The sun., 1918-12-31

| Plunkett. L, s. n. II was he who organ
ICED and operated those railroad bat
terles OF IL inch naval guns that simply
smashed the communications of the re-
treating German armies between Bel
glum and Lorraine. The navy, IL will be
remembered. had a lot OF spare IL
inchers when America got into the war,
but the problem OF mounting them upon
stable platforms which would be mobile
also was tremendous nut to crack. SO
they gave the job to Plunkett and he put
II through The Baldwin Locomotive
Works built giant steel flatcars under
Admiral Plunkett's orders. Then the
guns were shipped to France with their
cars, and in no time at all batteries OF
tho huge rifles whose shells carried more
than twenty miles were pounding away
at the arteries Of the Germany army.
Plunkett did his best to locate ana
destroy the German cannon that pom
barded Paris. but before he could get
the location tho Germans took fright
and removed the monstrous things. The
navy guns were at work from Septem-
Der 6 to tho day the armlstice was
signed, firing 500 shells In all. To get
an idea of the destructive power OF.
these high explosive shells 1t iS only nee
cessary TO state that observers going
into the former German lines after tho
armistice found holes that the City Hall
could have been tucked into
All Credit to DouRhboys.
Tho ranking officer aboard the trans
port was Brig. Gen. J. j. Morrow OF the
old Regular Army, fighter OF thirty
years service, one that has the right to
wear upon his left breast enough SER
vice ribbons to cover It. He went 20
France as chief Of engineers, going over
In April 1918, and thereafter he was In
the fighting at Chateau Thierry, up to
the Vesle River and eastward In the Ar
gonne and In the Verdun sector But he
wouldn't talk about his own work or
deeds. waving aside personal questions
with firm polltieness.
give the doughboys all The credit"
said Gen, Morrow at Is the absolute
fact tina. they proved themselves to be
the most dependable fighters the world
has produced The weight of our army
was the straw that broke the back OF the
German camel and, thank God. I was
there TO see the crash. would like to
add. however, that no matter how we
praise our own boys we must never
forget what we owe 10 tho French and
tho British. 49,
Capt. Henry Maslln, formerly a news
paper reporter. who commanded Com
pany D OF the 106th Infantry of the
Twenty-seventh Division. added another
word TO the record of praise for Major
Gen. John F. Organ, commander Of
New York's division. He noted that the
British veteran officers from Marshal
Haig down lost no opportunity TO praise
Gen. Organs staff organization and
military ability
The Twenty-seventh, as Capt. Maslin
reported. was a sort OF iron hammer
welded by the British commander in
chief in the smashing of the Hndenburg
line around St Quentin in the late days
of September Capt. Maslin was car
ried from the Mauretania as he lay upon
stretcher, bullet wound having para
lyzed him from the waist down, tempo
rarily. 1t is hoped
There was lot OF interest in Capt
Hutch I. Cone of the United States Navy.
Capt. Cone was passenger on the
Royal Irish mall steamship Leinster,
which was torpedoed in the Irish Sea
just before the Germans caved in With
such recollectionS indellbly impressed
upon his mind as he brought away from
the Leinster It was not to be wondered
at that Capt Cone was dislnclined to
talk about the affair,
ut was too brutal TO talk about" he
said laconically.
iS ga wounded
and sick men, many of them from the
Twenty-seventh Division. "O'Ryan's
Rough Necks," and not few of them
had right to stick out chests that dis
played the Distinguished Service Cross
Here are just a few flashing ms, ances
of the valor and bulldog tenacity that
were in these kids. for kids are all they
are in point of age.
Corporal Weir A. Kellogg ot Caneadea,
\, Y, lay for twenty-five hours in No
Mans Land, shot through the legs, be-
fore the stretcher bearers could get to
him. Joe Berardy OF 1867 DeKalb ave-
nue., Brooklyn, went down with FIVE ex-
plosive bullets in his right leg and lay
four days In shellhole before Anzacs
rescued him. Corporal Charles Fergu-
son OF 80 Pulaski street, Brooklyn. got
fourteen shrapnel wounds. yet he walked
off the ship yesterday clipper as you
please.
Lieut.. L. Lufving says that he took
the first German prisoner captured by
the American Army. This was in May,
1917. Lufving wears the Croix de Guerre
and the American n. s. {. Corporal
William Kendall. shot in tho neck and
temporarily paralyzed at St. Quentin,
had the curious experience of reading his
own obituary in Buffalo newspaper.
Private Johnny Kendall of Westchester
found "one decent German" The boche
gave him pint of rum after Kendall
was badly wounded a st. Souplet Lieut..
Joseph A. Cormler of l647 Twelfth street,
Brooklyn. with ten gunshot wounds in
the chest and shoulders and five in the
right hand. came back singing the
praises OF the American Red Cross
The homecomers were distributed
among a number OF rehabilitation
camps. Camp Dix getting about per
cent. and the rest going to camps in the
West.