The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1919-05-29
gel, BOYS, An
AMERICAN WOMAN!'
How Officers Of Rainbow Divis.
ion Found ~" Worker with
18th. in Deserted French
Town Under Fire

1 " NAs IN the niue toWh OF - ptfi e
which 10 the last stop before you ar.
rive al Chateau rhierry; AND the sec
ond battle OF the Marns WAS In pro.
gress. Over In Bellesu Woods tn,
Marines Of the Ind Division were
nghting savasely: while in and about
la Frte was \ large portion OF the
e6th. resting up from heavy work In
the Tonl sector
One afternoon 4 French plane war
noticed circling high over the town.
About bedtime the same plane re-
turned and 10 the terrible dismay 81
the townspeople It dropped BOMB
The plane had been captured BY the
Germans and was being used BY them
10 locate the hospital, railroad head.
and other important landmarks
So terrified was the local popuia-
ton by the bombardment which fol.
lowed that they couAl not get out OF
the town quick enough. In few
hours every house was deserted.
Twenty four hours later the pcl,-
ing tempest OF shells ceased and some
regiments Of the Rainbow Division
entered the place and occupied II.
Four officers looking for compare
lively whole house to make regimental
headquarters came across one Of
which the lower part was an old dark
little wineshop. Up the stairs they
tramped TO the living rooms They
opened door Out OF the bed came
weak but CHEEKY voice:
Hello. boys. J am sorry cannot
get up to welcome you But am
going to be better now And II you
should come back in an hour will
have some hot coffee FIR you"
GEE" said one OF The officers TO
his comrades as he closed the door.
IAN AMERICAN WOMAN"
II the officers had had presence OF
mind to look about the room before |
they retired they would have seen
hanging on hook the dark green |
tOdt Win iuf Ulut tOlfdl vi INtu
angle canteen worker The woman
was Mrs. Louise w. Fleming of VOL /
laston. Mass, who was one OF over
60 "Y" secretaries attached 10 the |
Yankee Division. The ~" carteen
in La Ferte, her first assignment, had
run short OF supplies, and 10 be useful
Mrs. Fleming had been working night /
and day in the hospitals only few
back CT the front lines un-
til she had to take to her bed from
exhaustion. Thus OF the entire pop
ulation of La Ferte she had been the
only one unable TO scuttlc when the
bombardment opened And through
those hideous lonely hours she had
Mrs Fleming returned home a few
weeks before the YD began sailing
home She had been with her divi.
sion, close to tho front lines, all
through the heavy bloody work Of
1913. Shortly after General Edwards
arrival in Boston one Of his first Off
'ial acts was the rendering TO Mrs.
fleming of his military citation She
md Miss Alice Carey Of Manchester.
,onn, private secretary to Or. Hessel /,
rave Of the same town, who was D-
isional Secretary of the "Y" with
he Goth, were the only women
workers. to be thus honored by the Z
seneral
while we were at verdun in Oc-
ober." relates Mrs. Fleming, I'VE
we're shelled every hour OF the day
nd night for six weeks. Miss Carey
vas the only other woman with me.
he shells fell around our hut as near
= the width Of q city street. The J
oys would come in with their gas-
tasks on
For couple Of weeks We were the
My people In verdun--men or wo-
slept above ground. We
ere living in a cunning little house "
lat stood up alone among wide
pread ruins. There we're no win I
ows left, Of course. and hardly !,
all remaining. The cathedral. the :,
ishop's palace, the town bajl.--ev-
rything WAS raxed but this one little "
uusc. How IT, escaped after four
EARS OF bombardment was an I'M F"
,lvAble mystery.
Somehow We could not make up
pr minds TO leave the little houses
lere seemed To be holy spell sur p
,unding it,--And 70 down in the cit p
lei which was 60 feet under ground D
Id which snelied something like the .
lbwsy, although il was ~ well ven Z
lated rs possible. We preferred TAX b.
& chance and having the fresh v
r. Y
But finally the Colonel got after s.
and told us We would have to leave b.
prtun IL We didn't change TO safer -
Iarters. When the boys heard o. q
at they raised walls Of protest and q
peal. And we had tn snccumb. ~
,me OF the officers led the way TO q II
Igout, and one OF them warned US. h
on had better hug the walls az you d
!. The others laughed. and one Of ol
EN- remarked: Its come 10 a pretty
- when an American girl has moth
( to hug but wall"
Since the boats bringing In the he .,
"a Of the YD have stirred The blood :.