The sun., 1919-03-16

OF their approach most politely,
and one generally has time to duck
or take cover.
Hurry Call for Chaplains.
On June s Major Evans jotted down
| a laconic memorandum to the effect
that Holcomb had asked for both chap
lains. That meant the hurried burial
Of our dead.
And right here let me put in a good
word for those chaplains. Theirs 10
| no easy berth, and they do not always
receive the honor that is their due.
The marine chaplains, like the menu
bers of the Medical Corps. are fur
nished by the navy. They are busy
men. Besides holding services at the
camps and in the various villages
where the marines are billeted, and
acting in a general way as the big
brothers Of the men, they have to
censor all mail and serve as the sta
tistical officers of the regiment. At
the front they have charge OF all
burials. collect the bodies and attend
to the matters of record and identiflca-
ton. And more often than not they
volunteer to assist the surgeons
In each of our two regiments there
were two chaplains. Protestant and
Catholic. After the battle was over
all four of them were cited and deco
rated for heroic action In collecting
| and burying the dead and assisting
! the surgeons under fire.
! Gradually terror and the realization
| OF defeat began to creep into the hearts
| OF the Boches. Wrote one of the bows:
Not once in the days OF fighting
that followed did a German stand
| up when the Americans got close
| to him. We've got their number
! and they know 1t. ] wish I could
] get over and tell you all about It.
I'm so full OF stun | simply can't
write the Things in u straightout
| way
You know how did worry about
a pistol and field glasses. Well, it
| wasn't necessary. I now have the
| best Zeiss glasses the Imperial Ger
man Government could purchase
| for me, and the splendid new Lau-
ges pistol that I swing at my belt
| Is certainly the finest the Hohen-
zollerns could provide for an Amer
lean Army officer.
i
that clothing boots, rifles, machine
guns and all sorts OF booty taken
from French towns was left. Every
soldier had at least two Boche over
coats for a mattress.
In one officers overcoat Lieut..
Blaisdell found a cat o. nine tails,
ample evidence of the statement of
many prisoners that they were
driven time and again to fight.
German Treachery Everywhere.
There were evidences everywhere
during this fighting OF German treach.
cry. Those Prussians were mast,
fighters. The following is quoted from
the letter of a Quartermaster's ser.
Geant who talked with a number Of ouI
wounded in the hospital:
If evidence were lacking Of in
grained German untrustworthiness
and treachery, the following from
the lips of three men, one an officer,
would be ample. During the prog
ress of hot engagement a number
of Germans. hands aloft and crying
Kamerad!" approached a platoon
of marines, who, justifiably assum-
ing 1t meant surrender waited for
the Germans to come into their
lines as prisoners. When about 800
yards distant the first line of Ger
mans suddenly fell flat upon their
faces, disclosing that they had been
dragging machine guns by means
of ropes attached TO their belts.
With these guns the rear lines
Immediately opened fire, and nearly
thirty marines went down before,
with yell OF rage, their comrades
swept forward bent upon revenge.
I am happy to state that not Ger
man survived, for those who would
have really surrendered when their
dastardly ruse failed were bayo-
neted without mercy.
AS stated, / talked separately
with three different marines at dh-
ferent times. and have no doubt of
the truth Of the story. When 1t
spreads through the corps it will
be safe to predict that the marines
will never take prisoner.
Can they be blamed? AS one man
remarked, "a good German is a
dead German" Another said, They
are like wolves and can only hunt
In packs. Get one alone and he is
easy meat"
XIII or BE Killed.
Little OF this sounds uplifting, and