Trench and camp., 1919-01-16
TOOK LOOK THROUGH
CROWN PRINCES GLASS
Tompkins Describes 7Sth Heroes
at Battle Of Mont
faucon.


Up in what was left of the church
tower of Montfaucon three Americans
stayed on observation duty while the
boche shelled the place. A monster
telescope was there. deserted by the
Germans. The crown prince had
watched the old battles of verdun
through it. and now Sergt. Thomas NJ.
Rivel and Privates Arthur J. Mccain
and Arthur 6. Roberts were watching
the movements Of the Germans
through it. There were direct hits on
the church and high bursts all around
1t, but these three stayed there until
relieved. The division commander
commended them for it in personal
letters.
Many other personal concentrations
for bravery grew out of the 79th's
fight at Montfaucon. One of them
came to Maj. Lewis ]. Rosenthal of
Baltimore. 1t seems. according to
this letter from the commanding gen.
eral. that Maj. Rosenthal might
properly have remained safely at the
field hospital in the rear" Without
discussing further how safely" he
w
man shells dropping into it. it can be
stated that he didn't remain there.
He went up front from behind the in
fantry and under the storm of ma
chine gun and shellflre helped get the
wounded back for treatment.
other Doctors Commended.
other medical officers commended
for the same sort of work were Maj.
Mortimer w. Raynor. Maj Charles NJ.
Williams and First Lieut.. Harold r.
Conn. All these men were specialists
attached to the division surgeons Of
flee and their duties did not take them
into the hottest fighting. They went
anyway.
ing enlisted men jumped to the front
and took command. Col. Claude B.
Sweezey recommended rewards for
three of them. They were Supply
Sergts. John G. Smith. Irwin +. Mas
sauer and Clarence G. Emmert. They
all took command of supply trains.
handled them under shellf1re and sue
ceeded in getting food and ammuni-
ton up to the lines.
Janney's Men Tigers.
Stuart Janney. then a major. leading
the 312th Machine Gun Battalion.
fought like tigers. Sergt. Evan Tay-
lor. leading a platoon in the advance
of the 315th and 316th on Nantilois.
to the north of Montfaucon, mounted
two heavy machine guns on hill PA
and covered the advance of the infan-
try with direct overhead fire. 1t
sounds easy when you tell about it
unless you mention the fact that the
Germans were making hash out of
hill 274 with heavy artillery. but they
were doing that so consistently, and
there have been SO few instances in
the last few months of the war When
an American soldier could even
change his socks except under artil-
lery fire. that special mention of it
seems hardly worth while
Three other sergeants were COM
nfended by the division commander at
Lieut.. Col. Janney's request, for
bravery similar to TayloEs. They
were: Sergts. John +. Hardie, Carl H.
Donch and Samuel H. Claiborne. Their
machine guns kept the Germans NOV
ing steadily to the rear in the 79th's
attack on che Bois de Beuge, which
lay between Montfaucon and Nahtil-
lois.
Non-Coms Win Honors.
In the 311th Machine Gun Battalion
Sergt. Ramsay W. Pyle kept the ip0i-
rect overhead fire going whep the
313th attacked the Bois de Beuge.
Sergt. Bert Mccoy of Chicago led Com
pany NJ of the 316th, while the captain
was commanding the battalion. which
had lost it's major. Five other non
commissioned officers in this regiment
also earned commentator for taking
the places of officers in the attack.
Sergt. Arthur HI. Baker of the 312th,
held his machine-gun section on the
line when the shelling by German bat
teries was so heavy that the infantry
on his right and left had to withdraw.
His section had been detached from
the rest of the platoon and sent to
this hot place to silence the boche
troublemakers. He led his two gun
servation from the enemy lines, and
fall back.
In the same engagement Sergt.
Grant Ulysses Cole of the 314th, took
command, first of a platoon and then
of an entire company, and led his men
to the capture of six German machine
gun positions before the enemy had
time to destroy the guns.
In all, more than thirty men of the
18th Division won the highest praise
of their general for their heroism in
the Montfaucon fight.
G1O1r,, U1.+ar ~roo aIoofod Tuoadav