The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-01-03
PRAISE FROM GENERAL
MANKATO BOYS DIVISION WAS
HEROIC IN THE WAR
Performed Some Very Brilliant
Feats In Face Of Heavy
Enemy Fire

IiiciI Bull, SoEpOId Il. d. JeSSup,
Company B, Supply Train, Fifth Divi-
sion Regular A. E. F.:
Longwy, France.-Dearest Folks:
This is the second letter so far this
month. We have moved the COM
pany from Longwy here, about fif
teen miles to move. Longwy is 10
Gated in a narrow valley and the
buildings are built down one hill and
up the other. ard to get into the
town you come down a winding road
around the hill.
Longwy is fair sized town with
three, four and five story buildings
At one time they had trolley line
but is not running today, having been
torn up when the German occupied
the country.
/ received your letter dated No
vember IL and was glad to hear
about the state all celebrating the
armistice 1t is the best letter that
/ have ever received from home or
elsewhere. 1t is jollier than the 9TH
ers ard l know how relieved every
body must be.
have been over here a long time,
but it doesn't seem very long TO me
as l have beer so busy, the time just
flew past. But now that the war is
over L suppose the time will seem
long. but we still have great
amount of hard work to do yet be-
fore returning 10 Miss Liberty.
November IL must have been a
great day back there as it was here.
and is a day l never will forget. The
morning of the eleventh I was haul
ing truck load of rations east of
the Meuse river ard the big guns
along side of the road were still
roaring and every once in a while
old Fritz was sending over G.. /.
can, but at eleven o'clock all firing
stopped and then the Frenchmen
went wild and hollered and yelled
waving their hats and hands in the
air
We have been or the front for the
last four months hauling supplies to
the men in the trenches
have been we'll all the while
have been here and kept busy even
Sundays, If there is such a thing
left
Now that the war is over you can
live in peace that / will come home
but don't look for me before the good
old summertime as you know the
Fifth is regular army division and
will be held over here a long while
to clean up and let the national army
divisions go home. Give my regards
to all the old friends. Love to one
ard ali,N Your son, Lloyd
The following is the complimentary
order for the corps to which Corpor-
al L. j. Jessup is attached:
Headquarters Fifth Division, Amer
lean Expeditionary Forces, France,
November IL, 191S.-Special Order
No. 73.
One. 1t is the pride and pleasure
that the division commander calls
the attention of the division to G. O..
No. Al, Third corps, of November 8,
1918, wherein the corps commander
cites the Fifth division for forcing
against the enemy in position, a
crossing of the River Meuse near
Due and near Brieemulles, building
bridges and swimming the river in
the face of machine gun and artillerr
fire and in advancing some MI" 10
meters in the enemy's territory to
the vicinity of Bra-G>yille. This &C
ton not only uncovered the flank of
the XVII French corps and enabled
that corps to advance, but broke the
lines of resistance of the German
army, and by turning its position on
the east bank of the Mouse, compell-
ed its withdrawal and a letter of
November IL, 1918, from the chief of
staff, First army, A. E. F., to com
handing general, Corps A, E. F.,
wherein he states: "The army COM
mander has noticed with great pleas
ure and appreciation the excellent
work of your corps in crossing the
Mouse river and clearing the heights
to the east of the town of Dun sur
Meuse. He appreciated fully the diff
ficulties evolved in this problem
and therefore realizes that the results
attained reflect great credit on your
corps and the division included
therein.
Two. The Fifth division alone
forced a crossing and established a
bridgehead. 1t was afterwards join
ed for few days by a regiment OF
the Thirty second division, for two
days ard nights the division held a
front of twenty kilometers against
the enemy on it's front and both
TANKS. Not content with this, il
went out of it's sector on the north
ard took the town of Mouzay and turn
ed it over to the Ninetieth, division
on the south, it went out of its sec.
tor ard took Villosnes, enabling the
French division on it's right to cross
the river.
Three. In the thirty days preced
ing the armistice, this division was
seriously engaged under shell, rife
and machine gun fire twenty sever
days. In the past two weeks no day
has passed that some town, wood, o.
hill has not been rested from the en-
envy. In succession, the following
were captured: Bois-des Raipes, Ain
creville, Bots -Des- Babiemont, Cherry
De- Grand, Cherry De- Petit, Butterflies
head Villosnes, Milly, Lion, Mourvoux
Fountains, Chateau Charmois, Mou
gay, Brandeville, Foret De- Woevre
Jametz, Rempoville, Louppy. A pen
etration Of twenty nine kilometer
into the enemy's line was made, rest
ling from him one hundred and nine
ty square kilometers of territory. an,
on announcement of the armistice
the division has a front of thirteel
kilometers being five kilometers II
advance of troops on its left and tw
kilometers beyond troops on it's right
Four Thirty seven cannons, fou
hundred and sixty one machine gun