New-York tribune., 1919-07-07
Detective Owens
Comes Back From
France a Captain
Former Headquarters Man
Returns Wearing Croix de
Cuerre; Brooklyn Friends
Want to Make Him Sheriff

Along about June, 1917, the lure of
the game made famous by Conan Doyle
began to pail on Detective Martin S.
Owens, attached to the New York
Headquarters. The United States had
entered the war. Owens laid aside his
"gat" and bracelets, slid behind the
wheel of the New York Police Ambu-
lance, and as private in the Amer
lean Field Service attached to the
French army began a long record of
received five cents a day until later
on he won a captains commission and
the Croix de Guerre with two stars.
Yesterday Owens received callers at
his home, 1853 st. Johns Place, Brook
lyn. He had arrived on the Leviathan
the day before. He told of the crowd
ing of more than $500 officers on the
ship the same as privates. He was one
of thirteen officers who had charge Of
while some grumbled at having to sleep
five in a room most of them took It
like good fellows, he said.
He Dispensed Information
Captain Owens was also army in
again! That was the worst of ALL" he
said. "They even came to me and
asked how deep was the sea. They
asked me where they could get bath
officers, mind you--and one bird who
came to me with trouble on his face
asked how he could find his wife when
we arrived at Hoboken. | told him to
look through the crowd"
| About his Croix de Guerre, the for
with it, 1t was in French with a lot
of jazz stuff all about this and that
but it means to say, for courageous
work in evacuating wounded under vio-
lent bombardment.'
Here the captain began to talk about
the "bravest, toughest, finest fellows in
the American army" 81 received lieu
! tenants commission on May 7, 1918," he
said, "and commanded Sanitary Service
Unit 552, made up of the men from
Fordham University. Among them
were Bull Lowe, Frank Gargan, the
coach; Speed Braney, Ray Hanan, Ed
athletes. Then there were two Irish
mechanics, Bob Ryan and jim Meehan
They were the toughest boys in France
| found this bunch at Elincourt. They
didn't have enough dishes to eat off
| took 300 francs from the mess fund
bought them plates and told them
was going to eat with them at the
same table. Bad stuff for officers
they say, but we got along fine until
our billet was bombed and busted up.
Too Modest for Wound Stripes
"lt was an unwritten law that none
of these men would go to the evacua-
tion hospitals just for little scratch
They might rate a wound stripe, but
that stuff is all right if you want it
We had our own doctor, and a little
gas might lay the fellows up a day
or so, but it was only when they got
bumped off for fair that they went
back to the hospital" Captain Owens
was gassed twice, but there was nc
record of it on his right sleeve.
"The French got to know us by oul
nicknamcs. They forbade us certain
roads, and when | would catch the men
coming back from the lines over the
dangerous places they would lie and
invent yarns about having grave cases
that they had to hurry with. Then
when they would get in, instead of go
ing to the end of the line they always
tried to butt in at the head, in order
to go right out again"
Owens won his first citation wher