The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-05-15
WORLD
WAR
YARNS
The "Hardest-Boiled" of All
by Lieut.. Fronk E. Hogan

Every man who served in France
undoubtedly has his own choice for
the title of "hardest-boiled" officer or
non-com In the A. E. +. But If there
is anyone upon whom a majority could
agree. it is probably Gen. John j. Per-
shing. And to the doughboy, smart
ing under the tongue-lashing of some
tough top-kick or crusty captain. 1t
was some comfort to know that there
wasn't an officer in the whole A. E. f.,
no matter how many stars he had on
his shoulder, who wouldn't get
rougher bawling out than any old reg
ular army sergeant could possibly
think of, if that particular officer
didn't measure up to the standard set
by the commander in chief Where
fore some of the stories which leaked
out from G. I'll. O. delighted the souls
of the buck privates, even if. as one
war correspondent-Irvin Cobb, it was
did say They'll never call him Pa
pa Pershing.'"
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES That
was the Pershing guiding star in whip
ping his forces into shape as an eff
cient fighting machine. 81 tell you he
is a martinez" cried one officer, after
he had been right sufficiently dressed
down." you are wrong" replied an
older and wiser head, HE is trying TO
make you better officer than you
would ever make of yourself" On one
vic
headquarters in Paris unannounced.
captain started to pass him without
saluting. Instantly the general caught
him by the shoulder and whirled him
around. Don't you salute your supe-
riors?" he asked. biting off about half
must be to many an army-weary
doughbOy to know that henceforward
that captain saluted everyone, from
second Geutenants to generals-just
to be on the safe sidel
Once an elderly general, his senior
when he was cadet at West Point,
rushed up to him with outstretched
hand. John, I am" he began. Per
shing's icy stare checked him and Per-
shing's stern voice silenced him COM
pletely: Address your commanding
officer as generalT' 1t is said that
one friend (not subject to army regu-
lations and close enough to him to
speak freely commented upon the fact
that he was happier in calling down
a general than a private for an infrac-
ton Of discipline or weakness in mil
itary efficiency. Il am" said Per-
shing, "a general should know better"
Superhuman
Discussion has houriShed on many
martial topics since the war, particu-
larry on the subject of the caliber and
character of men who were selected
to lead the American troops. Recent
ly a group of Chicago veterans were
fighting the war all over again and
the topic veered to the proposition of
whether the mentality of the West
Point officer differed essentially from
that of the civilian. former lieu
tenant maintained it did.
This man was at an artillery train
ing camp when a new major was sent
to the outfit. The lieutenant met the
major downtown the night before the
latter reported for duty. They ha ]
considerable in common and the en-
counter developed into quite festive
counter became quite a festive affair.
In the wee small hours the major
and the lieutenant returned to bar
racks, fast friends. Three or four
hours later the lieutenant was sum-
moned to headquarters. There he was
given the opportunity to xplain why
he was absent from reveille.
He appeared before a major who
was as spruce and alert as if just ar
rived from a rest cure. The lieuten-
ant, recognizing the bon vivant of the
night before, essayed feeble smile.
The major lectured him severely on
keeping late hours, and confined him
to quarters.
And a man who would do that"
mumbled the ex-lieutenant as be told
the story. ''can scarcely be human"