The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1918-10-19
LIKE BASEBALL
SAYS Marine
PRIVATE FRED ROUSSEY COM
PARES WAR TO GREAT
AMERICAN SPORT
Young Marine Hero Visiting COlville
Over Top Five Times,
Wounded Twice

"It's just like a baseball game"
said Private Fred Roussey of the
sixth regiment United States marines,
when asked how the boys felt about
the support Of the population at
home. "We've got to win and we
will, but the roofing on the side lines
helps. Letters and newspapers help,
believe me!
Private Fred Roussey was in Col
vile Friday night to speak in behalf
of the fourth Liberty loan. He is a
slim, straight, cleareyed young
soldier, but twenty-one years old, and
he has been cover the top" five times
and has been wounded twice. The
two stripes on the left sleeve each
tell of six months active service in
France. The two stripes on his
right sleeve tell the proud story of
the two times when "Heinie" nearly
got him.
Private Roussey told the story of
his experiences at the front-at Ver-
dun, Scissors and Chateau Thierry-
to the audience at the M. e. church
Friday night. 1t isn't so much the
story of the hardships and bloody
sights they have seen or the descrip-
tions of the way the men meet the
x.,;th t,ranIn,f,l hra,,arx hot
"gets" an audience listening to the re-
turned soldier, as it is that the men
come back and tell it all as though it
were mere nothing
Roussey enlisted when he was but
nineteen years old, in February of
1917, and went into a training camp
in South Carolina. Seven months
afterwards he went overseas. On
the way across they chad some slight
trouble" with submarine which ap-
peared about 1900 yards from the
ship. The destroyers made short
work of the submarine, however.
The first time he was wounded was
on March 18th at Verdun, when he
was left under the barbed wire in "No
mans Land" because his companion
did not cut the wire properly. He
was shot through the foot and was
taken back to the hospital. His
second wound was received at Sos-
sons, where he was gunner in the
field artillery. 1t took three men to
handle this gun and more than once
his two helpers had to be replaced.
The time came, however, when Pri-
vate Roussey had his turn and re-
ceived shot through his right arm
that lelt him unconscious for about a
quarter of an hour. At first he
thought it was broken, but then the
blood began to flow out in stream
and tourniquet was applied when
first aid came. He was taken to
the base hospital.
Private Fred Roussey was one of
fourteen men sent to capture six Ger
man machine guns. They flanked
them on the right and left and four
Of the men faced the fire in front of
them. Three Of these fell and the
fourth, Private Roussey, escaped
death. Returning from their sue
cessful errand, his captain told him
that he would report his name to go
on the list to receive the Croix de
Guerre. The name was never re-
ported. The captain was immediate
ly afterwards taken with shell-shock
and put in an ambulance. A shell
hit the ambulance and the captain
never was able to speak again.
Time after time, Private Roussey
was called back to the platform to re-
late some more of his experiences, all
Of which he told with a straightfor-
ward simplicity and a modesty that
won his hearers. After the loan
drive he expects to enter the naval
academy at Annapolis where he will
finish learning his draftsman's trade.
his nome Is In Baltimore, Maryland.
Talk for Loan
After the young marine hero had
addressed the meeting, Reverend
Leonard Carver made speech in be-
half of the loan drive, warning his
audience of the slowing-up effect of
peace talk. He declared that it was
part of pro-German propaganda
and that the success of the fourth was
absolutely necessary for victorious
ending Of the war.
Several importunate and fiery loan
speeches were made. A. May,
whose birthplace was in sunny
France, told what he knew Of Hun
Kultur by experience. He said that
when he came to this country, some
thirty-six years ago, that his uncle