The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-05-02

| a machine gun nest. 1--WE started
crawling in squad column TOWARD
this nest, and when we came uI
Jimmy threw his body in front oil
the gun. The Germans ripped him in
two, but We got every one of them.
1t was about this time that piece OF
German shrapnel hit young Wealth
erby in the helmet" and when he
woke up" in a hospital he thought
he was in heaven. He was able to
leave the hospital an dtake part in
the grand offensive" which was an
absolute surprise to the Germans
and on July IS again went "over the
top" He was gassed this time, and
as he lay helpless an aerial torpedo
dropped near him and exploded. This
time he forgot home and mother
for three weeks. When he was again
able to walk he was sent to hospital
in Switzerland, and when fully re-
covered was sent back to duty behind
the lines, staying in France until the
armistice was signed. He described
the coming of the transport ship in
to New York harbor and the delight
of the soldiers at seeing American
girls again.
Men Glad To Be Home.
The men were glad to be home
again, and glad to find the patriotic
American spirit. Mr.. Weatherby told
of an incident in Minneapolis. He had
overheard two men talking about the
Victory loan. One remarked that
he felt he had done his duty, he had
subscribed to everything during the
war and now he was "going to quit"
and let the other fellow do the sub
scribing. st made me hot" said
Mr.. Weatherby, land for a moment l
wondered if there were many more
backsliders like that" Not until
America has settled back on a pre-
war basis have We done our bit. We
are still in service to support those
fellows over there The Fifth loan
has got to be a success and it will
be. The immediate payment of our
war obligation is as important as
the licking of the Hun. We appeal to
American determination and patriot
ism to finish the job" After the ap-
plause had subsidized Mr.. Willard
stated that he thought Mr.. Weather
by had given a glimpse of the wond =
erful spirit which had carried the
Americans through the war, the in
vinciDle spirit of pluck, and determine
ton which were attributes of the
American soldiers.
Song BY Mrs. j. M. Edwards.
Mrs. John NJ. Edwards then sang
"Laddie in Khaki" the Orpheus club
joining in the chorus. Mrs. Edwards
possesses a splendid voice, and the
selection given was very pleasing. AS
an encore she sang Garry On"
Mr.. Willard remarked that some
branches of the service appeared
more romantic than others, and that
among the branches that had captured
the imagination were the tank serv
ice, the submarine service. and the
aeroplane service.
Address by William FurIow.
Sixty four of our flyers brought
down five or more German aero
planes" said Mr.. Willard, land Min
nesota had two aces among that
number. One of them is Lieutenant
William Furlow, who served with the
United States Flying corps, and VINO
will now address u.s."
Lieutenant Furlow opened his talk
with a humorous description of the
wines of France, and the struggles OF
the Americans with the French lam
guage, telling some jokes which
created considerable amusement. He
then described a flight he had made
across the channel from France ia
england to take a machine across
and bring another back. He had
spent four days in England and
visited many places of historical in
terest. He had also witnessed the
making of a lord" which he describ-
ed with humor that caused peaIs of
laughter. After returning to France
ne was sent to the front, and took
part in considerable active service
He told of friend who had volun-
teered to fly behind the enemy lines
and take views of the camps, and
now he had gone forth, protected by
1ghting planes. A terrible aerial
battle with German planes had en-
sued, the odds being seven to one. and
when the brave American flyer reach
ed his own lines again his machine
crashed to the Garth and he was
killed. This was but one of the sac
rifices which proved the spirit of the
men "over there" Lieutenant Fur.
low repeated the slogans of the war
the French at Verdun, "They shall
not pass" the English, Garry On"
and the Americans, Come on" saving
that the words of those slogans
should be impressed upon the people
during the Fifth loan campaign. The
people must stand back of the army
OF occupation; they must not fail
them.
The Orpheus club then sang God
Be With Our Boys Tonight" and
The End of Perfect Day"
Spirit of ThankfuIness.
Before closing the meeting Mr.. Will
lard spoke of the general spirit of
thankfulness that the war is over
and that the men are coming home.
He stated that as the Fifth loan had
been reduced to four and half bill
lion dollars, the bonds to be for four
wears time q fonr onI fb,oo