Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-10-13
WHITTlEsY'S BATTALION
MADE UP OF NEW WORKERS
Sonscriptcd Men Held Positions In
Ar2onne Forest for -Four
Days aud Nights.
WE'RE ENTIRELY CUT OEF
Commanded by Lawyer, Who Refused
to Surrender When Germans
Made Observation-Disclosures Famishcd
When Rescued.
WE'RE ENTIRELY CUT OFF
BY DAMON RuNYoN.


OF ArSonne came limpinS to-day Whit
.iesy battered battalion. which made
You'd e''ues oc-
they are men Of New York's own
SSeventy- seventh Division. most OF them
| from the big town itself.
~ little over ii year ago the writer
rcpoT'eu Inc parade OF these same men
when they marched in struggling col
o. cheering persons Nearly ali Of
mem wore straw hats that day. Some
Of Them were in crusnpied Palm Beach
hanins come direct from their jobs to
n mnm ~ y, The first parade Of drafted
| late OF the Hudson busters. Some Of
them once trained with the Goppers.
in Pa ok ' sSn Wese from ornate houses
Eighties. e"'''S ana
- More we're from the lower East Side
E sroad and d. Harlem. Broadway and tile
nronN Shuhicd down the aTcnue in that
s.range pr1csssion that day. while the
bands baw'ed over There"
I Later the writer saw them tumble
OF the trains at Yaphank. carrying
ssM ,he suit ,os cases and big bundles
and march TO their new barracks. ""es
Many Of them had been celebrating
fore a and for camp the night b.
auarreled with Greenwich Villa geM erset
the greenwich village of long haired
| region around the docks
a couple Of fist fights occurred at
p "f rom Plsc vieln 81
Brooklyn. Nervous young of Sas.r.
fresh from rlattsburEh nuttered about
Their comm ms T broEht OF orders
renlies from the new recruits.
thee ao'e sesme enough ,San military material
the same faces / saw ~" at s Yanhan OF
that. day were under biscuit -shapeei
steel ,se helmets in the muddy columns s
e enat ,rSmped out of the Argonne for
The bog towns polyElot. population
s sr,,, heroes ,s for one OF the homerlc
For four days and four nights the
ohTe-t,me counter runners. brokers.
drivers. .collesians. peddiers and wha.l
not held the position which thew ha n
e necn 1rdH cred, to take and hold while
mans were husiiy cnra-ed shovelinr a
! variety oc hell upon them.
HAD NO FOOD and
ALMOST NO WATER
me the, whole l advance. Totally cut OF
srd with very little water VA the the boys boys
from the big town hung on.
S yer Charles whiltlosby is tall lean
He has funny little smile
nc smiled this funny little smile
Wnch one or his men who had been
,aken prisoner was gent back to him
by the Germans with a neatly tyne
Wrltten note. requesting his surrender
would make this story more drama tic
V that Whi't!esy sent back some stirring
I phras" in answer TO the Germans. nut
+, as matter of fact. he merely smiled
t ms futny littls smile after reading the
pocket.
! The Germans got their real reply the
I next time a bochc pokcd his head up.
I They are telling in some quarters
that ), Whit,lesy's reply 70 the demand
Whittlcsy says he did not say it. but
that II covered his thoughts at the
time anyway.
Not all the men in his command are
New Workers. Some time ago the Sew
enty- seventh Division had 10 take on
rerlacemcnts. Many new recruits came
Northwest. One in the first bunch out
OF the forest. however. was a little chap
Who used To sell newspapers around
were heavy with battle sleep. but he
was grinning broadly.
| The commander of the bcIeaEuere ed
, force was captain when he led his
men into battle. He has since been
recommcnded for lieutenant-eolonel;H He
from the First and three from the Sec
"nd Battalions OF his regiment One
was fo by GapNta eM
! York broker. AS hour after hour and
: day by day. went by there was no sign
command commenced to believe their
case was hopeless. On the fourth day
soldier told NcMurtry that Captain
WhittieSy was talking 70 some officers
of another regiment OF the division over
In the woods.
M'slURTRf FINDS WIIITTLESY
EATING SANDWICH
McMurtry doubted the story. but in
I = ~ or
versinS with officers of relieving
force which had just BOT UP. Whit
ticsy was eating sandwich as he
McMurtry walked over to him. His
first and only words were:
For Gods sake give me a bite of
mat. the men greeted the MEM
bers OF the relieving column with re-
quests for food and water. They had
aHs raon ns Fn n W 1 db the usual Ssl
had absolutely no food. There was
a little spring near where they took
up tn their position: but the Germans
so for water: First they went only at
night. Finally they got so desperate
Gt The o aHs pos,sa In
guard near the spring TO keep the men
from exposing themselves.
Mn'teesy s naa been nos Grds,ed to I'D
vanced there. The Germans slipped in
behind him through an. old trench.
| Presently w nltllcSy TeaIlZeQ lie was
cut off and surrounded. a torrent of
shell and machinery fire and gre
nades came over.
The Americans were on sloping
ground. Whittlesy ordered his men
TO dig in They quickly burrowed into
tho ground like moles. They had ma
chine guns and returned the German
fire with these and with their rifles.
Fortunately. they had plenty OF am
munition. They could constantly hear
the Germans in the woods The Ger.
mans were talking and shouting to
each other as they tried to advance on
the devoted little band Sometimes
| they got as near as thirty yards. The
Americans let them come on as far as
they would. then opened fire on them.
Just as soon as they were certain they
were completely cut OF tho officers
made II plain to all the men that they
were expected to hold the position at
all haZard2.
me encouragement was received with
grim mods Time and again the best
mon in the command wcro picked and