The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-02-03
The Real Hero Over There" Is the One
Who Radiates Cheerfulness Regardless of
Unpleasant Conditions in Army Life
u Hy III. w. ROSS.
"a Californian with the American
Forces In France.)

Forces In France.)
My Dear ----:
have been hanging around the
stove until 1 have axsimilated enough
i heat TO retreat to my bunk for awhile.
by which you will surmise that il
Isn't s~ warm as 1t might be- Which
reminds me-
An English artilleryman was dis
coursing on war to a group of Amer
lean soldiers (of which / was one)
the other day. He spoke with the
weight of one who has seen three
years OF IL.
"Heroesi" said he. 'heroes7" was
Fascinated by the way he rolled the
words There amt any. Lea6twise
your hero isn't the Brighter who rolls
: out over the top with a bloomtn'
bayonet and yell and goes after
Fritz.
well, maybe they are heroes. But
they aren't heroes any more than the
fellow who Just simply goes to war
and sticks through IL year in and year
out and smiles and is always ready
for more. II isn't the hloomin' gettin'
killed that in 20 bad. You never
bear anybody grousing about that.
But It's the way we have to live, the
come here, go there orders and
the grub and the whole bioomin' life.
That is what you hear the kickin q
about. But every once In awhile
you'll And a fellow that fs smiling
all the time except when he laughs.
He 10 the real hero of this war. One
Of his kind win keep whole battery
ia good spirits and do more to win
che war than a shipioad OF axnmuni-
aion.
Coin over the top isn't all there
ia to this hero business. II lis q
blamed small part OF It. II only takes
an hour or two and a Brighter only
does Il once in awhile, But you've
got 10 live and bear the rest OF II
xwenty-four hours a day"
Thia opinion from such an authorf~
tatfve sourcei crystalliZed the nebuiae
Of theory / had formed: Going
over the top isn't an bad as getting
TO the top. Also 1t reminded me OF
Roscoe Alva Wilson He IS the great
eat hero / know.
4 Wilson Is a big. rsd-headed buck
private and proud of IT, he mas
Reservoir of intrinsic wit. phiiose-
phy OF tataiisnl. and an education and
vocabulary gained from his vacations
which have been, successfully, DOCK
agent, bartender. waiter Tin take
1t or leave It all night chop house
where the humiliation OF tip is IN
: known and a property man IN the
4 movie works at Universal City, Cali
gornin He admits that his face ard
figure would not stand a close up,
and knows that he Will never make q
model soldier from the West Point
viewpoint. From a reform standpoint
ne has few virtues. He smokes
chews. shoots craps and swears lie
believes that the way 70 get along
with the world is to kid IL,
Wilson was my squad mate over
six months and six thousand miles.
we slept together in a Pullman lower
across the United States. pitched dog
tents in "A thunderstorm and turned
into damp he'd for the night "sorne-
y where In ths United States, hus-
banded the r1a klns across the Al
lantic. and ran out simultaneously
slept on board feors. IN leaky tents,
on the naked ground.
He's part Irish. OF course, ard the
Hind Of fellow that can make any
thing interesting and worth while
even war He 4s the fellow who is
always encouraging the company poet
10 write q new verse 70 the regimen
tai song telling what were going 10
d. 10 the kaiser and organizing q
auartatte TO sing 1t when it's done, or
IL promoting a regimental vaudeville
performance for the entertainment OF
the Red Cross nurses at the nearest
F,hogp!tal. or. perhaps, merely recount
ing his latest humorous adventure In
French wine bar. Whatever IL Is,
+ is-is good and cheering and obliteratas
any depression which might be caus-
ed by thoughts OF the folks behind
and the trenches ahEad. But The
merit OF Roscoe Alva Wilson ~ all
In his style. and. Ike o. Henry, ha
loses seventy-five per cent IN the re-
telling.
I have abandoned my Omar. along
with half dozen other ''indispensa-
biss" which l started out with. on ac-
count of ths restricted cubic contsnts
OF nay "dinny'' bag. to which all sol
diers must eventually come. But /
recall his quatrain which begins,
.Some Sigh for the glories OF this
world and some sigh ." and ends
. distant gums"
Upon which I desire 70 aots thss
thsrs 10 dsuosdiy little glory in thia
war. That To- tho popular KIND of glory.
there im glory apisnty though. of
4 the unseen. unherafdsd. unpressaEented
kind. Over here in France mon
nnsrely disappears into the whirlpool
az struggle or this preparation for the
struggle, &ad all that the outer world
hears of him altar that, probabilities
ara. An of his own telling and limited
Nv stress of circumstances, busy days
and nights ana the rules OF the censor.
which 10 to say that the glory that
~ attains probably will have 10 be
aalf-containsd and seif-judged. Hia
souad may know II, or psrchsnos his
whole company. That It 10 likely. will
~ all.
Right now there are lot of fol-
sioxs entitled 60 be on tho glory roster
fust for the way in whieh they have
remained cheerful under the come
hsrs. Ro-there' orders, tha grub and
60 whole bioomin' life. But your
magazine cover artist doesn't realize
that His conception of hero Is a
clean climbed. cIsanshaven. shapsly
vounr man In a tailor-mads uniform
doing a foo-yard dash over smooth
rround at an enemy who usually Is
&ust outside the edge OF the page He
Kits the stsrsotypsd keynote. but he's
AAither typical nor topical, Hero are
= few suggestions that would be time
II. true and accurate:
Platoon of soldiers depioyed over a
Geld Of alternate plowsd strips and
etubbls, covered with six inches OF
new, charging the imaginary Ger
mans presumed to be somewhere b.
yond the next row of brush.
Company standing In mess line about
"a