Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-17
First American Dies
On German Soil
Continued from Page One

separating political Germany and
France. A few kilometers beyond the
line and TO the east of Belfort stand
the first American troops to carry the
stars and Stripes into Germany. They
are proud of It.
After many trips to places In war
torn France, where the heel of the in
vading boche has done its best to stamp
cut beauty and life, it came as joy to
me to see the stamp of war on the soil
Germany calls her own. 1t looked good
to see ugly trenches winding a sinuous
path across the line. 1t was something
| glorious to see Allied guns trained on
| places bearing boche nomenclature.
| American soldiers feel the same way
| about It, They feel highly honored TO
| be allowed to be the forerunners of the
| Yankee hosts that IN months to come
are expected to pitch camps on German
| soil
"Betcher life we're in Germany" said
a doughboy Not very far yet. but
every little bit helps, and watch us when
they start
talked to the American general and
he felt the same way about II.
The appearance of the village is far
different from that of those in France
| proper. with a true Alsatian touch
everywhere. was permitted to go into
| the front-line trenches. The boches' lines
are thousand yards away. searched
| through glasses for half an hour, but all
was quiet save for an occasional shell
screaming across. In the trench | met
French colonel and said to him:
80 am in Germany"
He frowned and said
The line used to be back there my
friend. l thought you knew this was
| France
| Raids on Boche Trenches
The first night the Americans were in
the line they made a raid on the boche
| trenches. but found no Germans. The
next night. while / was there, they put
over another raid with the same results
but as they were returning the boche
| sent over machinc-gun fire which killed
| Guyton.
| For a long time the Germans have
been content to leave well enough alone
| on this sector, where they are using an
| elastic defense. In that time the front
| line has been held only for observation.
with the line of defense further back
| The captives were little more than boys.
| Contrary to his general practice else
where the boche in this region has
|
he regards them as belonging to him.
| The French never shell towns unless
obliged to for military reasons, and con-
| sequently the towns and villages are in
excellent condition, with the civilian pop
ulation remaining in homes up to several
kiometers from the front line. l saw
half a hundred children playing in the
| street and within easy reach of even
short-range guns.
On the afternoon of my visit to the
sector the French general with his staff
received the American general and staff
with very impressive ceremonies. making
a pretty picture when the French COM
mander saluted the American comman-
der. short distance behind them
crouched the famed lion of Belfor,
carved in a solid cliff, symbolizing the
defender that the Germans could not
pass in 1870 and again in 1915. The
Americans now promise that the crouch
ing lion will maintain dauntless repu-
tation.
These Americans are fighting in part
of Europe famed for pastoral beauty
Hill after hill rolls away in green gran.
deur There is one discordant note, one
of hills of brown. 1t Is naked soil
where the French shot every tree off the
top of n mountain to clear 1t of German
batteries. Nearby Is a graveyard where
are buried the French who died in 1915
when they kept the Germans back
There has been no big battle in this sec
ton since then.
The taking over of this sector by ou
troops makes 1t literally true that Amer
leans are now fighting from Picardy t.
Switzerland.