Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-05-22
QuickWittedness and Orig.
inaIity in Mastering ArtiI-
Iery Highly Praised.
ESCAPE FROM U-BOAT
TOLD BY MAJ. HEBRON
Boys Glad to Be Back on American
Soil, But Eager to Get to Work
in Washington.
From a STAFF Correspondent.

NEWPORT NEWS. Va, May 22-
How the 400 Washington men of the
10th Field Artillery won commenda-
ton in France. despite the fact that
they did not get into action. was told
by members of the District battalion
at Camp Stuart, Va, today.
The fact that French officers who
helped train the 10th commended
the men upon their originality and
quickwittedness in mastering mod
ern artillery work is regarded by the
officers of the outfit as good indi-
cation of the record they would have
signed on the day after they reached /.
the front line.
Glad to Get on American Soil.
The District veterans were a joy
Gus lot when they tramped off the
transport yesterday morning and
marched on real American soil again
to Camp Stuart. Their glee began
to give way to encouragement. as
they became settled here without any
definite information as to when they
would leave for Camp Meade.
How soon do we leave here" was
the foremost question on the lips of
every HAL dppTOdCUcu III the Three
Washington batteries-A. B. and c.
Next to this query came another. Are
jobs hard to get in Washington now?"
There is perhaps no unit in the
American expeditionary force that
trained longer and harder without an
opportunity to show its ability than
the 10th. They have been in the
service for twenty-three months and
were In France from July Is. 1918. to
Nav 70 Tn2hilitV horses
and railroad transportation to take
them from the training area to the
front is the only thing which kept the
10th from taking a prominent part
in the last onslaught that brought
Germany to her knees. For two
weeks prior to the signing of the ar
mistice the 10th lay at railroad
station waiting in vain for equipment
TO take them to the battle line;
Maj. Heron Tells Of U-Boat Attack
Mai. Leroy w. Heron, commander
of the LIST Battalion, today recounted
the trip of the outfit from the day II
left Baltimore on an English troop
ship until it sailed from st. Nazaire.
France, ten days ago. ,-
The major told how an American
destroyer saved their ship and sew
eral others from German submarine
going over. 1t was 6 o'clock on the
evening of July Is, he said. when a
U-boat was reported lowering near
the convoy. Word was flashed to one
of the American destroyers ahead.
which hurried to the scene. After
dropping seventeen depth bombs the
destroyer reported it had sunk the
submarine.
I'VE couldn't see the U-boat." said
Maj. Heron, but weocould feel the
vibration from the dropping of our
destroyer's bombs"
The rest of the voyage was unevent-
full and the unit landed at Liverpool
July Is. going by train to Southamp-
ton.
10th Enters France.
The following day the 10th was
taken across the English channel to
Cherbourg. They left this place July
IL for PORTER, where they were bill
leted, and remained until August %.
On that day they left for Camp de
Meucon, regarded as the artillery ar
ing center. Here they were trained i'm
the use of the French IS milimeter
guns. All during September they
worked daily on artillery firing prob
lens put to them by the French in
Structors.
1t was the ability they displayed
during this period of training which
led the French officers to commend
them and to show this commentator
in practical way by submitting to
other organizations for practice the
problems in artillery fire which were
worked out by the Washington men in
the 10th.
At Front Just Before Armistice.
On October 10 they moved from the
training area to the railroad. where
they waited for transportation to the
front, arriving there finally on the
night of November 10.
All that night they heard the fire
of the rival guns as they made their
last attacks on each other. They
were just preparing to move up into
position on the morning of November
II, when word came of the signing
of the armistice.
At that time they were in the vosges
mountains. south of Verdun. On De-
cember they began to retrace their
steps to the divisional area of the
29th, near Bourborne-les-Bain. Set
ting up headquarters at Aisey the
Washington battalion was divided up.
Battery A was billeted at Richie Court
and B and C at Villars lie Pautel The
I'd Battalion of the 10th. composed
of Maryland men, was quartered at
Ormay.
Some D. c. Officers Didn't Return.
GERS who left Washington with the
cavalry and artillery of the District
National Guard. from which the LIST
Battery of the 10th was formed, did
not return with the battery.
Lieut. Gerald McGrath, former anna
teur ball player. and Lieut.. John ID.
son of Commander Robinett,
U. S. N, were transferred to the
embarkation center at LIE
Mans, France. Lieut.. Drury L. Patch
ell, formerly Of the Congressional Lii
brary staff. has been appointed an in
structor of French at the University
of Potiers, one of the A L. F. univer-
stiles, and Capt. ]. w. Thompson. for
merly adjutant of the LIST Battalion,
has been assigned special duty with
the Judge advocate generals Office in
Paris.
Maj. Louis C. Vost who was In
command of the I'd Battalion in
France, has been detailed as observer
on the staff of Gen. Halter of the
Polish army. His duties in this posi-
ton consist in having charge of the
neutral guard, which looks after the
passage of Polish troops through Ger
many to various sections of the front
where they are fighting Russian boil
sheviki. -
Capt, Langdon Moore, Lieut.. Milton
Moves and Lieut.. Donald c, Long also
did not return with the command.
AS they stand at Camp Stuart to-
day, Battery A is COMMANDED By
CONTINUED on Fourteenth PaT<s