The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1919-05-22
Colonel johnson Commends Engineers
Many Exacting Duties Performed Served in In
Gontry When Not Building Roads and Bridges
South Carol,nians in This Heroic Unit
Gloriously Sustained States Traditions.

would take care Of the situation.
6. 1t was necessary then fer the
regiment TO discard such equipment
as was needed TO serve as infantry
and reassemble their engineering
equipment. 1t was therefore almost
noon before they could get on their
way to the points to which they were
ordered. The First Battalion, under
Maj. \ V. Hooks, was ordered to
proceed to Brieulles, where regiment
al headquarters was Immediately
moved from Authe on the early morn
ing of the 5th, and at once construct
ID a corduroy bipass across the Bar
ALLEY and also a bipass around a
demolished culvert about half kill
)meter to the north of the road to
Petite Armoises and Sy, and two
bridges in the forest to the south of
Sy. All of this work proceeded night
and day until finally the lines of
communication were opened and two
companies had gotten in direct con-
tact with the infantry before the in
fantry reached it's final objectives,
and full reconnaissance were made
along the Meuse River on our imme-
diate front in advances of the out
posts Of the infantry.
Part Two.
l. l wish to call attention to First
Lieut.. Harold F. Percival, then at
tached to regimental headquarters,
who worked all night at Authe as
sisting traffic across the creek on the
edge of that town on the night Of
November 4 and who was busy all
day on the 5th, making reconnais-
sances, on which reconnaissance dis
position OF engineer troops was
largely based. He was sent out
again on the night of the 5th on
similar duty remaining out almost all
night and also the day of Novem-
Der 6.
2. wish to call attention to Sergt.
Roy E. Wickstrom, No. 1S844S,
Headquarters detachment, who on the
night of November in the dark took
out a detachment and made recon-
naissance so accurate that it enabled
the division to get platoon at a
bridge previously reported o. h, he
having reported it too light for trucks
in time to begin this repair within a
half hour after its collapse.
Part Three
I'M wish to call attention to Maj.
A V. Hooks, commander of the First
Battalion, One Hundred and Seven
teenth Engineer Regiment, who, in
spite of the fact that he was suffer-
ing from cold and fever, believed to
be influenza, which at less strenu-
Gus time would have been considered
a serious illness, so handled his bat
talon that he built corduroy
road across the Bar Valley at
Brieulles which handled our entire
divisional supplies without serious
delay, his battalion working night
and day with such promptitude and
dispatch that he was able to release
one of his companies at noon On No
vember 6, which was marched imme-
diately without rest through the ter
ritory where tine Second Battalion
had completed bridges and opened
up lines of communication until it
came in direct contact with the in
fantry still advancing, which company
Immediately began making repairs
according to orders, in a zone of in
tense bombardment. With his other
two companies he completed his cor
duroy road at Brieulles at 10 o'clock
the night of November s, and as the
Second Battalion had completed prac
tically it's work in this immediate
front he was ordered to rest his
remaining two companies and bring
them up to Chemery the morning Of
the 7th.
Part Four.
/. wish to call attention to the
commanding officer of Company A.
117th Engineer Regiment, Capt. Jos.
w Barnwell, who received orders to
transform from infantry reserve to
engineers at o'clock on the 5th of
November and who by II o'clock had
led his company. one of its first hot
meals in several days, his train hav-
ing arrived at o'clock at Authe, and
Immediately went to work according
ITO orders, assembled his company and
proceeded TO BrieulleS where he built