New-York tribune., 1919-04-23
Half of Regiment Kept on
Duty, but There Are No
Drills, Food Is Good and
All the Men Kept Happy
Mike O'Brien,' Historian
Tells Story of Only Time
Rainbow Division Was on
the Defensive Over There
Special CORRESPONDENCE

Special Correspondence
CAMP MILLS, April 22.-The one
thousand members Of the 165 Infan-
try, New York's old G9th, who remained
in camp to-day, divided their time be
tween polishing their equipment for
the parade, passing through the sani-
tation plant, receiving relatives, eat
ing some of the finest meals they have
tasted in eighteen months, and not
swapping yarns.
Fifty per cent of the men were given
twenty-four hour passes at noon, and
the others will get passes Tomorrow
The trains running between New
York and Garden City were virtually
Goth specials to-day. Bundle laden
relatives, present and future, poured
into the Y. W. C. A. Hostess House at
the camp entrance and waited i'm
patiently for orderles to bring their
khaki clad heroes.
1t was estimated that nine hundred
relatives, most of them women and
children, visited the camp.
There was no drill to-day. The more
optimistic of those denied leave, in
Guiding Corporal George V. Mulner,
of f Company, declared that the nov
city Of "heing in this mans army
and lying around all day. getting up
only to eat tres bon fooa, IS worth
staying for
The Highly Praised Food
The food 80 highly praised, prepared
ny tho regiments own COOKS, included
oatmeal, tried bologna. iellN, hfead and
coffee for breakfasts baked beans,
tematoes, bread pudding, eauoe and
eelee FOR luneh Irish stow fried po=
tatocs, lima beans, raisin cake and uof-
fee for dinner.
Unlike O'nrien" reoounted the details
of the Champagne Marne defensive by
the Rainbow Division, which Father
Duffy declared yesterday WAS over
looked in the press reports of the
divisions exploits. "Mikc O'Brien"
is Private Henry Rubin, of 234 Henry
Street, a veteran member of the Sixty
ninth. His name was changed by mis-
Irish comrades before The regiment
left Camp Mills, because of his battling
propcnsities and shock OF red hair. He
was transferred to the SiXty-ninth from
the Seventyfrst.
Most Of us believe the thing we
will remember the longest is the Ger
man Champagne Marne offensve,' said
"Nikc." THAT was the only time the
Rainbow Division was not on the Of
fenslve, but on the receiving end.
Waiting for German Assault
con July i we moved up into the
plain Of Champagne, where renewed
assaults by the Germans were awaited.
For more than a week it was fairly
quiet. Suddenly a midnight of July
ii, the Germans sent over the heaviest
barrage We weathered in all our bat
ties. For more than five hours the big
guns raked our trenches and as far as
fifteen miles back. There was no re-
lief for us. We just waited We lost
our executive officer, First Lieutenant
Young.
AT daybreal1 the Germans started
from their trenches, six hundred yards
away. They came on in mass forma-
tion shoulder to shoulder. For miles,
it seemed, their thick, gray lines were
visible. They had gone only a few
yards when the 149th Field Artillery
opened on them.
"Wc will never forget that bunch of
wagon soldiers They just rained the
iron on the Heinies and made those in
the rear climb over heaps OF dead as
they advanced. The attacking party
was practically annihilated after COM
ing half way across No Mans Land.
a thlS remnant craWled back to their
trenches. Their dead fairly covered
the ground they had traversed
New Barrage Sent Over
"Along toward morning the next day
a new barrage was sent over by the
Germans. A short time later the in
fantry tried second offensive. They
came on at a lively clip. Our orders
were to stand and meet them-no re-
treating or surrendering. / think they
wasted time at general headquarters
handing out orders like that Anyway.
we just waited for the Fritzies. The |
artillery was dropping them, but new
increments would come up quickly and I
fill in. Their advance men got within
grenade throwing distance c. us, and It
became a battle of infantry to infantry
with grenades as the chief weapons.
"For three hours the fighting con-
tinued, then the Germans retreated. |
That is, a few of them did, because
dead men do not walk, as we'll as not
carry tales"
OF twenty-five mon interrogated on
the prohibition question, twenty de-
clarcd that they were uraltorably /
against it, especially since it was
passed while they were lighting in
Franco. The other two live in Kansas