The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1920-02-04

TELLS OF WAR WORK
Now interested In Million I Dollar
Campaign Of Iowa Memorial
Union for Student e!aa
Soldiers q. ~

Major Byron James LamDert, OF tAo
ENGINEERS, who in civil life Is head OF
the Department Of Structural Engi-
neering in the University Of Iowa.
Back It his old occupation, Major
Lambert is. putting into the campaign
this month OF the Iowa Memorial
Union to raise 100000 for a memo.
rial building at the State University
to the heroes Of the World War ana
the Civil and Spanish-American Wars
who were students or graduates OF
the State University the same energy
he put into building roads and bridges
and railroads cover there.
working almost continuously under
enemy fire, with q gas mask always
ready, building roads at night, repair
Inn them where artillery fire. had
made them impossible, Major Lam
bert found army life anything but dull.
ne and, his men had been in France
nearly five months, he says; before 4r
his battalion wasi ordered in August
Of last year to move Up TO the front
and Join, The, First Army. On report
lng. to General Morrow; the chief en-
sineer. they were distributed overoa
irout extending from Belleyille on the
Z Moselle River to Verdun, on the
Meuse. The battalion headquarters
were with Company H at sthe Ratten-
tout railhead, a small village on the
east bank Of the Mouse river 6 or
! miles south Of Verdun. Here were
one battalion colored service troops,
numbering about 1000. and some
white troops. Their station was in the
forest de Cinq Freres, an abandoned
French camp consisting of tumble
down sheds and dugouts, which had
to be disinfected by the Sanitary
Corps thoroughly before being used:
Even then the. rats were not EXTERN
mated, ysbitS sayso- Major . Lambert
they were not particularly vicious,
and ca,isgas ffttls.snss.ufss sleep X e ..s..
At this assass2sspsratioas..for.s the,
frSat (lherican advance were being
made, id the air was full OF rumors
cohcerdihg it. One Of his jobs was
10 build b road from main highway to
j lsrgd Temporary hospital so motor
sfnbuiances could bring their burdens
10 Il. THE territory was under fire,
ana Bofle planes were constantly ciFE;r
cling oberhead, but though the 1tae9
1t first lot stiff necks from Faky ek
lnr,, THY grad hally lost Interest," IN
TIE ene1y fliersj relying on their steel
hslmeta Tor protection against bullets
and sh}9pnel.
.AbO3 two or three days before the
anficip3te ed advance" says Major
Lambert lin relating his experiences OF
those days. I'VE were asked to supply
! detail. Of fifty men to work at one OF
the nearby hospitals. We selected a
plat0on from the colored labor bat
talon and sent them out under a
white lieutenant. They were told to
all water pipe troublesome three
feet wide, four or five feet deep, and
hundred yards or more In length.
But swher, q second ditch was dug par
allelsto the first, and then third and
tOatth' and many more, suspicion be-
came certainty and the next day we
had to !aend white men to continue
the graie digging"
All tia time there were troop move
ments 6tng on from dusk until dawn.
stormy lights cars got stuck In the
mud or WOULD 90 off the road into the
ditch, Hepuiring arduous work TO- re.
place tlSm or make aspassable road
again. Night raiding parties VI the
snetiy Nere frequent. One nfsht a.
party d; Germans was found in the
rear ofi{ne of Major Lahbert's com
panies working at a quarry near the
front lines in the forest of Somme.
6iet,. Shots were exchanged, but
therei were no casualties among the
engineers. Another night spy was
taken from boat on nearby canal.
..Eit this event was SO common 1t
caused no particular excitement"
comments Major Lambert.
On September 8, just prior to the
Blk American drive, he was called to
the Headquarters of the Field Army
and placed in charge Of the Bridge
Department. On September u the
artillery preparation for the advance
began, lasting four hours, when the
Infantry went into action.
From "a high hill near Flirey," Ma
Tor .Isambert relates, I'VE could see.
the Germans retreating from the st.
MihiSl salient on the roads north OF
Mont Sec, burning villages, ammuni-
tioni dumps and,other material as they
retired. in front Of US they were go
Ing 20 fast that our boys could hardly
keep up. In a short time prisoners
began to come back in squads, by
platoons and by companies. One
bunch presented a marvellous spec
tacle preceded by one of our boys car
ryings a big switch and whistling
Yankee Doodle, and followed by an.
other Sammie beating tattoo on an
old span. And the Huns seemed
pleased, too. Can you imagine our
boys almost voluntarily submitting to