Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-13
WAR SCARS FADE
IN MARINE FIELDS
Homes Rebuilt at Chateau
Thierry-BeIIeau Wood
a Shrine.
BY ELISE MARSTEILER
MULLIKEN.

lingering awhile to enjoy Its calm en-
vlronment. The passengers, most Of
them from our own estimable country,
feel quite satisfied, apparently, with
| cursory glimpse Of the place as they
hurry on to the cemeteries sacred to
| the memory of our illustrious dead.
1t is a mistake, for one quite loses
the value of visit which enables
one to trace the part our soldiers
| played so valiantly.
Chateau Thierry is an ancient cita-
| del dating back to the eighth century.
| The stone towers and the old stone
ramparts surrounding the hill are con-
nected with the chateau Of Thier ~.
Il Merovingian king Of the time of
Charles Martel. There are wonderful
old gates and subterranean passages,
, the exits Of which have never been
found. The city is partly surrounded
by a wall. Just below the large, i'm
pressive entrance gate, with its dou-
BILE portcullis, is the former home OF
Cardinal Richelieu.
Town Long Famous.
So. you see, the town was famous
even before America came to claim a
place in it's chronicles. Ramparts and
walled terraces are all that are left Of
the castle, but one walks along them
under we'll trimmed linden trees and
looks over the valley Of the Marine, a
truly beautiful valley, which since the
!, time Of the Romans has been the mill
tary highway to Paris.
Chateau Thierry has almost the ap-
pearance OF somnolence; Is like a per-
son who has passed through all ex-
perience, to whom nothing is new,
but has at last found peace. All the
way down from Paris one feels it.
The country is rolling farm land that
rewards it's owners with bountiful
harvests The blood-red peoples. a
flower sacred in America, and rich
clover blooms vie with one another in
radiant glory. One sees no sign of
wars devastation. 1t is only when
the story is told from the ramparts
comes Of the tragedy it has beheld.
War Scars Are Gone.
Eight years ago, such horror and
confusion. Streets filled with fighting
men-wounded, dying and dead every
where-deafening cannon shots
| houses falling like cardboards in a
breeze. Later. the return of those
who called this home" A God-given
| something was in their hearts. which
| enabled them to carry on. AT first
| it was a hopeless and Respondent task.
but the French have q passionate love
for the land. not the thing of stone
and mortar called a house so much as
| the soil upon which it stands. So
they filled up the shell holes. planted
new seeds, started gayly Towering
geraniumS in little, broken tin recep-
| tacles. and began all over again. llv'
ing meanwhile in huts and dug-outs.
| To-day one scarcely can believe the
war god had come and treated them
so ruthlessly There is no sign. The
town is entirely rebuilt. more health
| full. better place.
Belleau Wood and Chateau Thierry
are so closely associated in our minds
one cannot think of them as separat
ed. Belleau Wood is not a town at
all. as many believe. but a place, just
| 10 kilometers from Chateau Thierry-
i a spot filled with tragic memories. the
scene of one of the hardestfought
battles, marking the first entrance OF
our Marines, in appreciable numbers
| in the war.
Turning Point of War.
! From June 6 to June 26 they held
! the line there, 20 long days and
nights. while everything in the his
tory of cruel, scientific warfare and
| brutal cunning was hurled against
| them Their determination and mar
| yelOuS courage gave new strength tC
! frazzled French troops. worn and en-
/ tirely discouraged with four years OF
struggle and scattering seeds of doubt
through the German lines that this
new foe was formidable.
, 1t was the beginning of victory, and
| the holding of Belleau Hill against
! terrible odds is considered the turning
point in the great war.
| Up hill and down dale in the soft
Summer sunshne-then, at the high
est point, we have our first glimpse
of Belleau Wood. The hill stands
apart, covered with rather thick
scrubby trees, with their tops gone
and jagged limbs still peeping through
the foliage. The large ones are en-
tirely dead, standing with bare arms
outstreched. protesting to Heaven
over outrages the.y have witnessed.
In the shadow of the hill, nesting
at its base and following the curve
| half way around, lie our honoreC
dead The white crosses. row upor
row." are all plainly marked. Wher
one first views it from a distance il
looks as though some kindly ange
had let fall an armful of lilies anC
each had taken root-a field of white
against the green. On top of the
hill and in the center of the graves
below stand two tall flagstaffs from
which gently float our Stars ant
Stripes.
Strange Tales Told.
Such strange tales are told, some
quite extraordinary, concerning hun
dreds Of men who were among the
missing" For months and year!
after the war this battlefield wa!
carefully searched. fragments O.
bones picked up and identified a!
best they could. In Chateau Their!
there lives an American minister. {
man Of quiet saintlinesS of character
who has brought peace to the heart
of many d stricken mother-so man.
have made the pilgrimage. He is tn
authority for this story;
"One boy had never been found. HI
was an only son. His parents wen
each year to France for some word
their hopes becoming fainter ant
fainter with the passage of time
Prayer ever was on this mothers lip
that her boy would come back t
her. Somehow she never quite CAV
up believing, yet every inch Of thi
ground had been gone over an
plowed many times. The F'rencl
farmers had gathered four harvest
from the land. Three Summers ag
| a French lad returning from worl
at the end of the daw noted some
thing unusual. Bending down, he sa,
the skeleton of a hand rising abov
the furrow, poised as If reckoning t
. him. On the wrist was a chain an
tag. 1t was the mothers boy, a
that was left to her after Ave years.
Dedication Described
Mrs. James Carroll Frazier G
Washington conceived the idea c
} purchasing Belleau Hill, which con
prises some 200 acres. The dedics
ton took place on July %, 1923. TIL
ceremony seemed more impressive
somehow, than other ceremonie!