The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1919-10-06
IOKLAHONA B 0 Y
I D
DIE, IS HERO
JtIf COOK, >iNrEi<-NLAn
OLD DOl GliRON. NOIl< nv
FATIGUE. Sl.t.EPS NI
POST; pARDO<En ny
PRESIDENT

uart4al didns knove~
That lsSvar old sasmer lad
could he asrd up ustervrly b. the
Huaiu ~ = tnoslonw v4atl'
That a lAa standing asissp IN
trench, MS ,uupos atmmed eyss
ssill toward the lines ~ ghr Zoe.
mlehs % the stuff - which h~rosn
arc made
That such boy mlahs come
back fos morr after hesng saAasa.
and FlRp.d b. machine eun bul.
i"ts, until psfeo II shrapnel
ssoa sd him IN sho AFronno
The eouri martial only Rnsw that
ing sltsrlas On sentry daiy thv pun
hnens " DEATH
AMI - for seven hisak months, leff
cuok waited far the firms squad. un
III he wAs rarioaed hy President WI.
san
Cook. n0w IS u a. WllbeFtoa
= ran ava, grom heme and seid
she Fers Loean. colo. recruiting otfl
enr shal waR N" ha said "l dId
nearly ail my training ID rtAapv rhay
tai me 10 Company q la,h snfanlry
she FirAl avs son regulars We wenl
90 tho 'front.' "a October
ceeporai HAD IL IN rsr Their.
My corporal ! think his nauiv was
'Waienlge seemed 10 have sameshlps
asaluas mo aud a boy named Forrest
Sebastian Forrest waa sA, aud ot
coafs" We couldn't do ihlnaa luas like
gae other Nsn, who Werp older, aHA
hardened W. ~ere JUST kids
"Gorporal NaleAsle waa al~ays tolls
ing US You fellows noed ysuf mDlhsel
along With v,u
-OAe niRhl AZ shout ~ the Ger,
mans made trench raid cpok eon.
l1naed ~ TASTED something lks -
minutes and she corporal nat aan and
Sebastian on guard slll Z il the morn
lng
THAT day they kcpi "a At tive
hours on and four ols when night
came, Corporal walcniis had ~ ou
Tor 2 hours again y was drifsllpK
rain, aua the mud lu somc places Was
ankie deus"
An he next dsy again q was two
hours an and four or Though vet
aud chill they atuck 10 thst ylsli.
Exhausted u The end ~ lhe 40 hour
watches. hey would drn4l ilmly. hcag
iiy. Into siumbcr that couldn'f re-.
fresh, 4
Routed Out 10 Keep Watch Again.
Then, when iha four hours had
PASSED. Ahey would be routed oai
again bodies poisoned nv faaisae
weak. unsteady. Az 4 o'cloak that
ulgbs the third night Sebastian and
Cook were put At |, again FOR d ~.
hour stfetch
y was worn out, says Cook Cor.
peral Walcntie dldn', relieve us
ilidus have amy other mem Wei. ~
put some others on. after wa had
Slept
y guess Il must have been abont II
O'Clock that he came around aud
touched me ! was standing mp. lean.
Ing against the waIi ~ thr trench
whore u was iiitle dry had been
looking out toward she enemy.
Where Is ,pur gum the corporal
asked me. looked around Tor Il and
told him didn't know lie had taken
i aud turned :, Ia 10 the lieutenant.
Then he sent me 70 dugout
Sebastian had fallen asleep. too
There were five others. but they were
never convicted
When We went before the fi.u.
tenant the next day there we're tears
IN his eyes aS he told ns what a 49,
rions offense W. had committed shat 1
there was Just ono sentence DEATH I
II we were guilty Sebastian chok.
I'd up and cried We told ,he lleu
tenant how q happened how the
strength had sins " left our bodies.
When tho court martial came there
was only one thing 70 do: plead not
knil'y. and claim ~e hadn't boon
asloep dldnt tell my advocate that
] had dozed and be Aaid n iot Of
things about how ! might have been
looking out over the trench at the
time they claimed slept bat | gussm
the lieutenant had 10 teal them what
we had told him. and they sep,enced