Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-11-17
LIEUT.. CREVELING PICTURES
= CLOSING OF ST. MITIIEL POCKET
Writes Wife Here of Gallant Work Of
What Gen. Pershing Called The
Reliable Old First Division"

A graphic pan picture Of what hap
pens Just prior to. during and directly
after tho famous operation Of "goinE
over tho top" IL contained In . letter
recently received from Lieut. William
A. Creveling. who was q '1iaison'
officer with the troops which actually
closed the St Mihie1 salient early In
September. The regiment to which
Lieut. Crevelins Is attached, he writes
his wife here in Washington. was the
first unit of the Army advancing from
the south and east to connect up with
the troops coming down from the
north and west-in other words. the
regiment that closed the St Mihiel
pocke and forever cut of the chances
of escape for the Huns caught in that
pocket.
Position Was Shaky.
TT was shal1y position. with
enemy troops both in front and be-
hind u.s." he says. but soon all dam
ger was over. for word was received
that all in the trap had surrendered
or been captured by the troops enter
ing the salient from the TANKS"
That Lieut.. Creveling had special
opportunities for observation is
evidenced by the following facts: AL
title .Hiaison officer" he was. he states.
in reality just a telephone man.
IT go with the major" he explains.
land the major goes over with the
first man over the top. / am armed
with a telephone sling over my shout
der and a spool of wire in each hand.
] have a 'gat.' but I cannot operate
it with my feet. When the major
turns around and asks If can give
him the colonel why you just bet I
can-that is. if some German shell
hasn't nfpped my line"
Loved the Major.
surance that the Washington soldier
certainly had opportunity to see every
thing that went on. That he did not
in the slightest object to these excep-
tional facilities is explained simply by
his statement that the major, whose
name was Travis. was the kind of man
"any of US boys would so through hell
for any day"
Now to take up in more connected
form the story of this officer who pos
chances of observa ton, but the power
TO put the results concfsely into a
letter:
I'VE were back in a quiet little cor
nGf OF france ana scattered, DllieCeU
in four different towns" he begins.
and goes on to tell how his regiment
started for the front in motor trucks,
and after various vicissitudes. due to
extremely muddy roads and rainy
weather, ended by marching distance
and finally lay down to sleep at the
edge Of a wood. tired and drenched to
the skin.
Mass Of Artillery.
by 10 am. we were all up and won
dering what next" he continues. I'VE
were camped by railroad, and in the
midst of more artillery by far than I
ever thought to see in any one place or
at any one time, all manned by Ameri-
can gunners. Great numbering trac-
tors dragged up the heaviest artillery
America has yet used in the war.
"All day we tarried; all that night
we lay there. The dawn of second
day came. and with it hundreds of
tanks. all moving up. and we knew
that now it would not be long until
the advance must begin. We were
ordered forward once more. and
pressed steadily on. until at nightfall
the front lay just ahead. with Fritz
throwing up flares and rockets. Save
for few small guns, the front was
quiet, which satisfied us that the ele-
ment of surprise we had tried for SO
hard was to prove a factor in our
enterpriSe. The night was black as