The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1919-02-06
LETTERS OF

coyS ~ Ao'> k~
the great price on the fields of France
have been remembered by those with
whom they served in letters to the
folks here at home. Capt. Earl M
Cline, 355th Infantry, commander OF
the company in which George Dokken
was serving when killed, writes a
splendid letter to the mourning faith,
err, in which he reviews the ight in
which George gave his life. Lieut..
John p. Jockinsen. chaplain of the
313th NJ. p, writes also to the be-
reaved relatives of Pvt. Rex w. Will
ley, who died of disease while on the
battle front. These letters will be of
great interest to our readers and be
testimonials of the way our boys up
held the honor of our city and our
country:
Machine Gun Co. 25E.h Infantry,
Saarburg. Germany. Jan. 13, 1919
From Company Commander, NJ. G.
Co, 355th Infantry, Am. E. F., to Mr..
X. J. Dokken, B%rookings, S. d., U.S.A.:
ioui ttC VI bCtSiiluCi 10, 1ciC'
reached the company in this little
German city today. | have only been
with the company, as its commander.
but a fe wdays, but, with the help of
and what ONE of the men have told
me. | very gladly undertake to answer
your inquiries.
On the first of November this COM
pany helped to put over a machine
gun barrage which was the beginning
of the last drive of the war, the
Mouse drive. The Germans continued
the retreat which they had com
menced earlier and this company, with
the rest of the American army in tnaL
sector, followed them rapidly. The
work was hard, for it meant a grind
ing march, Carrying heavy machine
guns, ammunition boxes and belt-fill-
ing boxes, together with the packs on
the mems backs. But no one shirked
his task, for the joy and confidence
of victory helped them all through
the tedious days.
The late afternoon Of November 5th
was clear of the clouds and rain,
which was the usual experience the
men had in northern France, but this
day, as the company filed into a beau
tiful little valley to make a resting
place for the night, the sun was set
ting with something of the %splendor
that, they say, one sees in South Da-
kOta. The men sat down for a little
while, until the officers could get
things properly arranged, and they
were smoking and talking while they
listened to the whirr anu the whine
of the shell that rushed unseen over
their heads. Then, into the quiet OF
this little valley and into the little
hush that had fallen over the men,
exhausted from a gruelling days work,
one of the deadly things fell into the
midst of the squad of which your son
was a member. Two other men We're
killed instantly, as was Private box
ken, and n was wounded badly.
Private Dokken, | understand, showed
scarcely a mark on his body; the con-
cuss,on of the bursting shell must
have injured his lungs. A burying de-
tail from the regiment, under the di-
rection of one of the chaplains, laid
the three men away together.
The little town nearby, Tally, about
ten kilometers from Stenay, was the
place to which the company returned
after the armistice was signed. When
the men got there, they at ono went
to the grave and fixed it up very nice
ly. 1t is about six hundred yards from
the town, just where a grassy meadow
energies from the shadow of a pine
forest.
am sorry that | cannot give you
any information in regard to the plans
for taking the bodies Of the fallen
soldiers back to the states.
No orders have been issued from gen
eral headquarters as yet.
In closing, | want to tell you what
the men of his platoon have said Of
him. He was always so cheerful and
so full of the witty remarks that a
soldier enjoys. When he had any de-
tail to do, he always did it willingly
and well. When he had guard to
stand, he was always alert and he
helped those who stood with him to
do their part, for here was n place
that his happy disposition was most
effective. Please remember, whenever
his loss seems most painful, hat you
have been the father of a good soldier
and, what is better, of n who helped
his comrades to be good soldiers.
Very sincerely,
Earl NJ. Cline,
Captain, 355th Infantry.