Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-10-24

New YOfk.--jen. JOnn y. feTslllllt
was the hardest working man of the
American expeditlonary force and was
under fire greater number of hours
during the war than any officer or en-
listed man under his command, ac
cording TO Sergeant Cesar Santlni
who was the generals personal chauf
feur throughout the entire length OF
Americas participation IN the war
The general worked late and was al
ways In the advanced post command
dire citing the movements OF troops dur
ing, major operations.
y General pershing personally direct
ed the st, Nlihiel fight, was in the Ar
come forest commanding operations
for nearly two months and mingled
with the advanced troops at Cantigny
and Chateau Thierry, He questioned
prisoners brought in by the doughhoyS
at Cantigny and Chateau Thlerry and
in the latter operation walked into
the wheat fields to the gun positions
10 personally commend their crews
and to tell them how proud he was
Of them.
Sergeant Santini, who reveals these
hithterto unpublished facts of the do
ings of General Pershing in France,
is Il Frenchman by birth and enlisted
In the United States army as an auto
mobile chauffeur and engineer at Gov
errors Island on April %, 1917. His
knowledge Of the French language and
his ability as chauffeur led to his
selection as the commander in chiefs
personal chauffeur. Sergeant Santini
sailed from the United States with
General Pershing, he drove the gem
enl over forty thousand miles of
French roads during the more than
two years he was in France, and he
returned home aboard the transport
Leyiathan with the commander in
chief.
Awarded Citations for Bravery.
The general has given Sergeant
Santini gold cigarette case as a
token of his appreciation Of the chauf-
feur's services to him, and the SER
geant holds q citation personally
awarded him by the commander in
chief for bravery under fire. The ci-
tation stands as mute evidence of the
found himself in at times, as Sergeant
Santini was virtually never out of
close touch with his commander, and
they both naturally suffered the same
ordeals from shell fire.
Sergeant Santini was recently mus
tered out Of service and has taken it
upon himself to tell Of his association
overseas with General Pershing.
Long before American troops reach
ed the front General Pershing went
through the rigors and strain of in
tensive shell fire. In the summer OF
1917 he was the guest of the French
commanders and witnessed the attack
on Chemin des Danes. On this oc-
cason the commander in chief rode
right up to the barbed wire cntange-
ments in his automobile and crossed
t'iV N'NA man bitliNiiCS Nii'AiiS
the lines of French infantry.
Again in the Luneville sector where
the first Americans fell in the war.
General Pershing went into the line,
He donned hip boots and traversed
several miles of trenches during an
enemy bombardment On this occa-
sion Sergent Santinl waited in com
trench until the general re-
turned, and admits the Jerry was
using his high explosives TO compare
lively good advantage
Shell Just Misses Car.
Of the numerous narrow escapes
General Pershlne had in his time at
the front the narroWest was, accord
ing TO the best recollection Of Sergeant
Santini, the day before the battle Of
Cantigny The general was riding
along road toward the advanced
headquarters, which at that particu-
lar time was being heavily sheiled by
the Germans
Slirapnc shells were continually
directly over the automobile,
steel fragments on several occasions
landing on the roof of the machine
General Pershing and his aide-de-
camp. who were seated in the tonneau
of the car, seemed to be little affected
by the "stratng" they were under.
going, and no matter how near the
shells landed their conversation, which
probably had TO do with the major
operation Of the morrow, was not in
terrupted
zone shell---it was one of Jerry'S
largest'-Sergeant Santini declares,
hit the road directly in front of us
and only about a hundred feet from
the machine. Had there not been a
heavy rainstorm the day before. which
turned the road into a mire Of mud F..
none of us probably would now be
alive to tell the tale. Our automobile
was splaShed with mud but beyond
that we suffered no i'll effects from the
explosion. 1t undoubtedly was the
narrowest escape the general had
during his many visits to the line"