The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-01-24
Trained While
Facing the Foe
Soldiers Paid With Their Lives
Nations Unpreparedness
for War.
By GEORGE RoTHwELL BROWN.

hy OEONAE XII HWELL bkOWN.
Americas superb effort toward
winning the war was not put forth
by gold alone. In order to make it
we had to call upon our fighting men
for all that they had Of faith, and
courage and endurance. To this de-
mand they responded with all their
strength and with all their blood and
made up in sublime disregard of their
own lives what they lacked in ma
terial way.
Until the American people learn, as
thew are now beginning to learn, that
their heroic sons stoically suffered
nartyrdom on the blood1stained fields
an dmountainsides of France that
their country might live though they
would dies, they will be unable to ac-
cord to our returning soldiers, end
to the memory of their comrades,
now sleeping where tiny wooden
crosses marke the resting place of our
dead, the gratitude for the past, and
safeguards for the future, to which
they are entitled.
Thousands Were Unframed.
If unframed Americans could write
such brilliant pages in American his
tory, what would they not have done
when they had mastered the art of
war? For thousands of our soldiers
who whipped the Huns were un-
trained. Their lives were sacrificed
to a policy of unpreparedness in this
country dating back over many years,
the evil consequences of which could
not be overcome in year and half
by countless millions of dollars.
SO inadequately trained were they
that time and again the flower of our
young manhood had to go into action
long before they were ready for the
ordeal. They had to be taught how to
load end fire a gun after thew found
themselves in a front-line position,
facing the best combat troops of the
German army. 1t is well-nigh in
credible. but it is sublimely true.
Senator Penrose, of Pennsylvania,
yesterday in the Senate referred to
the heroism of Pittsburgh soldiers
who had thus been called upon in a
great crisis, but State pride should
not load sneator Penrose or any other
senator to boast Of the bravery and
patriotism of the boys of his own
State, for what the soldiers from Pitts
burgh did was done by boys from ev-
cry part of this Union.
Taught to Handle Arms.
In the First division, regulars, men
sent in to take the places Of those
killed or wounded had to be taught to
handle a gun while the division was
in the line, Some men were received
under the same conditions who had
never even seen a machine gun be-
fore. Yet they had to learn under fire
how to use these weapons. Talk about
Kankee adaptability! And these
youngsters learned how to use these
machine guns, that's the point, and
thew whipped the boche to stand
still The thing happened in practi-
callv every division that suffered
heavy losses, and is so well known in
the A. E. F. that you might talk with
an officer all day before he happened
to mention it to you, it is so common
place.
Division commanders have told me
that their divisions were stripped of
experienced officers on the eve of 60
ing into action, and that raw, un-
trained troops were sent to fill up the
gaps at these critical times. These
things had o the done, because we
went to war unprepared. And the
soldier paid often with his life.