Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-12

oSScurlty, which enShroud
e glorious exploits in this
greatest OF all wars will
Lift and there viii stand revealed an
array of martial heroes who will live
forever in the heart and mind of the
American people, coupled with those
great names of Washington. Gen
Israel Putnam, Paul Revere, Gen
Warren of Bunker Hill, e"Dashing
phil Sheridan, Admiral Farragut
and of later days. Hobson
And when the one hundred mil
lions of Americans We had time TO
weigh the respective claims of each
of these men to greatness it can be
stated that the name of Lieut.. Col
Charles w. Whittlesey will probably
precede all the rest
1t is not entirely beyond the range
of probab that the American ma
ton. so proud of her victorious Army,
will snatch up Whittlesey and make
him immortal as "Go-to-hell" Whit
tlesey.
children will often mount your knee
and beg to hear the heroic tale of
Whittlesey and his men. So here it is
unfolded. so that you may pass it
dlOHR 10 lutuFe generations OF Amer
leans. that they may absorb some of
that lofty love of country of which
Col. Whittlesey is one of the high
est eXponcntS.
REALLY. l don't see why you should
be interested in my story" said Col
Whittlesey, when he landed from
France recently. Col. Whttlesey is
modest
However, after he had been COM
manded to tell his story. leaving out
no details whatever, Col Whittlesey
capitulated. but he fixed as one of the
terms of the stipulation that his per-
sonauty was to be hidden in his
narrative.
of 700 men of the list and Cd Bat
talions of the 30Sth Regiment. and
Company * of the 307th Regiment.
They were mostly New York city
boys, with whom l had been at Camp
Upton, but some were from the west
l was a major then
ut was the time when Foch was
dealing the Germans deadly thrusts
each day, first in one salient, then
another l was in the Rainbow DivI-
sion and we were in the Argonne for.
est. We got the order to push ahead,
and started before the fresh provi-
sions which had been brought up
could be given around. Each man
bearing EGO rounds of ammunition
we advanced all night.
THE Argonne forest has an under
brush so dense and tangled that it is
Impossible to see more than ten fee,
ahead. But our boys had the Hun
on the run, and we pushed right
ahead, their skirmish line offering
little resistance.
Eel Inn Ioxy Jn,,
along deep ravine. with hills about
200 feet high rising abruptly. On top
of these hills the Germans had plant
ed machine guns. which they used to
cruel advantage. / sent Company A
against one hill. and almost all of the
officers and men were wiped out. The
next day, leaving two companies to
cover our rear, we went forward /.
short distance and stretched out
line running along a hillside, which
was a better position than the other,
where we were in the hollow
"Our rations gave out the following
day. The men divided bread crusts,
hard as rocks, but soon these werV
gone also.
eve occupied strip of ground per-
hnps 100 yards long. There was
swamp back of us, fortunately,
where we craWled for muddy water
at night Machine-gun bullets
splashed our faces while we drank
"Lieut Wilhelm of Company IL at
tackled strong German position on
our right, where machinegun nests
and snipers were picking our men Off
one after, another, but his command
Of ninety men was surrounded ana
almost every ono died.
j. "At the end of the third day il
dawned upon us that we were sur
rounded and completely cut off from
our relnforcements. The fact that
the Huns had led us into a cunning
ambuscade was particularly CALLING.
Runners l had sent out returned and
reported that they had been cut Off.
Now the men were eating chewing
tobacco and leaves.
ut was horrible, ordeal Before
each attack the Germans fired trench
mortars at us. Night and day sew
eral thousand of them raked US with
4 whitening machine-fun fire. Shippers
!, flred at us from everywhere. Howling