Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1919-12-20
MARINE FORD HISTORICAL

During the bitter fighting in
France i'll September 1918, when the
United States Marines took the heart
I'out Of the Prussian Guards, and in
fact, ont OF the whole German army,
and during the wicked fighting at
Belleau Woods and vicinity, some
twenty Marines captured the little
French village of Bouresches. Scarce
~ 200 yards beyond lay the German
trenches. AS the Germans were driv-
en- from the village Of Bouresches,
their artillery dropped fierce barage
behind the village to make impossible
reinforcements being sent to our sold
Ter boys. Tur boys fought until all
their ammunition was exhausted, their
food was gone, and they had no water,
and still they held the village, and
still the barage fell around them
when suddenly out of the hell Of fire
of the barage a Ford truck broke
through bringing water, food and
mum tons. Upon receiving this, our
American war dogs proceeded to
drive the Germans out Of the
trenches.
Major Frank f. Evans, U. S. M. c.,
Adjutant, Sixth Regiment. U. S. Ma
rines, A. E. F., writes as follows con-.
corning this particular Lizzie"
Elizabeth Ford, as the regiment
knows her, has unique career. Not
only in Quantico where I drove her,
but in Bordeaux, and later up in our
training area, she carried everything
from sick men to hard tack. When
we had two months in the trenches
near Vardun, and at the end it SEEM.
ed as though she woald have to go to
the scraap heap. Her top was entire
ly gone and we made mail wagon Of
her, In some way the mens who have
an affection for her that you can
hardly comprehend, patched her to-
gether and we brought her down to
our first billets. A week later we had
to go to another area, forty kilomet-
ers north of Paris, and in the long
trip the Elizabeth Ford sailed without
mishap and was the talk of the divi-
sion.
Then we came up here and she
rose to the heights OF her glory and
her record, The night we took
Bouresches with twenty odd men, and
news came through that others had
filtered in and the town was ours, we
shot out truck load of ammunition
over the road The road was under
heavy shell and machine gun fire
Later in the night we sent the Ford
out with rations. For the next five
days she made that trip night and
day, and for one period ran every hour
for thirty-six hours. She not only
carried ammunition out to the men
who were less than 200 yards from
the Boche, but rations and pyrotech-
MICS; and then to the battalion on the
left of the road, in those evil Be1leau
Woods, she carried the same, and
water, which was scarce there. For
these trips She had to stop on the
road and the stores were then carried
by hand into ravine I saw her after.
her first trip and counted twelve
holes made by machine gun bullets
and shrapnel
"At one time the driver. Private
Fleitz, and his two UNDERSTANDS,
Halter and Bonneville, had to step to
make minor repairs, and another time.
when they had blowout, how she and
the men escaped becoming annihilated
is mystery. The last time / saw her
she was resting against stone wall in
the little square o Z y-le-Bocage,
shell wrecked town, and she was the
most battered object in the town.
One tire had been shot off, another
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS rs~rr>>~>e>s~~.~>>~~~