The Mena weekly star., 1920-12-30
SPIES IN AMERICAN UNIFORMS
MAY HAVE LED OUR MEN TO DEAF II
Some of the Bloody Engmas Explained by een
Wiles Who Says He Was One oil ue oOO ~
Cadets Who Worme Their Way Into American Forces.

for placing him under guard at GOV
ernor's Island.
So much for Herr Willers' ne 10 ~
Castle William awaiting courtmar-
tial for desertion and theft. There is
no spy charge, since his story is not
entirely credited. But what OF the
tate of the other spies, If they ex-
lsted! Probably many OF Saen
SHRED the almost fanatlcal oe ,y.,sl
to their fatherland which LED "liiers
perhaps | might have been killed
with them, but what would that nave
Whispers of spies and "dirty work
were not uncommon in the American
army in France. Most Of the rank
and file never knew more than rumors
and those they laughed at. The many
who were caught under strangely ac-
urate bursts Of she'll fire or fell IN
swaths under sudden and close range
fire of machine guns never knew.
Speaking of them, people called IL
the fortunes Of war. But can the
PARALLELS of such scenes as these be
called that?
What Might Have Been
Thru shell shattered wood, a
blond lieutenant leads his platoon.
The snap Of rifles punctuates the roll
inc thunder Of barrages. Contact
with the enemy is lmminent-has
been made before in different quarters
of the dense wood. But the platoon
presses on. The lieutenant is conf
dent and seems to know where to lead.
An open space is reached A griz-
lied sergeant moves up to the lieut.
enant's side.
"Sir. the men are punched. Hadn't
we better deploy ?" he suggested.
"Oh. rot, sergeant, come ahead Get
ting nervous n is the officers answer.
The sergeant Pushes and drops
back. He c0nfdes to a corporal that
the ''loot" is a pretty fair soldier
raostly, but he never did quite cotton
to the -of-a-gun. He breaks off
when he sees the lieutenant throw
himself flat. Instantly comes the rip
and whir of hidden machine guns.
The platoon melts away
Gray clad figures make the lieut.
enant prisoner; then become suddenly
cordial. He waves goodbye and
walks back toward the American line.
Captain, this doesn't strike me as
very good position; too many prom
inent points around US. The boche
could range on EN-" objects a young
lieutenant of artillery, as the battery
unlimbers for action.
"It's the best we can do the bat
tory commander shrugs. "Limbers to
the rear" he commands. Lieutenant,
Pm off to the 0. P. Your orders are
to remain in this position"
The captain has been absent some
time, but no firing data comes back
over the field telephones. Standing
behind his guns, prepared for action,
the squads fgeting impatiently, the
executive waits.
Under Fire.
There is rush of wind and a
screech. A shell bursts on the ruins
of farm house to the rear Of the bat
terry A pause, and another follows it.
Then two small shells throw up gey-
I sers of earth in front of the battery.
"Bracketedp the lieutenant broans.
AS an artilleryman, he knew the next
move of the enemy guns. The bracket
would be split with a range between
the other two The III. E." would be
direct hits on his battery.
Then firing data begins to come in.
Teh American battery goes into ac-
ton, relief written on the faces of the
gunners. It's not bad when you're
hitting 'em back.
But the "75s" do not bark for long.
A flood Of steel pours in, smashing
crushing, celebrating. The battery is
silenced-forever
Siecheprey was a nasty, bloody lit
tie affair. with the two hundred cas-
ualties it exacted of the then Hedging
America Nanny. The cost Of the TAX
] ing of Belleau Wood was a heavy one.
On the Vesle and the Ourq, and at
Scissors, the casualties were many.
No one ever will know all that hap
pened in the terrible confusion of the
4 Argonne Forest.
1 II the story told by Willers be true
i does not seem illogical to assume
that the German spy system took its