. advanced in the
underbrush ahead of their company. on
the day when the Americans halted
the Germans west of Chateau Thierry.
They met a team from another COM
pany which had reached bridge be-
tween Torcy and Bussiaries, which
was swept by the fire of the German
machine guns. TIE other crew was
killed and Lahaye's trio started back.
"A bullet struck the clip of cartridges
around Lahaye's waist. setting FIRE to
the powder and burning his cdsshns.
He saved his life because he NIP
pened to be rewinding his puttee,
which had become unwrapped. His
companions disappeared and he was
startled at seeing in a ditch of a road
side a few feet distant German
4 waist deep in water training ma
chine gun in the direction of the
Americans The gunner was not ex-
pecting anybody to approach from
the direction of his own lines. and
. was shot by Lahaye, who turned the
gun in the direction of the bridge.
A canvas strip of 600 cartridges
served to held the Germans. Through
the day he hid in the woods and on
the night of the second day he found
his own lines and shouted until the
E-ing stopped, when he crawled in.
Wounded Himself, Carries Injured.
This was one of the many days and
nights of fighting which stopped the
German advance. Private Ralph Ian"
caster of Council Bluffs. and a grad.
uate of the Chapultepec National Mill
tary College of Mexico, after being
wounded himself carried wounded
sergeant to the rear dressing station.
He returned to his position in the
line under fire and though wounded a
second time brought in another
wounded comrade. Gunnery Sergt.
Charles ]. Smith of Covington, Ky.
and Corp Percival Eckland of Rock
Island. members of a party of half a
dozen who had advanced beyond their
objective. retired into a wood, collected
and bandaged seven wounded men in
a sheltered corner and started crawl
ing back across Il bullet-swept field.
They remembered the wounded, re-
turned and brought in the helpless
members of the party later in the day.
The censor does not permit me to give
the names of the wounded.
Private John kuroski of Milwau-
kee. Wis. company cook. had no
business at the front. but he took a
rife and accompanied the advance on
Hill 142. His companions were killed
or wounded while trying to take a
machine gun. but Kurosk. after he had
shot two of the crew and an officer,
compelled the other two to surrender
and to carry the gun into our lines.
Corp. Prentice S. Geer of the Uni
versity of Minnesota, living at 933
Paramount avenue. st. Paul. was in
a group which was under fire of
machine gun hidden in the center of
a wheat field. Geer jumped to the
front, led a charge. bayoneted the
crew and silenced the gun. Sergt.
Charles Hoffman of New York city led
a party which was enfiladed by two
enemy machine guns. He quietly or
ganized his men under fire. advanced
alone ten yards ahead of the others
against the grenades and bullets and
captured the guns.
Captured Fourteen Prisoners and
Private Dewey s. Shepherd of
t tdhhiii ~ -, WI INdfly cdptuItu
, fourteen prisoners and guns in a clus-
ter of poplars beyong the objective.
1t was necessary to get support to
! bring back the prisoners and Shep-
; herd volunteered to take the message
to Capt. George w. Hamilton of
1t was necessary to cross two open
fields swept by enemy machine guns
Hamilton saw Shepherd coming and
advancing to the edge of the woods
sage back" was Shepherds only COM
ment after he had run the gantlet of
! death.
Sergts J. p Kelly of Sc Vanderbilt
I avenue, Brooklyn. and Matthew
=, Kocak with fifteen men volunteered
swept by shrapnel in front and ma
chine guns on the flank. to get rein
forcements and carry ammunition to
the company. Wriggling forward like
snakes with their stomachs never
more than an inch from the ground
4 they accomplished their mission with
out the loss of single man.
Seret Louis Cukela OF 10 Sd street
Minneapolis. Mimi. once in the Aus
trian army and later an officer in the
Serbian army, who wears war cross
from Verdun. was reconnoitering a
French had advanced when he dis
covered a German machine gun. He
fulfilled his mission to the French,
returned. reported and, taking volun-
tee-s, captured gun and four men
and turned the gun on the Germans
who were making a counter attack
Sergt. Edward Bantman of Wichita
Kan. when the barra9e incapacitated
the comma nding officer, assumed com
mand of the platoon, reorganized II
and held the position.
Cleans Up Huns With Grenade.
L. KnobIaw of Meadville, Pa. wher
II was impossible to advance in face
of the fire from machine gun
rrawled alone around the position
and silenced the gun. Private Charles
J. Lloyd of Newark, n. j.. formerly OF
the British army, when volunteers
were called for to do advanced scout.
ing 100 yards ahead of the skirmish
line toward a machine gun 900 yards
away across an open field. was the
first to. answer. He crawled forward
and stopped the gun. His rife being
injured. he cleaned up the crew with
one Of their own potato masher'
grenades.
Lieut.. Luther r. Long of Evanston
Ill. was daily under fire making
sketches OF the terrain. enabling a
visual wire liason to mtaintair
through all the phases Of the battle
Second Lieut.. William Radcliffe OF
Chicago went forward. perfected the
system of battalions at the front and
supplied food and ammunition at al
times