The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1919-05-30
MAHONEY, WITH LOST
BATTALION, SAFE HOME AGAIN


chine gunners had been severely
hurt and had dragged him to my
hole in the ground. This occurrence
was about the time a deadly barrage
was poured upon us from our own
forces. One shell dropped ten feet
over our dug-out and the earth from
the explosion completely covered us.
! got out easily and finally uncover.
ed my injured companion. Then an
lother shell repeated the performance
[of the first. About this time our
command was ordered to seek shel-
ter a hundred yards away, perhaps
out OF the range of the monster mis-
sNes. For the purpose OF digging
elsewhere l left my wounded broth
er where he had already been cover
ed up twices When l returned a few
minutes later to see how he had far
ed | found shell had made a hit
directly upon him without leaving n
trace of his BODY or any of his ef.
tects, nor my own, which l had left
there.
Many times the enemy would
seek 10 lure us from the security of
our retreats by feigning to be our
own fallen or wounded comrades call
ing for help. Then again the enemy
would engage us on one side of the
Eili only to hurl potato-masher bombs
upon US from the other side. They
undoubtedly could have taken us but
were simply afraid to close in with
the deadly fire we would have pour.
ed upon them Only twice did |
know personally OF the deadly ef.
rect OF our aim. for | saw two vic
inns fall over against the hill where
they had recklessly exposed them.
selves.
Most of the soldiers who were
hurried to the fighting lines had had
little or no experience with rifle.
fortunately for me | was not with.
out this ability acquired In boyhood.
was even able to aim straight into
somewhat unwieldy French rapid
hrer, whose action Is like that of
some OF the automatic pistols that
you can set to shoot only once or
rattle off Is of their deadly pellets. .
Marion Mahoney is the worthy son
of Mrs. Alice Mahoney, the Leesburg
pioneer. Ed Mahoney, a brother OF
the Argonne hero. did not get to the
front but was ready to go when the
armistice was signed The only sis.
ter OF the family is the wife OF L.
h. Glennon, Salmon mayor and attor.
ney. Marion Mahoney stands six
! feet In his shoes and weighs what a
six-footer should weigh to make up
the fair proportions of physical man,
hood. A fragment OF shrapnel took
him over the clear gray eyes and II
left slight scar there. II Is pretty
certain that Marion never batted an
eye even at that moment but kept
on looking straight toward the enc
my.
Marion speaks with tender affec.
ton of a companion or Buddy with
whom he fell In. This was George
Meyhew of Reno. Neveda. These
two shared all dangers together from
day to day and both came out whole.
Both were first class pr;vates IN the
service.
! The soldier tells of the barrage
that preceded the advance into the
Argonne as more resembling a con
vulsiOn OF nature than human de
vice for making noise. II began early
in the morning like the artillery oi
ten thousand thunder storms. both
sides letting forth their utmost TO
ward the din Of the heavens above
and the earth beneath. He thought
there were perhaps ten shells from
our side of the attack 20 one from
the enemy. From that II was con
cluded by the men all along the ad
vance that they had clear road
ahead, but that was not all the time
the case. for there were numerous
machine gunners to be disposed ol
at great expense to the on-cominf
forces. Thus the first battalion wa,
six days reaching its objective
when the trap was closed upon them