The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-07-27
FLOWERS ON GRAVES
OF OUR MEN ABROAD
French Women Pay Loving Tributs
With Roses an Aged
Bishop Blessed.

With the American Army on the
Marine. July 26--One never gets
away from the war when one is in
France. With another New York
correspondent with whom l had spent
an exciting day at the front, during
which we had been close enough TO
several big exploding shells to wish
we had been further away. I was
walking on the outskirts of this his
toric little city after dinner. far
enough away from the front not to
hear the boom of cannon, and we
were watching the pretty little
French children playing all about.
For a. moment II was possible to for
get the wholesale carnage twenty
miles away. We were having hap
py time with the children, for since
they were told that the Americans
helped to keep the Hun back from
them they save most of their smiles
for the boys in brown.
We were talking to them when we
heard the measured march of SOL
diers. Up the road they came. some
several thousand of the newest class
of French soldiers. All in spick and
span uniforms unacquainted yet with
the mud and blood OF the front, all
marching straight. the skirts of their
overcoats pinned back in French reg
ulation style, came these fine looking
soldiers. They passed, singing and
testing. and in half an hour had gone
up the road.
We turned away from the main
highway on to a side road. and five
minutes later came to big iron gate
standing midway in high stone wall.
We would have passed on had we not
noticed three French women pass in
with baskets of enormous red roses,
the most beautiful roses / had ever
seen. / did not know then that they
were the choicest in the great gar
den of the cathedral, and that each
bore the blessing of the aged bishop.
In a French Cemetery.
The big iron gate was open ana
we went in. It was a cemetery. On
either side stretched long rows Of
tombstones. some massive and others
small in modesty, with here and
there the monument of some grand
family rearing its head in the field OF
memories. 1t seemed as If the ceme-
terry was full as are most OF the ceme-
teries in France these days.
We followed the roses down the big
graveIed path running through the
middle of the cemetery Here and
there we saw a child or a woman or
an aged hanback, of the line there
are only aged men left in Francois
they placed tokens of love on ths
tonbs of their departed. Then we
followed the roses. They went the
length of the carefully kept path for
a hundred yards and then coming out
of the shadow of the tree there
stretched before us new cemetery.
marking the graves. only above every
one the wooden cross of the soldiers
grave.
Rows and rows of wooden crosses
we saw as we followed the roses. We
looked at the crosses closely and saw
the names of Frenchmen young
Frenchmen they were-most of them
20 or 81 or % when they died, and
they had all died since the first Of
May--that was, since the hoche START
cd to drive his sword deeper into the
heart of France. Here on one cross
was nailed the picture of hand
some young aviator standing beside
his machine. Here a picture of .
young captain. The graves showed
all the care the tenderness of love
could hestow. At the end OF the last
row was a newly made grave of
lad who had died on June %. two
days before. and on the cross was .
little plate which said ITO the mem.
ory of my son who died in the face OF
the enemy for the defense OF France.
And beyond his grave stretched q
string of a hundred empty graves
which I knew would soon be hlled.
But the roses did not stop here. We
followed them and came to row of
graves where the crosses were Al
khaki-colored and the graves were all
new. Beneath those crosses were
American lads who had died this
month helping keep the Hun from
Paris. We looked on the crosses ana
there were the names that We had
heard so often-good american
names These boys had come from
all parts of America to France and
died for liberty.