The sun., 1919-03-07
O'RYAN PRAISES HIS
TROOPS DEVOTION
Says Their Valor and Indomi-
table Spirit Won Admire
ton and Affection.
EXALTATION IN BATTLE
Scores Struck Down by Fire
Rose and Struggled On to
Fight Anew.

The kind Of men who came back
with Major-Gen. Organ yesterday and
who will follow on other boats can be
described in no better way than by the
statement which Gen. Organ gave out
soon after the Leviathan had locked.
The spirit, devotion to duty and reck-
less daring in their cause had, he said,
turned their officers admiration into
devoted affection"
They were prepared to make any sac
rifcs to Justify their confidence in them
selves and their units. and to this end
they seemed to give freely of their
lives" he said.
u have no statement to make and no
comments to offer about the military
policy or any other policy of the Gov
eminent" said Gen. Organ. my du-
ties are confined to my own division. I
welcome the opportunity OF saying a
word or two Of the mems discipline,
valor and zeal When I speak Of them
include our dead and tho wounded who
have come on ahead OF U.S.
valor Was Universal.
Tn battle our men performed acts Of
sion they came to be regarded almost al
commonplace Tho tributes. however,
OF our British and Australian comrades
who witnessed their work in action and
the numerous medals and citations
awarded for acts OF extraordinary hero
Ism furnish a better appraisal Of their
worth.
THE story of the service of the d,v,-
sion Is too long to do more than to refer
n Inn hut A.
lies Of our soldiers and the many thou
sands Of men In New York State who
have served In the years gone by in the
old regiments OF the division will be in
terested to know that the conduct of
our men was at all times characterized
by remarkable spirit, a spirit difficult
to define, but which reached in battle a
veritable state OF exaltation. 1t was a
spirit which breathed confidence deter
mination and willingness to make any
sacrifice to win. This spirit was so
marked as to be frequently commented
upon in the British area.
II am sure no man who has not ex-
perienced the ordeal of battle can ap-
preciate the feelings OF the officer who
sees his men coming out Of battle after
perhaps three or four days and nights
Of continuous fighting. plastered with
mud. scratched and cut by wire and
shell splinters, lame and sim from the
water Of shell holes in which they have
spent the night. half dazed from shell
shock and loss OF sleep. half sick and
frequently burned from poisonous gas
and depressed by the loss of comrades
whom they had seen killed or wounded
about them.
Spirit Il Unimpaired.
Certainly one must admire the hisci-
alt
keep in column and observe the many
rules Of the road MS they painfully make
their way to the rest camp over roads
pounded with never ceasing shell FIRE.
But the officers admiration turns to de-
voted affection when under such circum-
stances he receives from his men the re-
sponsive glance and the labored straight
cning OF the exha listed body which indi-
cate that It is the physical machinery
alone that Is all in-that the spirit re-
mains unimpaired.
This has been the experience OF our
officers with their men. Cases by the
score have occurred where officers and
men struck down in battle have in re-
spouse to this spirit struggled to their
feet and gone on with their companies
In the attack, only to be hit again. Cases
exist in every regiment where men have
done this three times before being killed
or rendered helpless and evacuated.
This spirit cannot be produced by dis
cipline alone. The character OF our cause
had some relation to IL, A spirit so In
tense cannot be developed in a period
measured by months. In our case IL was
the growth OF years OF jealous effort
to compel recognition of the efficiency
OF their regiments-effort which In
volved not only sacrifice but lack OF ap-
probation and even OF Hostility from
some sources, Our men and the new
men who gained their spirit were pre-
pared TO make any sacrifice to justify
their confidence In themselves and their
units, and to this end they seemed WILL
Ing to give freely of their lives.
mot by any means the least remark