The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-05-02
BAYONETS THREE HUNS, BRAINS
FOURTH, SAVES DAY FOR BRITISH
Bob Hanna OF Vancouver Wins Victoria Cross for Bravery
Acton-0ne of the Most Thrilling Narratives of the War;
if Not of All Time-Bows Up Hun Machine GUN
and Fights Single Handed in Trench

No 1881 c. S. NJ Robert Hanna
Canadian infantry. For conspicuous
bravery In attack when his company mel
with most severe enemy resistance ant
all the company officers became casual
ties. A strong point, heavily protected by
wire and held by machine gum had beaten
off three assaults of the company, with
| heavy casualties. This warrant officer
under heavy machine gun and rifle fire
coolly collected a party of men, and, lead
| ing them against the strong point, rushed
| through the wire and personally bayo-
netted three of the enemy and Drained
the fourth, capturing the position and 81
| lencing the machine gun.
This most courageous action displayed
| courage and personal bravery of the high
| est order at this most critical moment OF
the attack. was responsible for the cap
| ture of a most important point, and but
| for his daring action and determined
handling of a desperate situation the at
tack would not have succeeded. c. g..
| MS outstanding galantry, personal cour-
age and determined leading of his COM
pany is deserving of the highest possible
reward-From the British Official Ca
xette.
Fought Huns Single Handed.
And so Sergeant Major (Now Lieu
tenant Dob Hanna, of Vancouver,
B. c. received the Victory cross. The
reprint from the Official Gazette reads
almost like q hundred other thumb.
nail sketches of the bravery of the
boys in the trenches, but the last few
lines give it more or less distinction.
To Hanna 1t merely was days work.
To the men of the twenty-ninth Van
co1lver battalion the Victory cross,
which is securely pinned to Hanna's
waistcoat, is emblematic of one of the
thrilling personal narratives Of the en-
tire war, If not, in fact, of all time.
Stories of gallantry and self-sacrIfice
will be told while the world endures
but it will remain for new race to
roll up a single record to overshadow
that of Hanna, who dropped in a
trench all alone and single handed
fought the cream of the Prussian
guards-the men who never were de-
feated till then and who went down
one after another before this medium
sized young lumberman from the for
ests of British Columbia. One moment
Hanna's life wasn't worth penny. A
few minutes later he had saved a bat
TALON. and little while later he was
transformed on the field from SER
geant major to a lieutenant.
The government has had Hanna sit
for his portrait for the National Gal
lery.
over the Top Twenty-Five Times
1t all happened at the battle of Vimy |
Ridge This particular incident took |
place at Hill 70. Hanna had Leen in |
many of the worst battles Of the war. :
Before the valiant Canadians settled
down to their part of this slaughter Of
Vimy Ridge Hanna had been cover the
top" twenty-five times; had been at
grips with the Germans on numberless
occasions, and, although stumbling
amid death and bursting shells for
days at time, had escaped injury.
vimy was a bloody spot. The Cana
Somme, Ypres, Lens and Passchen-
1aele. Near Hill 70 was stub Of a
rench which the Canadians had come
o realize was the worst spot they had
o face. 1t was only link and hardly
.ould be seen, but it was known to
re a nasty point, and the twenty-ninth
was told to take it. For two
ours, waiting for dawn, the battalion
rawled out on it's belly in No Mans
and, waiting to rush over sand sur
rise the Huns, whose trench was 500
ards away. Unknown to the Cana
ians the Huns were crawling out from
heir dugout to initiate the same move
lent against the Canadians. At the !
anne moment two barrages started {
ne from the Germans and one from
lie Canadians guns. The two lines Of I
men arose and plunged
ward each other. The bayonet clash
as brief. The ground quickly was
rewn with dead and the Germans Il
acked up to the stub OF trench |
hich was, to the soldiers, like the
'ot of an aching tooth. Wire en- II
nglements stayed the pursuit of the II
anadians, who, however, hewed their 4
ay through. i
He Blows Up Machine Gun. II
Six hundred and fifty men went ii
yer the top" with Hanna. Perhaps II
,o-thirds of this number went on to- II
ard the trench, but this remnant was II
by a machine gun which II
e Huns had set up on the parapet II
lie crew Of this gun played 1t on the II
nadians like hose and all the Of II
ers were killed or injured. Hanna II
Igged on In the face Of the dreadful II
e. He had Mills bomb and this
hurled at the machine gun and Il
ashed 1t. killing or injuring the
n who were feeding in the bullets. =
It had done its deadly work. Hanna
s standing alone. All about him
re lying his comrades, either dead N
badly wounded. Part of the bat
ion had spread and, he assumed,
uld come around back of the trench
! enter 1t from the other end. He
nped into the trench and In sec stl
! saw row of stalwart Prussians ge
ming single file-this was neces- iol