The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-02-09

who died for liberty lies aslaen. here
- ->a...se .ss4~nsc 1koous 1unak s.s,.4xss
ftayerss, pa >-set Ss1,ees ae&--s... Tor Nc Ia
1 cry tired and he must rest"
Once in a while there Is a grave
with q helmet on 1t or q belt or some
little personal belonging, and upon
one red mound Of earth today there
was dying wreath of the beautiful
white roses OF France. Some one had
come to Beileau wood and found .
name familiar to the heart. h%
The officer who took US over the
battlefield told US just how the battle
was fought: he had been there him.
self with his own men and seen hun
dreds o ( the pride and flower Of
America die without . whimper in
those woods
He showed rs where the German
machine guns were hidden on the
hills and where the Americans first
broke all the rules of established Eu-
ropean warfre by breaking out Of the
forest and chasing the Germans as q
courageous and determined sheep dog
will chase pck OF wolves.
Here was such company" said
the officer, land there is where Cap
tin So-and-So fell when he was Lead
ing his men. Over that road the Ger
mans ran. and through those ana
those bushes they fed and tried to
hide"
But all the time he was talking
kept thinking of a man from Missis-
sippi or Alabama. forget which. One
Of his comrades told me about him
when he came home, wounded, from
the battle OF Belleau wood.
The Unkempt Hero.
He was big fellow with long legs
and arms" said the cornrade, "and he
hate to drill and he would not
keep his gun clean or his tunic but
toned, and we had a lot OF fun with
him in the regiment But the day we
got to Belleau wood that fellow got
sight OF the Heinies. and he grabbed
his gun and broke through the brush
after them never saw 4 man run
so fast in my Life except the Heinies
he was chasing. and he always caught
up with tine and always left one dead
Heinie behind him
He would not stop when we
dropped into tho shell holes He kept
right on I believe he has chased
some Of them right straight into the
river Rhine"
OF tho low graves down there In the
edge Of the Belleau wood was his, the
man from the low countries. where
the slow. broad Mississippi sweeps ON
its proud way to the southern gulf l,
would have gathered bunch of
French wild flowers and laid them
over his brave heart
Somehow as l stood at the summit
the hill today / seemed to see that
boy from way down South pushing his
determined way through the under
brush and out from the shelter OF the
trees. on and on and ever ON. He
was not chasing the Germans and
trying to kill them because he hated
them. He had no Unborn enmity for
them or any other race on earth. but
down in his simple home OF comfort
and humble plenty he had heard
that the liberty Of the world was In
danger. and he had followed the
drumming guns that beat to the pulse
OF his own heart because ne wanted
TO put a stop to such doings in the
world forever.
The soil of France. enriched by the
blood of her own brave people. has
given him and thousands OF Ameri-
cans like him a last resting place.
What is all the splendor Of all these
sacrifices. made but yesterday. bring
ing to the troubled world today.
When we left the battleields In Bel
ieau wood we rushed back to Paris
along the clean, smooth roads. We
reached the city Just as the boys were
beginning to sout the lat edition of
the evening newspapers.
IAN about the peace conference"
the boys cried. And when read
what the papers had to say concern
ing diplomatic and secret and clever
manipulation of this and managing
Of that. / wondered IL tho boy from
Mississippi would not hvee been Just
little puzzled to make out what 1t
was all about
The victory n won. the war n over
and he lies dead In Beileau wood
And now?