Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-23
DEATH OF GEN. L. M. BRETT ENDS
FAMOUS CAREER AS OFFICER


Continued from First Page.l
healthful and soldierly appearance de.
spite his II years, replied seriously
that his earlier life as a soldier in the
field was beginning to take It's toll.
He recalled that in the Santiago cam
paien he had been stricken with tropi.
cal fever, and that In the Philippines
a prolonged attack Of dysentery. due
to the rigors of the climate. the food
and an ailment common among sol.
diers at the time, had come near cost
ing him his life and had drained to
some extent his reserve vitality.
But his well regulated habits, mat
ter upon which he prided himself, saw
him through earlier hardships and
saved him for more valuable service
to his country IN France.
Commanded Combat Troops.
AS commander of combat troops
in the World War Gen. Brett not only
won for himself the repeated praise of
his superiorS, but in the eyes Of his
soldiers became beloved hero and
idol Few of the general officers who
commanded troops in France so com
pletely won the hearts of men under
them. and few Of them enjoyed such
confidence An officer who served with
Gen. Brett recalls the picture of a
private who tramped to brigade head
quarters from his regiment 10 miles
away to "See the general" Inquiries
were made as to his reasons. and the
soldier confided to the officer that he
wanted to borrow 5 francs from Gen.
Brett: that Gen. Brett was one officer
in the world who would lend it to him.
Gen. Brett's troops We're recruited
mainly from West Virginia and from
the vicinity Of Pittsburgh. His death
brings a pang Of mere than ordinary
sorrow to thousands of ex-service men
in that region, as well as to his hun
dreds Of friends in Washington.
''Medal of Honor" Man.
Gen. Brett was a medal of honor
man." but it was characteristic of his
modesty that he would ever allow
himself to be drawn or enticed into
telling the story of how he won this
most honorable and rare Of American
decorations.
At his mess in France the officers
who were members of his staff, and
who came to know him intimately,
never ceased their efforts to make the
general talk about it. But they never
succeeded. There remains the bare
citation: For most distinguished gal.
lantry in action against hostile Sioux
April l, 1880, by fearless exposure and
dashing bravery, cutting off the Indian
pony herd and greatly Gripping the
hostiles while second lieutenant of the
I'd Cavalry"
And the same modesty which for.
babe his ever talking about his ex-
ploits as a soldier led him to reply
formally, when notified that he had
been awarded the Distinguished Serv-
ice Medal for his work in France: att
would have pleased me more had the
citation recalled the magnificent fight
ing Of this fine organization with a
token that each one who endured the
heart-breaking struggle might take
home with him. AS it is, I shall
hold the medal in trust and always
Infantry Brigade"
Incidents Inscribed i'm Memory.
To those who served under him in
France the death of Gen. Brett will
recall many incidents which are in.
scribed indelibly, but only in memory.
The raw officers and men at Camp
Lee, drawn from the many pursuits
of peaceful civilian life to the work
Of soldiers with the 80th Division of
the National Army. remember him as
he came from Hawaii. where he had
been commanding the 4th United
States Cavalry, to his new command
Of the 160th Infantry Brigade. Sec
ond in command OF the S0th Division,
he took leading part in preparing
Nn ,fxo<
and in action in France he won gen.
eral recognition as the divisions most
picturesque and outstanding figure.
His posts Of command were never far
behind the front line. He never spared
himself any hardships in personally
supervising the preparation and exc
cution OF combat orders.
The story is told Of night during the
first Argonne offensive when a high
ranking officer visited him In his dug.
out in Nantillois, ghost OF a village
in ruins. and under constant shell
fire. His troops were meeting stub
born resistance in the bloody Bots de
la Hesse, where constant artillery and
machine-gun fire were infiicting heavy
casualties. The visiting general had
come from corps headquarters to find
why the advance was checked, and
affected by the strain of the tense
situation. The visiting general de.
clared: General, don't believe you
know where your front line is"
Holly Resents Imputation.
Gen. Brett. answering as holly and
bringing down his clenched fist on the
shaky table before him. replied:
Dammit. sir, you put on your hat
and come with me and I'll show you
where my front line Is. Say what
you win to me, sir, but never criticize
In my presence those gallant men Of
mine who are dying up there in the
woods" A few minutes later the two
grizzled old soldiers were shaking each
other by the hand, and when the visit
ing general left the dimly lit, gas.
filled dugout he returned to corps
G r o S N E RS