The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1918-11-08
pnrIs.-"wiIl The Irish fight? ~

ParlS,-'Wlll tne lrlSl ngnl!
The same old answer may be made,
They will. 1t can be made on the rec
Ords Of two famous lrlsh-Americnn
regiments in France. II is n record
that makes men of Irish blood hold
their heads high. II IL n record that
bctters the brightest page Of Ameri'
cas most gkorious military annals.
These two regiments Gone used Ia
he the old Ninth Massachusetts and
the other the Flgnting SlXty-nlnth o.
New York; were In every bad scral
the American army has been in. The
tales of their prOwess are just now
nltcring back 10 Paris. They mas be
told because the censor at hen1quar'
ters has now ruled that regiments may
hc named for their part in such fight
Ing as preceded that -" the River
NeSlc.
The Ninth and the 'SiNty-ninth wcrr
In almost all of IT.. The story does not
come from official reports. II comes
from the lips of two men, one n doc
tor I'm the Ninth and the other chap
lain in the Sixty-nInth, who saw what
they relate. These two have Secr
many soldiers die. They know what
bravery and courage ana cheerfulneSS
are.
Lieut.. Simon Kcllrhcr Of the Ninth
was in Paris the other day. He tells
the story Of his boys. And most of
the time ne Is either laughing, or tears
involuntarily creep out the corners ~
his eyes and drop unashamed down
his Drowned cheeks.
Lieutenant Kellehcr's stories show
that the Irish boys of his regiment
the boys of Boston, South Boston. RoN-
bury. Cambridge and CharleSt0Wn.
fought with the cool courage that held
the fire on Bunker Hill until those
Americans of an earlier day saw the
whites Of their eyes" They show thar
these bOys-Hnd most Of them WGr"
mere bOys--died face to the front. =
grim smile on their lips. fighting. doing
their soldiers duty Ia the last breath
uf ebb.ng life. Each heartbeat of the
nll-too-few left thrObbed but To one
purpOSe-tO fight. No man of the
Ninth died, says Lieutenant Kellehcr.
without taking toll and more of en-.
amy lives with him.
One for Each Shot.
Just Low the names of these heroes
may not he mentioned But Kelly
md BurEe and Shea" are there, all ~
Them and many more. Lieutenant
KcllehG: says nothing Of his own gal
antry. But his stories show that h",
900 served. He was not called on for
the supreme sacrifice. Rut he offered
his life n thousand times on first aid
lresSing expeditions to the farthes.
outposts and beyond.
I'D been told there was a wounded
man in an advanced traverse h"
says. Il crawled slowly up to get him.
| heard his labored breathing in the
lulls OF the guntire. And then | round
ed the corner Of the trench. There
ne sat, propped against the wall. His
breath came in tearing gasps and with
each one the blood guShed from his
chest; for he had been shot through
The lungs. He was boy I had
'.nOwn all my life.
They got you bad, Pack, / Saia.
rs ] tried to help him.
"'They sure did, Sine he replied.
But loOka there
81 followed the wave Of the empty
pistol he still held in his hand, and
there stretched across the opposite
parapet were six dead Germans. one
f0r every shot in his gun. They had
got him only when the gun had emp
tied. l stopped the bleeding as best
! could and we got him back 70 an
ambulance. But he died four hours
later. l guess his life was well paid
for.
1T was this same sharp raid of the
Germans that produced one of the
coolest bits of desperate courage
ever saw. One Of our boys had been
captured by three Germans and he
was being led off as they retreated,
one on either side of him and one