The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-12-29
AMERICAS DEAD ARE WELL CARED
 FOR IN FRANCE
Graves Registration Bureau Makes Cemeteries Fitting
 Resting Place.

That the United States Army of fciaIs connected with the Graves Registration Service in France have made every effort to make the Arneri- can military cemeteries in the battle areas in France a fitting resting place for America's heroic dead, is a state ment made by John A. Owens, of Taunton, Mass, who has just return ed from France after completing his work with the Knights of Columbus committee on War Activities. MT Owens, a former newspapermau, travelled thousands of miles on trips to military cemeteries from Be1Ieau Wood, where many of the Marines are buried, to the little cemetery at La Chapelle s-Rougemont, com rnune of Belfort near the Swiss | border.
 i He has taken hundreds of photo graphs of individual American graves and these have been forwarded to i the parents or next of kin of the de- l ceased soldiers. In this work he al- ways received the active cooperation ] of the officials of the Graves Regis l tration Service, who extended to him | every possible courtesy and assisted | the K. of c. man in many ways in To- eating isolated graves and cemeteries l in which but a few bodies were in 1 tered
 l The Graves Registration Service ! in France is in charge Of Colonel ! Kroner, the head office being located at Rue Boissy d'AngIas, Paris and it Is at this office where are kept the records of all the American dead in l France. Visitors are first directed to this office where a modern filing sys- tenn has been installed. All informa- l ton regarding the particular soldier ! inquired after Is supplied in a. few i minutes by the clerks in charge. SeI- II dom does it occur that there is & long
 delay in securing the records. The i name of the deceased Is furnished, |, his company, regiment, division and serial number as well a.s the number of the grave, the plot and the loca- Il tion of the cemetery.
 The visitors can also procure at | this office information as to the best
 method to reach the cemetery, the present conditions of the city or
 town in which the cemetery is To- cated and whether or not hotel ac- !! comm odations are to be had. The officials are also in a position to fur . nish the inquirer with other infor- ; nation which might be of advantage ; in making a trip.
 What is the condition of the American military cemeteries which you have visited in France?" MT Owens was asked by the writer. In his reply the K. of C. Secretary said in part: From first hand kno8fl- edge of hundreds of American cere- } teries which I have visited in the s battle area, think that the condi- { ton of the cemeteries as a whole i: 5 very good and in many cases the army men in charge have made mos ' wonderful looking cemeteries out o ] what a year ago was a shalI-torr 3 area. 1 want to say that the men il s charge of the work take a persona ! pride in endeavoring to make the 2 cemeteries of which they have chargt 3 as near perfect as conditions will per S init and on the other hand extenC s every possible courtesy to all visitor, who are seeking the graves of tn. : men who have given their all fo1 < their country"
 \ Continuing the K. of c. man said 5 Tt Is true the condition of tht a French soil in many places has mad q the work of grading most difficult 5 for during the rainy season in man, ! 1 spots the soil will sink q few inche 2 but under the direction of the office }. 1 in charge the graves are being re 2 graded"
 2 Are there mary unknown dead il z the various cemeteries?'' was anothe Z question asked of MT. Owens. H i replied Taking everything into con T sideration there are very few uniden z ttfed American dead in France, tn ] percentage being far lower than tha of any other nation and this wa brought about primarily by the fac
 that when the American troops wen into action the only creed they kne1
 was to advance with the result tha
 from the time they started a driv
 they kept going and going until tn
 armistice halted operations,
 How the Americans advanced
 but a repetition of a story told b
 the little French women in the sna
 town of Taux near Chateau Thierr!
 She told how the Germans were 1
 the town and the French on the out
 skirts and there was but very Iittl
 action until the arrival of Les soldat
 Americaine,' who as soon as they gC
 near the place opened fire with thei | i artillery and the Germans started o 1 the run over the hill.
 Another thing to take into consit
 i eration in connection with the sts
 tistfcs of the unidentified dead wit
 the other armies is the fact ths
 certain ground was 1OuStlI over ClIl
 and again, this being very true Il
 in the Chemin -des-Dames sector O
 the British front, the SOnme, Marr
 and in the Champagne sectors
 well as outside of Verdun.
 The most practical thing our W. - Department did was to have eveI
 soldier going into action wear tW identification discs around his nee They have been of great assistance identifying the men when they wei . picked up after a, battle. In son
 cases tc make the Identification mol
 positive the men had their nam'
 written in idelibIe pencil on the il
 side of their uniforms. The location
 the graves was also made on W.
 maps and later these maps were use
 in checking Up the men when u
 bodies were removed to the concel - tration cemeteries.
 The largest American cemetery France is at Romagne-s sous Montfa1 s con, the department on the Meu
 and is known as the Argonne Amer s can cemetery. In this plot of grour
 more than 23,000 Americans a
 buried; the men who fell in u
 Meuse-Argonne offensive. practical i L.,