Evening star., 1918-08-11
Private Lennert of the 10th
! Company of Marines Tells
! Story of His Own Exploit.
CAUSED HIS GERMAN
CAPTORs TO SURRENDER
Gets His Prisoners Safely Behind
the American Lines After Being
Lost for Time.
ny JUNIUS b. WOOD.

BY JUNlCS h. "Oob.
fSpeci,l Correspondence of The Sun-
day Star md Chicago Daily Ncws.'
WITH THE AMERICAN MARINES
IN THE BOIS DE BELLEAu. July %.
One American marine private gave a
climax to the days and nights of bloody
fighting here with laugh on Prussiaii
militarism which rivals the farce OF the
cobhler of Kopenick In fact. II is tne
big laugh Of the war. the most ridicu-
lous of the few bright veins OF humor
which pierce wars drab of tragedy ana
heartacheZ 1t is the story OF friVate
Henry p. Lennert and his eighty prls-
oners. Probably this exploit will not
be included in any Teutonic history OF
the war. but for peoples who do not
make war a business it tells story OF
how the iron hand of militarism breaks
down in the most unexpected way. The
high lights Of Private Lennerts story
were cabled June IS. but the entire de-
tailed version has never been recounted
until now.
Private Lennert is a country boy.
whose home is in Grand Rapids. Wis.
116 is WHdl IillShl 10 S<ihSu . SsSs
YOUTH which is not detriment, as it
was due to his conversational powers
and an abundant supply of nerve that
he brought in the small army OF prls-
oners.
About o'clock am. June &c Capt
Robert Yowell. Marshall Mo. command
fEg the Goth Company of Marines,
started Lennert with a message to the
lieutenant commanding his third
platoon to be prepared to renew the
attack The entire Sd Battalion. of
which this company was part. had
dropped where il had been hShting
until dark, amid the underbrush of
the Bois de Belieau.
Lennert wanders on.
Lennert got away in the wrong di-
Dection and the first thing he knew
his feet were cracking the dry twigs
across one of these clearings The
crack of machine guns hidden in the
neatly piled cut wood or behind rocks
and the whistle of bullets around his
ears Immediately followed He fiat
tened himself on the ground like a
lichen. The guns stopped and he
heard voices off at one side
Il got brave as anything again. and
] thought it was some of our Sd
platoon fellows and started over that
way" he says in explaining the entry
into the German lines
The next thing he knew a German n
machine gun pit with three men
around the Maxim and sentry
standing on the parapet at the side
was right at his feet. Everybody
stood dumfounded for a moment. The
sentry was the first to break the
spell
Then the gunner snapped out of
his hop and cut loose" said Lennert-
81 guess the bullets went between
my legs. for none hit me before l
hole. Then that fool sentry aimed a
shot at me while l was lying down,
after 1 had holIered 'Kameradr
Don't you see LIN prisoner.
Why don't you let me in?' ! shouted
to him in German.
Yells "Kamerad7 at Germans.
"He just stood there and shot at
me again. though I was hollering
Kamerad"
why don't you speak? Can't you
understand anything kept asking
the sentry. but he wouldn't answer.
though he did stop shooting.
'I gave a few more yells of Kane
rad" and stuck up one hand. They
didn't shoot at that, and after l had
hollered some more I stuck up my
head Then l got up and they grab
bed me and started walking back
About a hundred yards back we came
to a captain doubled up in a little
hole scooped out of the ground /
saluted him and he got up.
Are you wounded?' he asked
" No, but that sentry of yours shot
at me after / surrendered and he had
no right to do that 1 told him.
He just laughed and three lieuten-