The evening world., 1919-04-07
Boy "Deserts " to Fight,
Gets Is Wounds, Wins Var
Cross, but in Prison NOU
Cornelius FiSke Quit Naval
Reserves TO Join Marines
and Saved a Captains
Life--Mother Suffers Ner-
vouS ProStration Over His
Predicament.

Mrs. Mae Macleod Fiske Is III Of
nervous prostration at the Hotel ST.
Margaret. 129 West 47th street from
worry over her effort to get hearing
FOR her son. Cornelius who won the
Cro'x dc Guerre as a member OF the
9Th Marine Regiment. has been cited
for the Distinguished Service Cross
and has sixteen wounds from a shrap-
mel shell and one from a machine gun.
He is now prisoner at Deer le-
land, Boston, awaiting court martial
for the hcinous crime OF desert.ng
from his job as a sailor on the trans
port President Grant to join the ma
rines and get action in France in the
carly days Of the entrance of the
United States in the war.
The young mans twin brother
George enlisted in the marines early
in 1915. Cornelius. in the thought
that che OF them might we'll be in
position TO see his mother occasional
ly, went into the Naval Reserve. Two
uneventful trips carrying doughboys
overseas TO real battle Just spoiled
his scafaring life for him and be went
to the marine recruiting Office in East
23d street and enlisted He was over
seas with the 9Th Maines In time to
fight with them at Verdun, Belleau
Wood. Chateau-Thlerry and Scissors.
In this last battle, when only fourteen
men OF his company were left, II was
discovered that Capt. Joseph Gargan
Of the 14th Company vas missing.
Fiske with two companions went out
and brought him in. Right after that
he met the shrapncl shell and retired
from action for two weeks. The Croix
de Guerre was conferred for his bra
very In this fight.
Wounded again az ST. Mihiel, Fislic
went TO another hospital where Can't.
Gargan was recuperating. The arlnis-
uco had been signed and the bog Was
a little worried about thai desertion.
He made a full confession to Cant.
Gargan, who advised him to surrender
himself 10 the naval authorities and
u''N'N W AiAlH AalN AIlAfu Ol4tINS WOllu
probably not be very hard on 4 boy
who deserted to get into battle ins' cad
OF dcscrting TO get to safety,
Fiske was put under arrest and
sent back 10 Hoboken. His mother.
who had given up her situation as
buyer in a department store 10 go
into Government work, was a clerk on
. Nk.a a
that at which he landed but knew
nothing Of his prediCament until she
read about II In a newspaper over a
strangers shoulder in the subway.
She at once made appeals to the
Brooklyn Navy Yard and the em-
b1rk1tiun officials aS a result OF
which the boy was put on the rece.v-
ing ship at BAY Ridge, where she was
told she could visit him conveniently
According to the mothers story to
The Evening World she met with
scant courtesy when she went to the
receiving ship, being told that "onc
desertcr Is Just the same as another
dcsertcr" and that visitors were not
| desired.
When she undertook 20 reach her
| son by writing two weeks ago, her
! letters were returned with the nota-
! ton "Not here" only yesterday she
! had letter from him at Deer Island
/ In which he commented that he had
| gone into the marines "to see the
! world" but that the most he could get