The Colorado statesman., 1919-06-07
sEVENTY.sEvENTH, 40 PER CENT
OF WHICH WAS JEWISH, DID
GREAT WORK IN FRANCE.
1T MOPPED UP THE ARGONNE
Jew Soldiers Showed as Much lnitia-
tive and Gallantry as Any Other
Race-How One Chinaman Earned
the Medal of Honor.
BY EDWARD B. CLARK.


erals office of the war department are
the complete records of every soldier,
volunteer and drafted man, who fought
in the great war. Some day 1t is prob
able that study will be made by his
torians of the racial groups found In
| the records.
The army authorities of their own
volition probably never will group SOL
diers, for purposes of publication, ac-
cording to the races into which they
fall. The army naturally and properly
takes it for granted that every man In
the service is an American in all that
the word implies, and that it may be
| invidious and unnecessary to go fur
ther than this. 1t perhaps would be
impossible for the authorities to COM
plete accurately list of the racial
groups, because If man is born in
America that fact is put down, and
nothing is said about the old world
nation from which he sprang; but or
course something can be told by the
study of the name of soldier.
Students, however, who are interest
ed In such matters probably will un-
dertake to separate the soldiers into
groups according to their national line
age. They go on the supposition that
1.-THE proper study of mankind Is man"
and that anything that relates to diff
ferences in capabilities and accom-
plishments of men of different races
is so much gained.
Jews Made Excellent Fighters.
An army officer said the other day
that one of the great satisfactions to
be derived from the American records
in the war is the rehabilitation of the
Jew as a fighting man. 1t perhaps is
not true that the Jew in any way had
deteriorated as a fighting man, but
simply that such an impression was
abroad. If there was such an impress
sion 1t has been lifted and thrown into
the discard by the fighting in France.
One record, specific one, Is at
hand. The Seventy-seventh division of
the American army, otherwise known
sometimes as the Metropolitan divi-
sion, and more frequently as the LIB
erty division had 40 per cent of Jews
in its ranks. They fought as well as
and perhaps better than their remote
ancestors fought against the Philis-
| tines.
The Seventy-seventh division did
tremendous work west of the Argonne
forest, and later in the Argonne 1t
self. This division in fact did a large
part Of the work of clearing the Ar
gonne of the enemy and it staid in the
GfrI, nf
period of rest, from the beginning of
the northward drive on September 26,
1918, until the thing ended in the
suburbs of Sedan at noon on Novem-
ber II, 1918.
The word of the officers is that the
Jewish soldiers of the Seventy-seventh,
not all of whom had had complete
military training, went into the fight
ing as matter of grim business which
was to be cleaned up in the shortest
order possible. There are many of
guished Service medals and French
Crosses for conspicuous personal gal
lantry in action.
Gallant Work of individuals.
The Jewish soldiers showed for the
main part just as much initiative as
the men of any other race. Frequently
Individual soldiers were compelled by
the force of circumstances to "go 1t"
virtually alone, or at any rate in little
groups of two or three, against ma
chine gun nests. In the face of ter
rife fire these boys, using such shelter
as they could get. closed within hand
grenade throwing distance of the Hun
machine gunners and bombed them to
death or to flight.
The Seventy-seventh division had
representatives in its ranks of vir-
tually all the peoples of earth. There
were more Jews in it than of any other
one specific race. The 60 per cent of
the division which was non-Jewish
was made up of Americans of long
descent, of men born in Ireland, Can
ada, England, France, Germany, Italy,
Poland, Russia, Scandinavia and even
China.
A Chinese member of the Seventy
seventh division, wounded and gassed,
stuck to his post of duty, with the
dead and dying all about him, and,
alone and exhausted almost unto
death, continued to transmit the mes
sages which were entrusted to him.
He is now the color bearer of the
outfit to which he is attached, and he
wears the insignia of all the honors
which the French and the American
governments can give him.
Soldiers Flock to Mount Vernon.
Thousands upon thousands of Amer
lean soldiers within the past two
years have visited Mount Vernon, the
home OF George Washington and the
scene of his death. Thousands more
vii visit the place before final demobi-
lization comes.