Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1919-06-05
SERGEANT CURTIS
AT THEATRE
SoIlier Overseas One Year, Saw
Considerable Service and Won
Distinguished Service Medal
(From Thursdays daily

After the pictures were shown at
the Al. Ringing theatre Wednesday
evening, Sergeant Rollin B. Curtis
gave the audience talk on his per-
sonal experiences in the world war.
Sergeant Curtis was a member of Co.
A, 128 Inf, 32d division, and had
charge of platoon of men in his COM
pany. The soldier gave the account
of his experiences in plain English,
and it was one of the best given since
the boys returned.
Mayor George T. Thuerer introduced
the speaker and told the different bat
ties he was in and also gave a brief
history of Company A.
Sergeant Curtis started with the
crossing of the ocean to England and
said they had six meals day while
crossing-three down and three up.
They landed in England and were 81
hours crossing the English channel.
After drilling one month his outfit was
his first German while out inspecting
the entanglements. Soon after they
moved up into Chateau-Thierry, where
he got his first taste of real warfare.
Mr.. Curtis was also in the Argonne
forest and most of the great battles of
the Americans He was usually par
ticipant in the raiding parties Of his
company and cleaned out several ma
chine gun nests. He was wounded in
the leg once, which kept him in the
received other smaller wounds from
bursting shells. The soldier was sent
to a hospital the second time, when he
was hurt in several places, but ran
away and rejoined his company to go
over the top the next morning. He
said it was not the fight which brought
him back, but he just wanted to be
with the boys from home. The soldier
was also sent back to attend an Off
GERS training school and ran away and
believed if they couldn't pick man
out Of the lines and give him a com
mission without his attending school.
he didn't want their bars at all. He
was awarded the Croix de Guerre and
the American distinguished service
medal for valiant service.
During his talk, Sergeant Curtis
told how some of Baraboo's heroes
met their death on the field of battle,
many in the audience for the first time
learning that Ed Cummings, son of
Mrs Catherine Cummings, was killed
with five others while he was charging
a machine gun nest The latter was
wiped out and the entire crew cap
tured by Curtis and the only other sur
viv0r of the party of seven that set out
to do the work.
pete" Mcdonald, son of Mr.. and
Mrs. Peter Mcdonald now of Madison,
formerly of Baraboo, fell the day be-
fore the armistice was signed while
hurrying with a message to his COM
panions in the line, telling them to
move back from the perilous position
they then occupied.
The speaker also told of the brave
acts, the narrow escapes and the
wounds that other Baraboo and~Reeds-
burg boys, and lads from other nearby
places received.
Curtis was outspoken and some of
the things he said were no doubt a
revelation to many. In one engage
ment his men were without food for
Y hours.
The stage was decorated with the
American flag and several guns, which
made very pretty setting. Just be-
fore the speaker entered the bugle was
sounded.
All members of the G. A. R., Span
ish-American war men and soldiers,
sailors and marines of the late war
were invited to the theater free of
charge.