The sun., 1918-08-31
HEADoUARrERs 165TH INFANTRY,
Tn N,r.u I,ty 81 1919

HEADQUARTERS 165TH INFANTRY,
FRANCE, July 22. 1918.
DEAR A.: Not having heard from you
lately and knowing how regularly you
write, I am wondering IL by the for
tunes of war some of your letters were
lost
Great events, not only for the regi-
ment, but for all the allied forces, have
transpired since l last wrote you. You
have been reading in the papers of the
wonderful work of the Franco Ameri-
can forces and wondering, I suppose,
as to whether we were engaged.
Well, we were. We were moved from
our last sector and placed In a certain
part OF the line where the German
drive was expected. 1t duly materia-
lized, and another picture which shall
not readily forget transpired.
1t was about midnight. Away Off to
the left of our sector could be heard
the steady rumble Of the German bar
rage. To our front you could see the
flashes Of their guns as they started
hammering our positions and close at
hand was the deafening roar of our
artillery. Our division was attached to
certain famous French corps and our
orders were simple. Our job was not
to let the Boche through. The French,
through some wonderful work, secured
prisoners on the night Of the attack.
These prisoners informed us OF the ex-
act hour OF the attack, and we ascer-
| tained, also, the strength of the enemy
forces opposite. Ten divisions, two of
which were the best the Germans could
offer, were to attack our front Thanks
to the Information that we had secured,
our artillery was enabled to open up
on the Germans as they were massing
and must have inflicted frightful pun
ishment.
The infantry attack. though, duly
| materialized, and for about three days
our I'd Battalion was heavily engaged
II you should meet Mrs. Anderson
you can tell her her husband is COW
| cred with honors. as we'll as his bat
| talon. Major Anderson. commanding
| the I'd Battalion, has been awarded
| the medal of the Legion of Honor for
| the part he took in this action.l They
did not lose a foot Of the ground in
trusted to them.
The Germans attacked and attacked
| again with redoubled fury, but they
| could not pass. This battalion with
stood ten attacks in the course of a
few hours. Although enemy planes
above were machine cunning them.
the artillery pounding their positions
and the Germans using every device
from straight attack to subterfuge,
they could not get through. Acts of
the highest heroism were an every
minute occurrence and the regiment
has added fresh page of glory to its
history.
| Amidst it all Father Duffy visited
all. Notwithstanding the terrible fire
he coolly and collectedly encouraged
the men and evacuated the wounded.
| Once more he has endeared himself
| in the hearts of the men until now
I do not believe there is a more well
known or respected chaplain in the
Annex forces than Father Duffy. He
was recently appointed division chap
lain, but it would take more than
that to keep him from the regiment.
A Mr.. levitt, Y. NJ. c. A. man. also
did exceptionally good work. Too old
| to fight and a noncombatant, he. like
Father Duffy. busted himself in
| steadying the men and getting the
wounded to places where they would
| be taken care Of.
Well, the Boche got sick of it in
a few days and drew of, and so did
we to another sector, where things
are happening. During our journey
here the French civilians cheered and
| waved enthusiastically, and common
expressions were viva rAmerique'
and Bon comrade." We are most
popular. 1t is the first big thing that
| We have pulled off, and must have
been a sad awakening for the Boche.
They now know what to expect hu,
they will realize it more every day the
war grows older.
1t is believed that the participation
of our troops in what is being called
the worlds biggest battle" is being
kept from the German people as vel
as the number of troops that we have
long. and a recent suggestive news
item in one daily paper tells OF some
noted German demanding the truth
about what he termed The American
| Peril"
We hear news of how New York re.
ceived news OF the big victory. We
know that good old place went wild
and we would have liked nothing bet
ter than to have engaged in that enc
of the celebration.
| am enjoying the best of health.