The Washington times., 1918-11-15
ANKF[YERS HELD
OFF FOE HORDES


WITH THE AMERICAN ARMIES
IN FRANCE. Nov. 15.-There are nu-
merous tales Of Individual heroism
as the Yanks push on in their ''pesce
drive"
one OF the most spectacular was
furnished by Lieuts. L. o. Acorn
and w. Darwin. of Chicago, aviators,
vino on November engaged in the
stiffest lighting north of Beaumont.
German machine gunners forced the
tEo TO land close TO the enemy nests.
Instead OF surrendering, the Ameri-
cans used the guns on their planes to
hold of the boches until darkness
fell. Then they escaped and reached
the American lines.
An EnEIneerfnE Feat.
One OF the greatest feats of ensi-
neerinE work ever accomplished by
the American army was the bridging
of the MeUse in the region of Stensy.
where the Yankees were under ter
rife shell fire. In building the
pontoons they used boche boats and
material captured during the fighting
~ Chateau-Thierry. These had been
brought from Germany for the
kaiser's offensive in July. There was
more than enough material to cross
the Meuse. which was flooded to a
mile in width, thanks to the boches
ambitions last summer.
Hundreds of civilians, robbed by
the Germans. have been rescued by
Americans, as the latter have taken
village after village. The boches' last
occupation was always the requisi-
tioning of the remaining goods from
the impoverished natives. Yankee
trucks are bringing the -Eefugees back
out OF the range OF shell fire. Women
and children gratefully tell of how
the first wave of doUghboys shared
their food with them.
After a JerrfbIe bombardment I
heard voices speaking in a strange
language outside, said Nine. Marie
Fournier. OF La Melville.
II soon knew it was not the boches.
] had never" seen an American before,
but I knew II was The Americans
who had con1es The Germans said the
Americans were wild and barbarous.
We did not believe it.
Tanks shared Feed.
"when the first Americans opened
packages of cookies fhard tack) and
shared them with the children we
were very sad because we had moth
ing to give these kind soldiers-no
tea. no coffee, no wine"
Three, Yvonne. Louisette and Jean,
all under ten and dirty, climbed onto
a mptor truck, their hands crammed
with f0od the doughboys had given
them. Tvonne, who is under four,
said che had never seen her father,
~ho, is a sailor stationed at Mar
EeilIes. The Americans are sending
the family to him.
A pioneer unit rushed abead under
orders to conduct its own campaign
and choose its own front, but to es-
tsblish contact with the enemy
Three Salvation Army lasses-Mar-
fsret Sheldon. of Chicago, and Anna
Swenson, of st. Paul, and Louise
Young, OF Poughkeepsie-trying to
keep pace with the advance, reached
a battered town at o'clock in the
morning A tent already had been
erected by the supply train, and the
girls were ordered to pile into it and
get some sleep. Instead OF resting
they started to work. Before 9
o'clock they had made 1000 douhg-
nuts and were serving them with
chocolate TO a long line.
When boche shells whistled over
head the doughboys would duck into
nearby small holes. but the girls
rever moved. They made doughnotsl
all morning under a constant bonn
Dardment.
Nearby other Salvation Army wom-
en- we're acting as purses in first aid
hospitals.
The orgsnizatioH is planning to-
keep pace with the Yankees into Ger
many until the last man returns
home.