Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-11-11

"NOOA1, 4ecIlAlS VI grave IeSpeC
and humility surgeS through tht
hearts and minds of Uncle Sam
4 "leatherneck" battalionS, scat
tered through land, sea and air
in Haiti. Nicaragua, Santo Domingo
China. Hawaii and on American memo
war carrying majesty over the sever
aeas.
They are the Marines-"First tt
Fight and "Semper Fidelis."
For today the "leathernecks" cele-
,rate the $3.50 anniversary of their corps
and tenth anniversary of that great mo-
ment in history when Marechal Foch
and the Tcuton host declared an armis-
i;ce in railroad dining car.
Lastly. the 'leatherneckS" lend
thought to their honorable action in the
Battle of Belleau Wood, to comrades
who soaked the soil with crimson stain,
to the faded poilus breathing deathless
love for France on their pallid lips, to
American regulars" to- the rat-tat-tat
of machine gun pills, to defenders Of the
Fatherland crying, Colt mitt uns!"
What battle took place in the Bots
de Belleau during June, 1918! Gen.
Pershing described it as the "Gettys-
burg of the war;" and for the United
States the biggest battle since Appomat-
tox and of the greatest magnitude OF
any engagement American troops ever
had with the enemy. Not in the Rev.
olution, the Mexican War or the Span
tsh conflict had as many soldiers parti-
cipated in a single engagement"
And our Marines, with neckS SUM-
burnt to leather, were in the thick of it;
I'd Division of the United States Reg
ular Army
Foch. the great generalissimo of the
GaulS, was overcome by news of Ma
rine audacity. The "leatherneck" pha-
lanX had stood rooted to the mucky
soil like so many concrete columns
For the French there was no foothold
They swung into retreat. One officer
of the Gallo army gave Yankee con-
frere written order to fall back.
Retreat? Retreat, hell! We've just
arrived" was the answer.
Ten years have flown. The impene-
trable veil thrown around hostile en-
gagements has been torn aside and
fresh light allowed to filter in.
The real history of the war is being
written now. Certainly it was not writ
ten during the turbulent strife. Then
the censorS and intelligence units
combed life and thought out of written
accounts, leaving nothing but such
jocositieS as somewhere in France" and
'loSseS on both sides were heavy"
Our Government has already fastened
attention on the important business OF
writing and preserving for poSterity the
awe-inspiring record Uncle Sans bat
taiions made. American military OFF,
GERS, trained in graphic expression and
acquainted with military technology,
were called to the task, and they now
ere busy assembling the voluminous
data out of which wi: blossom the
true, unbiased account of American
participation.
A STRANGE thought crept into a
recent conversation among Marine
officers. Said one:
Were writing war history about
1000 miles from the actual scenes of
battle. I often wonder how the same
engagements are being described by our
old enemies. the Germans. The pic
ture can't be complete without COM
ment from both Sides"
1--WE would gain nothing by listen
ing to the enemy's SIDE" said another.
His comment would be colored with
prejudice; he would not concede merit
in anything we had DONE"
Nevertheless, the answer to my pro-
posal would be interesting"
lAQS a IAAONCAAACAAG hGo AAAAOAeNSSA $500
led finally to a request directed to Lieut..
Col Ernst Otto, military historian of
the German army, now retired. Ameri-
can Marine officers respectfully asked
him to write his version of the Battle
of BelIeau Wood. Offering pay for his
services. Col. Otto responded gracious
ly, and when, just few weeks ago, the
manuscripts fell into the hands of
American experts, a cry of amazement
rose from all sides.
"A great document" officers declared
unanimously. 1T is true photograph
of the battle"
And what the Marine officers wanted
was a true photograph. But Col. Otto
gave them more. His picture is glow
ing canvas on which delineation is said
to be more colorful than the ripened
foliage in Belleau Wood. To date, some
few errors have been found. but they
are only petty details which do not
mar the luStrouS truth.
Perhaps it is because Col. Otto began
his manuscripts written in Germany
with this thesis:
There were three American divisions
on the western front early in June,
1918; these were the 1st, I'd and Sd.
THE 1st Division held position In
u relatively quiet sector. The Sd Di-
vision had not been tested as whole,
although one Of its units, the 7th Mo-