The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-05-30

The national committee hopes to raise
100000 and with this money rebuild
the little town of Belleau shattered by
our boys in their advance on Belleau
wood.
The plan Is to rebuild the village as
1t was, with the addition of better
church, school. and with an adequate
water supply; the supervision will be
in the hands of Col. Charles r. Forbes,
director of the Veterans bureau, who
served in the A. II. F. and who is, a
noted engineer inicivil life. Every
cent raised will 80 into the rebuilding
memorial, as the organizing expenses
are being borne by a small group Of
contributors. The names and ad.
dresses of every contributor Will be
preserved in the archives Of the rebuilt
Marie" or city hall. Eighty-two stone
buildings are to be restored, as we'll
as group of small farms on the hill
side. The French government has
promised to have all roads put into
condition as their contribution, and it
will be guarded by our boys who lie
silent in the little green-and-white
cemetery just across the way.
Homes Must Be Rebuilt.
In time nature will restore to France
her trees and Powered loneliness, but
neither time nor nature can rebuild
shattered homes. Those of us who
have not been intimately touched by
the horrors of war or the cruelty Of
sudden overwhelming separation from
those we love can only approximate
the sadness in the lives of those about
Many a mothers heart is buried and
her enthusiasm deadened. It is only
through some practical memorial that
her interests can be reused and re-
awakened.
The field Of honor at Belleau will be
the permanent Aisne-Marne cemetery,
"where shining forest Of snow-white
crosses will stand as sentinels over
the mortal remains of 5000 of our
boys" The organization for this me-
mortal to our dead has Its headquar-
tiers in Washington, with Marshal
Foch chairman for France, John w.
Weeks, honorary president. The pres
ident is Mrs. James Carroll Frazer.
vice president Of the Navy League Of
the United States, and Vice President
Coolidge as member Of the national
committee. Mrs. Charles Lea is chair
man for Pennsylvania Mrs. Theodore
w. Reath. acting chairman; Gen. w.
T. Waller, executive secretary; Mrs.
Helen Foster, secretary.
How Our Boys Went into Action.
Mrs. Reath revisited France last
summer and went over all the ground
in the neighborhood of Belleau. At
Les Mores farm she made the &C.
quaintance Of a young Frenchman who
had been severely wounded at the Bat
tie of the Marine. HE had witnessed
the advance of the American troops
said Mrs. Reath, land his account was
so graphic and bore such testimony to
the truthfulness Of the American cor
respondents who had covered the adj
vance of the American army in 1918
and described the troops in action ut
Belleau, that I feel I should tell 1t to
you as he told it to me.
=. "'ThOse men were magnificent, mn-
dame! They had taken off their coats
and had pinned to their shirts pop
py. AS they rushed forward they
yelled, and, madame, as they fired
the Germans went hipity hop! hipity
hop This was the only English word
that Frenchman knew, but it was the
most expressive English word l have
ever heard. 1t does seem incredible
that our boys should have been so
careless with their lives" continued
Mrs. Reuth, "but have no reason to
doubt the truth Of the mans word,
especially as 1t corrObOrated the &C
count of our own correspondents ut
the time"
This memorial at Belleau Is to be
established to those boys-Our boys ;
to their idealism; to their her0ism TINT
broOked no barrier. 1t is to be II ule-
mortal that will give to the people OF
this part Of France practical express
sion Of the goodwill Of the American
people as we'll as national tribute to
the men whose "sOuls shall be where
the heroes nre'' and whose memory
shall "shine like the morning star"