The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1919-05-15
oFLAHERTY
AS BOYS KNEW HIM
Priest Who Went as Chaplain
From Mitchell, S. D., and
Was Killed Was Friend Of
Soldiers Of All Ranks.

Washington, May lS.- When the 2Sth
infantry came out OF the line in Ar
Eonne to sprawl In well earned rest,
any visitor TO thu candle-lit billcts or
10 the little October canpfires was
sure, soone OF later, to hear the ak
reach the name OF their lost friend and
priest, Father O'Flaherty, killed in nc,
ton at Very, France, October, 1918.
Then is the time to get at the truth
about Il man. because after such a BATH
lie death seems far too common a thing
for any one TO have pretty nothings
said about him Just because he IL dead.
One night. when the fog dimmed the
light OF the full moon they were talk
ing about Father O'Flnherty--a chance
miscellany OF officers and men. gath
cred around IA sunlsen fire, where, O
II sizzling griidle, someone was turn
Ing the flapjacks made from a supply
of recently acquired German flour.
Saw Him Killed.
Il was with him when he was killed
or not more than 90 feet away" a
young lieutenant said. "All that morn
ing he had been burying German dead.
Then at moor when q shell struck a
truck at Very-at the crossroads which
used to be Very-and when every
scattered to the four winds, Father
O'Flaherty hotfooted II 10 the place to
see who was hurt and hat could be
done about it. The second shell got
him-killed him outright"
Merry guy. he Was" the cook OBJ
served. The doughboys tell me he
went over the top with them at every
fight since Soissons."
Sure he did. l can see him now with
49, 80 4 80 ~A $40 L. "a lO~rp
through the mud. / remember how he
used to point this way n that with 1t.
Once, when he was trying to show q
bunch Of German prisoners at ST. MI
l.iel the way TO the nearest lookup for
Heinies, he had to do all his talking
with the cane. They though he was
going to hit them and yelled .kamerad'
III he most died laughing l
tswors at Chaplain.
He accused me of swearing at him
at st. MlhieI." said a captain, grtnning
reminiscently. az denied It,"
Yes. you did, captain he says, try
ing to look solemn, and highly I'M
proper 1t was, too. 1t was just before
the zero hour and you barked at me.
Keep that damned nut of yours down
or you'll lose IT."
: What / used to enjoy" said another,
was watching him suayely toying with
all of you making monkeys OF YOU
when you didn't know 1t. a man OF
the world he was. and YOU were all
just children IN his hands"
There was no denial
DO you remember his blessed bed
ding roll? Lord. it was the biggest
and finest in the American expedition
AIRY forces-siss Of Az eight-room cot
tage- A gifJ, I think. from his loving
parish out in Mitchell. s. d. When he
Joined Us he was too green TO know
the trenches were not palat!al enough
TO make room for hat kind OF house
Keeping.
Wen, it was brought up on a NUM-
lion cart. and the driver forgot to push
1t of at the p. c., as he had been told.
Later on, further Up, that cart was hit
with a shell which blew the darned
bedding roll ap a tree.
1T msstified Jerry a good deaf.
Finally. he must have decided i, was
a sniper's nest, for he pottesl away at it
the next week. Poor old bedding
roll. ii was wounded in Il thousand
places
Just at Confession.
81 remember once when he first
to France" The Knights OF Column
bus man said. FL WAS billete,a right
near one of those big French naval
and while we were waiting for
him one rainy day we saw him through
the window, pacing up and down the
road, talking, talking. talking to a little
poilu, the mathematician of the bat
terry, whose job Was to calculate the
trajectories and all that sort OF thing.
We'll, father we said when he
came in ut last been showing him
how TO hit the cathedral at Metza' Not
exactly he said: that little chaps a
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