The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1919-10-06
Willie SANDLIN
KENTUCKY man, IS
WONDERFUL HERO
Exploits Of Young Kentucky Noun.
taineer in World War More
Than Wonderful.

Sergeant Willie Sandlin, Company
A, 132nd Infantry, was one Of the con-
spicuous heroes of the great war, yet
his remarkable feat, probably along
with many others, has not been given
to the public. Returning from France
a fe wweeks ago, wearing the highest
medal for bravery that France has to
award and the highest medal that the
United States has to award, he took
them off before he reachred New York
and brought them home in his pocket.
He had been told that the great mill
tary medal of France and the Con-
gressional medal of honor would bring
him much notice and publicity. The
quiet mountain boy, who had dared
every danger of the enemy, who had
scorned fear when duty called, never
theless shrank from publicity and hid
his medals, the telltale of his wonder
full feat and given 1t to the world in
advance of his return, as he came
| quietly back to his Kentucky noun
tain home with those rare medals
which men usually die for, tucked
| away unconspicuously in his pocket.
| Will Sandlin was born January 1,
1891, near Buckhorn, in Perry county.
| His father left the county and his
mother died while he was still boy.
| He and his four brothers reached
manhood as best they could, Bill Alb
ner of Perry county, being reported to
have contributed most aid in the up
bringing of Willie Sandln. All the
boys joined the regular army after
| they become old enough, so that Willie
| Sandlin was trained soldier of sew
eral years when the United States en-
tered the war.
The hardships of youth had taught
| him thoroughly how to take care of
himself. Straight as an arrow, with
| keen, alert, but steady black eyes.
black hair, powerfully muscular, but
not heavy build, still he was not as
| sertive, almost timid. But his mother
| was an Abner, and the Abners were
among the sturdiest, most self-reliant
! stock among the old-time families in
| Perry county. His quick black eyes
| and muscular frame came from his
mother He passed through several
| 1918, but II was at Bots de FORCES on
| September 26, 1918, that his splendid
| heritage of courage and self-reliance
manifested itself
| The line where he was stationed was
ordered to advance to a certain objec-
| tive that day. The advance was vital
ly important. The line was little more
than on its way when it was held up
| by whitening machine gun fire from
| well placed hun nests, two guns to
the nest. Sergeant sandlin's quick,
cool eye presently noticed that there
was a narrow lane between the swing
of the two guns in the nest in front of
his part of the line, so he borrowed
additional grenades from comrades
and prepared to make a dash through
| that little three or four foot lane. II
| took a Simon-pure courage to dare
that, but that days objective was i'm
portant and must be reached Ser
geant Sandlin is very reticent about
talking of the details of that soul-scar-
ing experience but Thousand sticks of
Hyden, where he is now staying with
his brother, John Sandlin, publishes
his simple story of it as follows
9TH line had been ordered to stop
and advance and the men lay down on
the ground to avoid the machine gun
fire. Sandlin, instead of lying down,
and beyond the call Of duty, charged
the machine gun net alone, armed with
four grenades, with his pack and rifle
on his back and bayonet, and ad- |
vanced within seventy-five yards of
the nest and threw his first grenade |
which fell short of the nest about Is |
steps and exploded without effect. He |
then ran some thirty yards toward the |
nest and threw the second grenade |
which hit the nest. Hhe then threw
the other two hand grenades, and then
charged the nest. Finding two men
still unhurt he put them out Of action
with his bayonet. During the time of
this charge the enemy emptied two au-
tomato revolvers at him. Later in the
day he attacked, alone, two other ma
chine gun nests and put them out OF
action"
Imagine the scene. A veritable hail
of machine gun bullets wildly seeking
to reach him on either side of his mar
row lane, and then hun automatics
barking at him viciously, the while he
was running hundred yards or so
up his narrow path to finally hurl his
grenades unerringly, then on into the
nest itself, finishing up the eight men
there with the bayonet
With that his part of the line ad-
vanced, and the other hun machine
gun nests were quickly fianked. The
second hun machine gun line was
quickly reached and again Sergeant
Sandlin did almost Immediately the |