Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-12-13
OTTAWA BOY SENT.
GAS SCHOOL AFTER.
ARM|ST|CE IS MADE.
LIEUT.. SIMON DE lAGNEAU HAY,
WHO HAS WON MORE GLORY IN
ACTION THAN ANY OTHER or
TAWAN, NOW STUDYING GER
MAN GAS IN FRANCE.

Two very interesting letters. each
written after the signing of the arm
istice, were received in Ottawa yes
+erday by Miss Emma DE Lagneau
Of the north bluff from her nephew,
Lieut. Simon De Iagneau Hay, the
Ottawan who has made an unpara-
lelled heroic military record for the
Yanks from this city. Lieut.. Hay,
who Is a college man, enlisted in Chi
cago as a private in the engineering
corps soon after war was declared,
He made no effort to enter an officers
training camp either before entering
the service or after arriving at the
cantonnlent. thinking and proving he
could be of more service to his coun-
try any place he was placed.
He is the only Ottawan who has
been decorated by the British gov
ernment for distinguished bravery,
having been presented with the Vic
toria Gross in August for holding
open important liens of communica-
tion at terrible hazard to his own
life. A few weeks later he was given
commission by the war department
while on the firing line, and has the
distinction Of being the first and only
Ottawan to be given his commission
under hike circumstances. This Is a
procedure commonly against army
rules, and is only done in case
| where the man liz found 10 be ex-
tremely deserving of honor and can
not well be spared from the front.
Lieut.. Hay was sent ahead of the
army soon after the armistice was
signed to discover German mines and
traps, and few days later was sent
to an army school to study German
gases and gas attacks.
At the time the arnnstice was
signed Lieut. Hay had been in active
service at the front continuously, with
the exception Of few days in the
fall, since midsummer. His letters
follow
Nov II, 1918.
Dear Family:
This is Sunday evening and | am
in an American camp, Y. NJ. G. A.
near Chaumont. | am here for the
purpose Of attending a school on Ger
man gases and what to do in case Of
an attack.
Can you imagine my doing this now
that the war is tinished and further
more | have been through number
Of gas attacks. In fact, am entitled
to a wound stripe for burns received
from mustard gas last October north
west Of Verdm on the Meuse.
When | got the order to report
here | was near Jonvill, in the Woeyre
valley Jonville is about eighteen or
twenty miles southwest Of Metz.
What disappointed IRE most OF all
| Is that | expected to be in the ad-
vance units into Germany Now this
thing absolutely knocks me out for
the advance.
| really don't know much about
| what is going on in the world. In
fact, this is the first time have been
so far back Of the lines. However,
| n NJ 81 a nd tbut tbnra ic n Ipol
of Spanish influenza and that it has
gotten 10 be pretty serious PROPOSE
tion. Wen, hope to goodness none
of you get it.
| am pretty we'll with the exception
OF cold About the middle OF DC
tober ! was just about all in ans
thought for a while ! would have e
go back for a rest, but we changed
sectors and ! got into good Ger
mani hut and bed | got cleaned up
had stove and kept dry and reeur
Grated.
Well, the war is won and the worl,
has The best Christmas present IL ha
ever had before. Love to all,
SIM.
, Nov l2, 1918.
y Dear Family:
! They tell US the war is over. OF
but We hope SO! II he had nc
:. stopped we would have made him d
l. so before long. We we're just star
! Ing out for another big attack Ou
infantry, the boys from the prairi
States, had already started the a
tack. We were on the road, comm
I up to throw in bridges for them whe
| We received word to halt; at
| O'Clock hcstilities would cease. w
| pknew we were In for desperat
| fight, so we can assure you 1t was r
lief.
H Although all shooting has cease,
) we engineers still have nasty jo