The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-02-16
By COL. A. S. McLEMORE,
United States Marine Corps.

Il Of victory is for the leader alone, all
he has to do to become Immediately dis
inusioned is to read Brig Gen. Catlin's
book With the Help Of God and q Fen
Harines.
If it were possible to ask Julius Cesar
Just how the battles IN which he engaged
we're won, he might answer: Il came; l
saw; 1 conquered" Ask Gen. Catlin the
same question and be would answer: 3The
men did it."
Usually q book written by a general
officer is full of war maps, strategical
problems and technical terms. But IN
officer who fights shoulder to shoulder
with his men as Gen. Catlin did at Bel
leau Wood hasn't much opportunity to
view a battle with cold military perspec-
tive.-~So instead of laying elaborate and
complicated war plans before you Gen.
Catlin simply gives you straightforward
narrative account of what happened, and
the facts in themselves are so intensely
dramatic that there is little need Of en-
bellishment or application.
Gen. Catlin was a Colonel at the time
he led the Sixth Regiment of Marines into
Belleau Wood. 1t was during the marines
famous attack of June that Col. Catlin,
who exposed himself repeatedly while d.
recting his troops, was shot through the
breast by a German sniper. This unfor
tunate happening brought his military ca
reer in France TO a close, but even after
be had been evacuated he was able to
follow the marines subsequent battles
through his numerous friends among the
marine officers.
Walter A. Dyer, who collaborated with
Gen. Catlin in the writing Of With the
Help Of God and a Fen Marines, in the
preface of the book describes the General
as being "a young man of SO, powerful
of build and of medium height, with iron
gray hair, an eye as clear and frank as
ebild's and face about as weak and eff
Terminate as Plymouth Rock"
So here we have an instance of q man,
himself having won the Croix de Guerre,
who can tell with consummate skill not
only Of the gallantry in action Of Others,
but also his own experiences. And yet
the book by no means smacks Of being
Biographical. On the contrary, Gen. Cat
hin seems TO have attempted to efaee him
self as much as possible without going to
the absurd extreme of Interpretation.
Perhaps the best Interpretation of his at
titude is that he prefers to let the light Of
his own personality be reflected through
the achievements of the men he led.
Al any rate, whenever Gen. Catlin wants
to cite military instance Of any kind he
utterly ignores whatever Napoleon or
Hannibal might have said on the subject
and quotes Private Jim Smith of a little
town out in California or somewhere else,
who proHably went out with a bayonet
and ganered in a company of Germans
by making them think he was the advance 4.
guard Of q regiment.
The book is replete with brief, snappy
extracts from letters written by marines,
and besides adding hundreds more facets =
Of thrilling incidents TO the writer's own
experiences, these plainly show his desire
to give honor and due credit to the men
Of all ranks who toiled side by side with
him to hold back the Hun. In fact, be-
sides the many names of men and their
deeds recounted in the book, there is an
appendix in which the author has listed
all the marine citations available to him
at the time and the act of bravery for
which each man was cited.
Gen. Catlin has not attempted to corral
all the glory for the Marine Corps, al
though his book is. supposed to deal with
marines. For the benefit of those who be
Ieve that the marines are prone to tell Of
what they did TO the exclusion of others
it might be well to observe that before
entering into any account of the marines
activities the author has devoted a great