Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-02-24
LOST HIS LIFE
IN SHELL HOLE
Report From France as to How
Schroeder Made ST.
preme Sacrifice

preme Sacrifice
The story of how one of Perth AM
boys sons lost his life while lying in
a small hole on a steep hill on the
Argonne front is told in a letter writ
ten by the colonel of the 18th regiment
infantry to the youths, mother, Mrs.
Oscar Schroeder of 22S Kearny ave
nue.. Five other soldiers were killed
and three wounded by the two shells
which bursting almost simultaneously
caused h death of young Schroeder.
According to the letter, which was
sent from France containing the Of
fetal account of how the local soldier
met his death. Schroeder had been
confined to a hospital suffering from a
minor ailment, and upon requesting
that he be returned to his detachment
was allowed to join the Headquarters
Sanitary Detachment. The whole
detachment were lying in holes which
they had dug on the side of the hill
when shortly after midnight ten or
fifteen shells passed yer the hill. Two
struck trees, DETECTED, and exploded,
causing six deaths and wounding six.
Schroeder was one of the unfortunate
ones killed by the explosions.
The Colonels letter, in full, follows:
Headquarters, 18th Infantry,
January goth, 1919.
Mrs. Oscar Schroeder,
228 Kearny Avenue,
Perth Amboy, N. ].
My Dear Mrs. Schroeder
The receipt of your letter of Deem
Der 20 is acknowledged and the fol-
lowing details connected with the
death of your son, Private Oscar
Schroeder, Medical Detachment, 18th
Infantry, are transmitted.
The date of his death, by the way,
was October 29th, and not the 22nd.
On the evening of October 27th this
regiment was relieved, after very Sc
we're fighting, from the front lines and
ordered into Divisional Reserve there
to reorganiZe and prepare for further
action. Owing to casualties suffered
in the first reserve position taken up,
I searched for another place about
w miles In the rear of our front line
and the regiment moved into q little
valley near where the La Folie Farm
Road branches from the Lancon-Sen-
ne Road, at the northern end of the
Argonne Forest.
During the day and early evening
We were under occasional shell fire
but we were screened by a hill n it
passed eel our heads and created no
comment. On the morning of the
2Sth your son who had been sick in q
hospital in IAncon, suffering from
some minor ailment, declared hat he
had fully recovered and expressed a
wish to rejoin his detachment, as he
felt that his services would be of
value. The Headquarters Sanitary
Detachments were sleeping in small
roles they had dug (for the sake of
convenience owing to the steepness OF
the hilD only about fifteen or twenty
yards from where j myself was Sleep
ing. Shortly after midnight of the
2Sth the enemy threw over ten or
fifteen shells which passed over the
hill. ave for two which struck trees
were DETECTED, landed in the vicinity |
headquarters and inflicted nine cas- |
Three members of the SAM
tary Detachment and three men OF
band were killed and three others
wounded.
Your son was buried on the 2sth
n a pretty little valley (where the
occurred) of which the map
srs: MAD Argonne log:
x s3.15 ttwo kilo eas-
Burial was conducted by
,haplains Murphy and Smylie.
Our records indicate that a few ar
.icles including pipe, wrist watch,
ing, wallet containing q small amount
If French currency, note books, lead
etc, were duly tagged and for /,
warded through proper channels to
Casualty Effects Bureau for ulti-
transmission to the nearest rela- !
tive. 1t may be some time before the
foregoing reach you, as the Effects
handles all similar effects in
the cases of the many soldiers the
army has lost.
The deaths of the six men above
described constitute n of the most
uncanny incidents coming to my per-
sonal attention during the entire cam
paign. The ground had been carefully
inspected and no evidence OF a shell
ever having struck in the immediate
vicinity could be found. ! do not be-
lieve one ever struck there afterward.
1t was chance pure and simple.
While I understand your grief 1t
may be a slight source of satisfaction
to know that you sons high esteem
OF duty and eagerness to be with his
command were responsible for the sa-
crifice both he and you have made
Permit me to extend my earnest ex-
preston of sympathy n regret.
(Signed) A. V. =. ANDERSON,
Colonel, 312th Infantry.