The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-10-31
Valiant Spirit of Fallen Men Is
Typified in Attitudes of
the Dead.
TROOPS EAGER FOR BATTLE
Ever Crouchlng Forward With Their
Faces Toward Germany, I'M
patient to Make World Safe
for Humanity.

VI lNO ldlhet
regiments that stormed the slope above
the Ourcq river came YEARLY back at
shutdown from the task of burying
their dead. They were two men spir-
itually uplifted and their eyes were
shining as they made their brief but
eloquent report.
I'm all that battlefield" they said,
"we found, without a single exception,
that every one of those boys died
erouching forward"
That short dramatic story-a patri-
otto eulogy that was an epitaph for
American heroes-came first under my
eye when, after a three weeks journey
of 1900 miles, / reached Paris.
Faces Ever Eastward.
Stories of the valiant American
spirit are old. Yet the proud words of
the chaplains were tremendously i'm
pressive. They interpreted the spirit
of America ON the fighting line In the
same terms as / had seen 1t among the
fresh troops i'm the convoy across the
Atlantic, in England, In the French
port and in the trip across France
troops yet to face the Hun.
Thousands were In that convoy. And
their faces were ever toward Germany.
They were grim faces of serious-mind-
ed, silent men during the tedious ocean
trip-silent, strangely, until actually
ON French soil.
Then they underwent a change. The
curtain of sOlemnity seemed to lift.
The frown of impotence at delay was
gone and, I'm contrast to the silence In
which they had received the homage
of British crowds, they sang rollicking
war songs, laughed and cracked jokes
and replied with a Yankee roar to the
chorus of welcome French crowds gave
them.
Their faces were away from the set
ting sun as they waited In the French
port for the trains to take them to
France. Their eyes gazed l~ongingly to
the east, and they eagerly strained for
ward as If to hear the far-off boom of
the guns.
Every one of these Yankee soldiers,
fresh from the homeland, was crouch
ing Forwards did the heroes the
chaplains told of-with their faces to
ward Germany.
A complete division, commanded by
an American major general, olsen.
barked. And Ii was just one unit, one
convoy of the unending stream that
Uncle Sam is sending across.
chafe at Long Walt.
The only worry was whether II
would be a long wait before it was
their urn "at bait against the Hun.
Submarine rumors hadn't frightened
them On the way across the ocean
They had drilled daily, as best they
could In the cramped ships area. They
had taken daily exercise to keep then
healthful and fit. And they had stood
guard, in turn, with eyes peeled" TO
submarines-mostly hopeful that on,
would turn up just for the delight o.
seeing an American destroyer bomb I
out of all usefulness.
There was asboat drill daily on tn,
convoy; each man answered roll cal
I'm his allotted place beside a lifeboat
And constantly, save In sleep, eacl
man had to wear q life preserve
strapped about his chest and back.
Now they're at the end of the lon
journey-in France along with a mil
lion and a half fighting men from tn
United States. They're showing earl,
that great American spirit-crouchin
forward, with their faces toward Ger
many, impatient to make the worl
unsafe for Huns.
It's a pity Kaiser Bill couldn't hav
stood on the dock at that French por
when they landed-just to see them.