Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-04-10
nayv men of the United States are

navy men of the United States are
used to this sort Of thing.
Within the last seven or eight years
reams of stories have been written
about the marines of the United States
navy, and what they did at Belleau
Wood and elsewhere during the World
war. Some persons have said that the
marines were over-advertised. 1t was
not a case Of over-advertising the ma
rines, but possibly it was case at
times of under-advertising the units
of the United States army which at
Belleau Wood fought shoulder to
shoulder with the soldiers of the sea
service
This Honduras affair brings to mind
the fact that American marines, and
frequently the bluejackets with them,
have been compelled time after time
to land on foreign shores to engage
in fights and generally to run into dan
gers in behalf of good order. Most
of these things in which the sea forces
have been engaged on land could not
be anticipated
When They Landed in Korea.
I The landing at Honduras brings to
mind a landing years ago in Korea,
which then was not under the control
and direction of the Japanese govern
ment. At the time of the war between
China and Japan Lieut.. George +. FL
liott with 81 marines and 20 sailors
made hurry-up march from Chemulpo
to Seoul in Korea in order to protect
the American consulate and the mis-
sionaries at that place.
At that time Elliott was attached
to the u. S. S. Baltimore. News came
to the ship that the Koreans had
raised the cry, "Korea for the kO-
reans," and were about to massacre
all the foreigners at the Korean capt.
tai Admiral McNair ordered Lieuten-
ant Elliott and his little command to
take up double time" across country
to save the missionaries.
It is probable that few military
bodies ever were asked to engage In
such drive as that turned out to be.
The ships detachment which went
/
had a hard time of it, but the Korean
double-time march Of the marines and
sailors rather shadows other things or
the same general nature. It was so
hot that the marines, instead of listen
ing to gullible tales from the sailors,
as the proverb makes them do, told
the sailors later that on that trip their
belt buckles melted in the sun.
Nearly the whole line of the march
was through submerged rice fields, the
men being up to their knees in water
half the time, with their footsteps
clogged by the plant roots and stems.
Under these conditions they made
progress at the rate Of five miles an
hour and they reached their destina-
ton in time to perform the service for
which the order for the march had
been issued.
Schley, Too, Fought There.
1t was in Korea, away back just
after the Civil war, that the late Rear
Admiral Schley, then a young naval
officer, led a mixed party Of marines
and sailors on q most dangerous fight
ing errand. The sailors and their ma
rine mates had hand-to-hand fight on
that occasion with the enemy, but they
won the day, although they lost a
considerable number n dead and
wounded
It was not so many years ago that
| the Lieutenant Elliott who commando
ed the marines and sailors in the Ko-
rean march and who had been pro-
NOTED to a generals rank, was in
charge Of land force on the Isthmus
of Panama. This was before the build
Ting of the canal, and revolution was
on In the isthmian country. The revo-
| lutionists made an attempt to blow Eli
lott and his command off the face OF
! the isthmus with dynamite. The gen.
eral, who had just one private Of ma
rines with him at the time, jumped on
a revolutionist just as he was about
to light the fuse which would set the
dynamite off. Elliott had many mar
row escapes but this was about the
closest.
In this particular tale drawn out of
the past about the marines and the
sailors it is hard work to get away
from George F. Elliott. After he had
fought against the Spaniards in Cuba
he was sent to the Philippines where,
while In command of force Of about
300 marines, he attacked an insurgent
body which was entrenched about the
town Of Novaleta. The marines went
at their work in an almost jocose
spirit and the fact that they we're go
ing against a danger the magnitude Of
which was absolutely unknown, had
no effect on their buoyancy. They
won the victory by sheer force Of
brute strength and man courage.
| Just after the fight the sun did for
Elliott what bullets had been unable
to do. While he was on duty sun
stroke knocked him senseless and he
was invalided home.