The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-07-04

made no difference wher-prettv soon Washing
ton got this stereotyped message: 1.-THE marines
nave landed and have the situation well in hand"
Add to this their unofficial motto, What we have,
we hold" and you have q pretty good line on
this picked outfit of fighting men.
Ihls marine stuff is old stuff for an entirely
ulIlerent reason-fOr two reasons. One is that
there was a lot of fighting between June 1 and
November IL, 1918. The other is that we are
now beginning to hear all about it. The point
is: While the marines kept right on adding to
their laurels and the regulars ran 'em q dead
heat, the common, everyday American soldier
all branches of the service-also got into action
and staged some thrillers himself. National
Guard, National army, air service-it made no
difference. AS fighting men they proved they
were worthy to stand and TO charge alongside
regulars and marines-and words can say no
more. They have their own place in the sun and
they won it in the only way "A fighting man can
win it. You know how.
The German high command at the Spa in Bel
GUM during the war studied the American sol
der Systematically and thoroughly, and formally
wrote its conclusions into the official records.
Major Won Rundstendt, on General Ludendorff's
staff, has made public some Of these official con-
illusions. One is: "The Americans are very
brave and active, but highly temperamental." He
explained this by saying that with the Americans
the fighting was a good deal Of a sporting prOpO-
sition, and that they wanted to get all the adj.
venture and excitement possible out Of it. Besides,
it was impossible to tell what the Americans
would do. They might attack anywhere and any
time. They might get tired sitting around or
get peeved at the mosquitoes or feel mad be-
cause their rations had not come up-then they
were apt to take it out on the enemy. Major Won
Rundstendt, asked TO name offhand some of the
American divisions considered by the high COM
mand as among the best, replied:
The division which you call the Rainbow in
the Sky (FOrty-second), and that division made
up half of marines (Second regulars) also the
Twenty -eighth- pennsylvania National Guard),
and the First (regulars)."
When the high command records were examined
these divisions were also found included among
the most effective: Thirty-second michigan and
Wisconsin National Guard), Twenty-sixth Nation
al Guard, New England), Thirty-third (National
Guard, Illinois, Prairie), and Thirty-seventh (Na-
tiOnal Guard, Ohio).
Official American Portraits.
The judgment of the German high command as
to division efficiency, it will be noted. is borne out
by the American records now beginning to be
made public. And Major Won Rundstendt uncon-
sciously painted a gorgeous picture of the Amer
| lean soldier as a ~frst-cass fighting man.
1t Is when we cOme to the individual exploits
Of our fighting men that we get the real thrills.
Official citations have given us the bald outlines
Of deeds of desperate valor that won recognition.
Here and there some especially noteworthy ex-
| ploit has found a sympathetic chroni.ler. Every
vhere IL this outstanding fact: Evsry fighting