The Washington herald., 1920-08-01

~ rines'' in Haiti. San Domingo or any
other place on this terrestrial ball where the
Stars and Stripes may happen to float over
the sea soldiers of the United States marine
corps is held by all who know him intimately
to be lone of the fghtingest machines ever
developed by your Uncle Samuel" There's
logic and fitness in that appellation.
Face to face l met Major General "Old
Indian" John A. Lejeune a few days ago
in Washington just after his induction into
Office as the new head of the marine corps;
watched him decorate two officers of the
Haitian gendarmerie for extraordinary
heroism" in knocking the daylights out Of a
band of West Indian bandits; saw him
double up his fists while he addressed a
group of staff officers and enlisted men on
the functions o. a fighting man and then,
in an interview granted me, learned some
thing from the general of his aims and ideals
for administration of the affairs Of the
U. s. NJ. c.
Ten minutes with "Old indian" as
General Lejeune is sfectionately known
among his men ten minutes of looking into
those steely blue eyes that are all but hidden
by contracted lids when he "goes into
action; ten minutes of talk with this short,
black haired, bronzed veteran of many cam
paigns under tropical skies and on European
batteields is in itself convincing answer as
to how that famous old Second Division
came to mop up so beautifully in the
Argonne two summers ago. and as to how
such renowned French generals as Gouroud
and Marshal Petain were provoked to de .
scribe "Old Indian" as "a military genius
who could and did do what the other fell
low said couldn't be done"
1t, in these next few months or years the
United States should decide to have done
with 'watchful waiting in Mexico and
clean house for the sake of international
safety and tranquillity-then watch out for
Old Indian" Lejeune and the khaki clans
ne would cut loose, probably under the
leadership of odd Indians side partner
from Quantico. Brigadier General Smedley
d. Butler, the Fighting Quaker"
For, as picturesquely described with
dash Of paprika by Lieutenant John Craig
said to be the first tobacco chewing tin
cared marine officer assigned as aide to the
supreme marine chieftain-Lejeune is hell
on Wheels' whose motto is keep going all
the time and always forward"
League of Nations or no League of N,-
uons. General Lejeune is going to have tho
finest marine corps in the history of tbo
L. S A, if he has his say about il IF No
90 into League of Nations. then this conn
trys beat in the world patroI in nn-u
likelihood will be entrusted to those r,i,,io.,
OF law and order who aver that IF the a-rnv
ana navy ever look on heavens scenes thev
are sure to find it guarded BY the limited
States marines"
Peace or war, riots or quiet, our aim
VIII De TO Keep the United States marine
corps up to the high standard it attained
during the world war" said General Leieupe
when asked him about his plans and ideas
for the new administration
From Belleau Wood right through TO
Metz and Sedan our boys made a wonder
full record that they and the country can well
he proud of. Why talk about it? Every
body knows about the L. s marines. The
army and the navy-why, bless EN-. they re
all good-but the marine corps, we'll. ism t
it an organization unto itself all different
than anything else? Yes sir. we plan to make
the corps bigger and better than ever be-
fore. Let me tell you about it all.
DUT before the general tells us about the
ID future of the marine corps suppose we
scrntinize the speaker a little closer and pry
into his public life. What the speaker has
to say goes better when we know something
about such a picturesque personality.
First Of all. about that name "Old
Indian" No one knows just exactly how
be general got it. SO far as he himself
has revealed the facts he has no Indian blood
in his veins Maybe it is there all right,
for he does look something like an Indian.
Look at the face in the picture. Small,
beetling eyes that focus on you like an
cighteen-inch fo'castle gun. Jet black hair.
That hair is one of the distinctive physical
traits of the man. 1t comes down in a
semicircular half moon over the forehead,
like a wig on a manikin. They say ii
stands straight out when 'Old Indian" is
mad.
The general is son Of the sunny South
and of French Canadian extraction. His
father was Captain Divide Lejeune, a native
of Louisiana. who served in the Confederate
army, and his mother Laura A. Turpin, a
native Of Mississippi. The name is distinctly
French Where "Old Indian" came from is
not clearly diyulged: but in France, when
the Ysnks were landing after the Partisan
and London magazines had been printing
caricatures of the modern American Indians
tomahawking the Fritzies of Hunland, Gen
eral Lejeune was dubbed ''Old Indian" and
the name stuck from the time he landed
at Brest, in June, 1918, with the Thirty
fifth Division, that served in the Vosges
mountains. until he was demobilized with the
Second Division in 1919 and came away
wearing the Distinguished Service Medal, tn,
French Legion of Honor, the Croix de Guerr'
and numerous other medals. The insignia
cf the Second Division became an Indiar
head.
"Old Indian is short of stature and con-
seduently another excellent point in the ar
qumsnt that a good little man is every BIZ