Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1918-12-16
RAINBOW I ! ! \. !. BOYS } ! ! y |
uNSURP ASSED
General Charles T. Menoher
Issues Memorandum to
Division on N0vem-
4 Der II.
WONDERFUL RECORD
Was in More Battles Than
Any Other American
! Division.

-
The unsurpassed record Of the Rain
bow division. is contained in 4 memo
randum issued November II. the day
Of the signing of the armistice, by the
retiring commander of the division,
Maj. Gen. Charles 7. Menoher. Tho
Rainbow, it is said unofficially, has
been in more battles than any other
division in the American army.
This division is now part Of the
army Of occupation in Germany In
it are more than hundred Hamilton
county men. The memorandum reads !:
Headquarters Forty second division,
American expeditionary forces. France,
November II. 1913.
ITO the Officers and Men of the
Forty-second Division: On the 18th
of August addressed to you letter
summarizing the record Of your
achievements in Lorraine, before Cha
Ions, and on the Ourcq. On the OCT
casion of my leaving the division 1
wish to recall to you your services
since that time and to express to you
my appreciation of the unfailing spirit
of courage and cheerfulness with
!, which you have met and overcome the
difficult tasks which have confronted
you.
BY Forced Marches.
tI,,a Of Cho
teau Thierry you had scarcely been
assembled in your new area when YOU
were ordered to advance by hard night
marches to participate in the attack Of
the st. Mihiel salient. In this first
great operation of the American army
you were Instructed to attack in the
center of the Fourth army corps and
to deliver the main blow in the direc-
ton of the heights overlooking the
Nadine river. F
'.In the battle that followed you
took every objective in accordance
with the, plan of the army commander.
You advanced fourteen kilOmeters in
twenty-eight hours You pushed for
ward advanced elements five kilome-
ters farther, or nineteen kilometers
beyond your original starting point.
You took more than 1000 prisoners
from nine enemy divisions; you cap
tured seven villages and fOrty-two
square kilometers of territory. You
seized large supplies of food, clothing,
ammunition, guns, and engineering
material.
Worn But Game.
"WOrn though you We're by cease
less campaigning since February, you
then moved to the Verdun region to
participate in the great blow which
your country's armies have struck
west Of the Meuse. You took Hill 2SS,
La Tuilerie farm and the Cote de Cha
tillon and broke squarely across the
powerful Kriemhilde stellung, clearing
the way for the advance beyond St.
Georges and Landres ct ST. Georges.
marching and fighting day and
night, you thrust through the advan-
cling lines of the forward troops of the
First army. You drove the enemy
across the Meuse. You captured the
heights dominating the river before
Sedan and reached in the enemy lines
the farthest point attained by any
American troops.
..Since September II you have taken
over twelve hundred prisoners; you
have freed twenty-five French villages;
you have recovered over $50 square
kilometers of French territory, and
you have captured great supplies of
enemy munitions and material.
Play Glorious Part.
'sWhatever may come in the future,
the men of this division will have the
proud consciousness that they have
thus far fought wherever the Ameri-
can flag has flown most gloriously III
this war. In the determining battle
before ChalOns, in the bloody drive
from Chateau Thicrry to the Vesle, III
the blotting out of the st. Mihiel sa-
lient, and in the advance to Sedan you
have played splendid and a leading
part.
II know that you will give the
same unfailing support to whomever
may succeed ME as your commander
and that you will continue to bear for
ward without faltering the colors OF
the Rainbow division. / leave you
with deep and affectionate regret, ana
l thank you again for your loyalty 10
me and your services to your country.
You have struck vital blow III the
greatest war in history. You have
proved to the world in no mean meas
IRE that your country can defend its
own.
CHARLES 7. MENOHER.
Major General, L. ). A.