The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-02-15
BACK FROM WAR SERVICE.
Private Dean Brock of the 26th Divisior
Arrived in Barre To-day.

Arrived in Barre To-day.
Private Dean Brock, who enlist a
company c of Barre in the old q
mont regiment and later was tr red
to company d, l02d machine ~ 4Ctal
ion, and saw much service v cSS at unit
in France, returned to t. ~ nc OF his
father, E, G. Brock of Wa. gton street,
in this city early this morning, and is re-
newing acquaintance after nearly two
years absence from Barre He went over
seas in October, 1917, and was one of the
first of the American expeditionary sol
| diers to go into the trenches.
Private Brock was wounded in the ad.
| vance of the Americans on the Marne
front following the battle of Chateau
Thierry. He started with the first wave
of the American forces on July 10 when
the tide of the war turned in favor of
the allies after gruelling defeat ever since
| the Germans launched their offensive in
March Of 1918. The Goth division, in
which his battalion was a unit, did its
! part, as the records show, in driving back
the Germans.
! The 26th was halted for time in its
efforts to capture a strongly defended hill
and the commander ordered the infantry
to hold up while the guns laid down a
| barrage. This barrage was done in fancy
fashion, after which the. Germans re-
| sponded with a heavy barrage. The l02d
machine gun battalion was waiting for
the orders to move ahead, and Private
Brooks squad of eight men was on the
| qui vive for the order when a German
shell came whistling over aud struck a
| tree about eight feet back of them. The
| shrapnel flew in all directions and two
| of the pieces struck Private Brock in the
right arm, one splinter going through
| just between the wrist and the elbow,
| breaking the arm, and another inhicting
a severe flesh wound near the elbow.
| Strangely enough, none of the seven 9th
er members Of the squad on that gun
was injured
Private Brock made his way back to
the first aid station, where he was TEN
porarily fixed up and was then sent to a
! hospital further back and eventually was
| sent to a base hospital where he recov-
cred in due time and tried twice to re-
| turn to his outfit" only to be disap-
| pointed in his hopes, as the surgeons did
not think he was in good enough shape
to see front line duty. So he was sent
TO do guard duty over German prisoners
at about the time the Americans were
gathering them in in large assortments,
There were approximately 5000 Germans
under guard in Tours, where Private
| Brock was stationed at the time of the
signing of the armistiee.
| But the Chateau Thierry drive was not
| the first in which Private Brock figured.
He was in the Seicheprey battle, where
| the Germans, in an effort to frighten the
Americans, newly come to the front, sent
regiment of their best shock troops.
| The initial drive of the Germans was
successful as they took not only the
/ trenches of the newcomers but the vii
| lage of Seicheprey as well. However, the
| Americans organized an attack and drove
! the Germans completely out of the vii
| lage and out of the American trenches,
/ capturing a considerable number of pris.
oners-200 or 800, as the French news
papers stated
This was the first baptism Of Private
| Brooks unit in actual battle, although it
had been under fire in the trenches before
that.
Asked how it felt to be under fire. Pri-
yate Brock modestly said that anyone
was so busy that they didn't have much
chance to think of the chances for them
selves. He expressed himself glad to be
\ back home, but admits he wouldn't have
missed the experience for anything.
| Private Brock is still boy. one might
saw, as he is only 10 wears of age after
nearly two years of service. The army
has helped to build him up physically,
as he weighs 30 or 40 pounds more than
he did when he left school to join the
lst Vermont regiment at Fort Ethan Al
len. He wears the stripe of overseas serv-
ice and the stripe of wounds And
glance under his right sleeve reveals evi-
dence of the wounds in a long scar
through which the splinter of shrapnel
went