Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-12
TOM" HOLCOMB'S MEN
Continued from page

ccssant, and overhead shrapncl vas
brrtug Then the Shrapnci came Oh
the target at each shot The white patches
would roll away and We could see that
some of tho columns were still there,
slowed up, and It seemed perfect suicide
for them TO try You couldn't begrudge a
tribute to their pluck, AT that.
GERMANS TAKE TO CoVEH.
Then, under that deadly fire and a
barrage OF rifle and machine gun fire, the
Boche stopped 1t was too much for any
men The, burrowed IN or broke 20 the
cover OF the woods and vo,l could follow
them by the rippes of the green wheat a.
they raced for cover.
The writer declared the fire of the
marines amazed the French who saw II.
That men should fire deliberately and
use theu sight and adjust their range, he
SAYS, was beyond their experience II
must have had a telling effect on he
morale of the Bochc ior II was something
they had not counted on As a matter OF
fact, after pushing back the weakened
French and then running up against j
stone wall defence they Mere literally up
in the air and more than stopped We
found that out later from prisoners tor the
Germans never knew We were III the front
line when they made the attack hey
were absolutely mystil'ed at the manner IN
which the defence stittened up untll they
found that our troops were IN line.
The letter tells in Diet al OF the dlysl OF
fighting that follows Ii describes a
daylight charge against machine gun
host and of scouting raids up to June 8,
when the whole brigade swung forward
to strengthen out the line This action
resulted in the capture of Belleau Wood
STILL IEG AWAY
Major Sibley's battalion OF the Sixth
Marine Regiment led the way here, With
Holcomb in support The woods were
alive with elemy maci4se guns
Speaking of individual acts of bravery
the writer says Duncan, a company
commander, before he was moved down
had his pipe in his mouth and was carry
ing stuck.
Later heads, ID ntal Surgeon Osborne
picked up Duncan and With a Hospital
Corps man had just gained some shelter
when "a shell wiped all three out
Private Dunlavy, killed later, captured
an enemy machine gun in Bouresches,
which he turned on the foe With great
effect, while at another point. Young
Zimmerman charged machine gun at
| the point of the hayonet and sent IN
seventeen prisoners at clip
When the enemy made a stand at one
point IN the woods SbleyS battalion was
withdrawn and for an hour fifty American
| and French batteries hammered the wood
| Hughes with the Tenth Company then
went in and his first message vas that the
| wood had been cut 10 mnce meat over
| ton, heading the Seventy-siXth company,
| finally charge the rock plateau, killing
or capturing every gunner and all The
| guns with few casualties
The Eighty ty-second Company lost all
It's officers and Major Sibley and his adj
| jutant, Lieut. Bellamv, reorganl4ed 1t
under fire and charged a machine gun
nest at the most critical time IN all the
| fighting
Il wonder if ever an outfit, the letter
| said. went up against a more desperate
| lob, stuck to It gamel,, without sleep, at
times on short ration, with men and officers
| gong off like flies, and ! wonder II IN all
our long list of gallant deeds there ever
were two better stunts that the work oil
| Slbley and Holcomb?'
Major HolcomD's mother, sister and
| brother reside at New Castle. tls
| father. the late Thomas Holcomb, was
| member Of the New Castle county
| Bar Association and for several years
| was recorder of deeds for New Castle
county Just before his death he was
| employed in the auditors and comp
| troller's departments at Washington, ID Z