D edic a t e d t o ,

T he M o t he rs W i v es a n d we e he rt s , S t a

o f t he Bo y s o f

Old C o m pa n y G E XP L A N A T I O N A N D A P P R E C I A T I O N

B Y M A J OR B YRON B E V E R I DGE '

That the Rainbow D i vision was regarde d as one of t he shock divi sions of t he A mer i ca n ar m y l s pl ai nly shown by the manner i n w hich the 1 50th G Machine Gun Battalion , to w hich Old Co m pany was attached , was shi fted fro m one fighting front to a not her . ” A shock division consists of veteran troops which are rush e d fro m one front to the ot her by rail , by tru cks or b y forced marches either to surprise w t he ene m y ho may t hi nk hi msel f opposed by green troops , or to weaken t he moral e o f t he enem y . T his latter e ffe ct is achieved by t he sud de n a p p eara nce b efore hi m of troops w ho have defeated hi m i n t he past and w hom he beli eved to be on another front . Divisions w hi ch do not com e u nder the classi fication of shock troops are usuall y held i n one particular sector or moved graduall y fro m one sector to anot her as t he fighti ng front changes and shi fts .

t - e a b i We , o f the Thi ty Second Division , gi v the R in ows cred t for h aving put u p a wonderful fight . They fought on as many fronts as any A meri can i i a ' m i div sion , i n fact onl y one or t wo divisions saw act on on s any front s as d d t he Rainbows . T hey added to the glory o f t he N ational Guard o f t he i i i country , for it was a str ctly N at onal Guard division , ma de up of the nat ona l guard from various stat es , and proved beyond all argu ment th at t he National

Guard from all parts ca n depe nde d upon to do i ts full dut y .

’ G r ae f For the part pl ayed b y Captai n s co mpany we , who have seen nu merous other machine gun co mpanies i n action and know t he i mportant v part they pl ay as well as the great dangers they encounter , ha e nothing but praise .

Whil e at t he First Corps School l ast spring t he wr i ter met a machi ne gun instructor of the school ’ s sta ff who had j ust returned from spendi ng a week i n the trenches with Captain Grae f . I n speaking of h i m t he i nstructor sai d " “ f h as h i s wel l H e is an excellent o ficer , men i n hand a nd is popular wit h t hem . He has a habit o f wal ki ng t hrough t he trenc hes and j ollyi ng the men w hen t hey are under fire whi ch has a n excellent e ffect i n keepi ng t hei r spirits up . T HE L A S T DA Y S OF T HE WA R

Dear Mother " 2 2 Nove mber , 1 9 1 8 . Well " When I got back fro m M a chi ne Gun school I found Ca ptai n

Grae f i n com mand of the battalion , Maj or Smi th having gone to hospital O n my return , however , Captain Grae f had me report back to t he ol d com pany and I ’ ve been t here ever since and I can ’ t say I ’ m a bit sorry for i v I the change , e ther . The wor k was ery exciting for a while , but had t he satisfaction o f assisting at the begi nning o f the last great American dri ve o f t he war and besides t hat , o f being i n at the finish of the sa me drive , for m y platoon was supporting t he a dva nced battalion o f t he ol d “ fighting 69 (see S T A RS and S T RIP E S ) w hen t hat organization was relieved by the French in front of Sedan on the morning of the 8th of N ovember and m y guns were relieved by the Machine Gun com pany of the 1 50th French I nfantry —quite “ a coincidence . We had t hree days of honest to God hard work previous to

r . that day , chasing Fritz as ha d as we could push I was fortunate enough to be one of t he first A merican o ffi cers i n two of t he villages we captured and I tell you none of t he stu ff t he papers have to ’ say about t he people s j oy at being deli vere d is a part i cle overdrawn . August Arens is readi ng a long German article out loud w hich inti mat es that Fritz ha d a lot of trouble wit h sick horses a short ti me ago . We are G i n a barracks , built by the French an d occupied by t he ermans till recently . They sure left i t dirty but ’ tis far enough be hin d t he for mer lines to be i ntact ’ ” and that s a great reli ef a fter livi ng i n Fox holes and ruins for two weeks . I have a whole hide and don ’ t t hink a nyone can sa y I haven ’ t always been

I . E where was supposed to be at all ti mes very one feel s , that t he G uerre ’ i a fi . est n s and I can t see how Fritz can possibly come b ck , crooked as he is

I b fl . have a num er of souvenirs , mostl y papers , a H un a g from t he St i h Mihiel salient , a couple of belt buc kles , etc . Things are going n cel y , clot i ng , food and equi p ment aple nty since we left the zone of combat . Not hing to — v worry about not e en subs on t he way home .

E ach of t he last t hree days has been full of i nterest . On t he . 2 0t h w e got i nto t hat portion of w here t here was absolutel y no sign of war , u no shell holes , no rui ne d buildings , only numero s marks of German occupancy — u . billetin g marks on ho se doors , steel signs and filt h The church , a won er fu 1 4 u d l Gothic cat hedral , built i n the th century , ha d been sed as a stable " At 3 o ’ clock t he people ga ve t he o fficers of the battalion a reception in t he

E cole . On our arrival a girl garbed i n w hite wit h a tricolor sash over her shoulder , presented Captai n Grae f wit h a huge bouquet . Several of t he ot her o fficers were also given bouquet s . We we nt into the school w here the M a r l l i mayor made a speech , Captain Grae f responded , t he s e a se and Marche A me ri u Lorraine were sung and t oasts drunk to q e and La Belle France . ’ I can t describe t he ceremony , so heart felt and si mple and so very moving .

O l a nd h . N young men , onl y grey beards , wo men , gir s. c ildren C AP T . LO THAR G . GRAEF

Commanding Co mpany G and part of time 1 50th Machine

Gun Battalion . 2 1 9 1 8 8 . Boevange , Luxemburg , Nov . . — Dear M oth er z The Censorshi p regulations have been revised so muc h ’ I so that a whole year s operation is ope n to me as a the me . will , however , confine mysel f i n my movements , w hi ch are l argely those of t he Battalion , and touch on some of the more i mportant incidents of this most event ful s year . I nasmuch as this is Thanksgiving Day and t he order covering t he censorship only arrived last night , we hav e much to be t hankful for . We

v . ha e no turkey for dinner , but we have managed pretty well not withstandi ng — Following is our me nu Roast Bee f , Mashed Potatoes wit h Brown Gravy , f f f . Crea med Carrots , Bread and Butter , Co fee , Co fee Cake The co fee cake — is t he piece de resistance . Our own cooks bake it to perfection using L u x —a e mb u rg yeast . We have t hat very necessary adj u nct to good baking warm roo m to raise t he sponge .

O — We i N W e mbarked on t he US S . Cov ngton (a fterwards torpedoed ) 1 8th 1 9 1 on t he of October 7 , passing t he t hree mile li mi t on t he morning o f

1 9 t h . 1 t . t he Arrive d at St . N azaire on t he morni ng of November s

On Nove mber 6 we entr a ined having spent t he i ntervening days on board shi p . We detrained N ove mber 8 at S a u v or (near V a nco u l er s ) marche d to

Boyee via Broussey (headquarters Depart ment only , Co . B went to Brous sey , Co . C to Maligny Le Grand , Co . A to Vacon . ) We were met at t he detraining point by Maj or Conway , t he Brigade Adj utant , w ho broke our hearts b y announci n g t hat General Headquarters had decided to bre ak u p Machine Gun Battalions and give each I nfantry Bat talion a Machine Gun r co mpany . We were scattered on this account . Battal ion Headqua ters and each company being billeted wit h t he I n fantry battalion to w hich it was pl anned i t woul d be u nited . We were wit hi n hearing o f the guns o f St .

Mihiel and saw air fights q u i te frequently . We have laughed at our condition i many ti mes since , i nasmuch as we had ne ther gas masks or hel mets and were within a zone where their wearing was later ri gidly en forced . On Nove mber 2 5 Maj or Hall , the three Captains and t he senior 1 s t Lieutenant of each com pany we nt to l st Corps school at Gondrecourt . This left me the senior f O ficer and nominall y in com mand of t he Battalion .

The entire division moved on Dece mber 1 2 . Co m pany A and Battalion

H eadquarters going to A mant y (headquarters via Broussey , Villeroy , Mau , B r c h a i n Vages , Rozieres and Badonviller) . Dece mber 1 3 we marched to e u ville via Gondreco rt , Dainville and Grand . Here we had our Christ mas ’ t hough we did n t get our packages till l ater .

Dece mber 2 6 we marched to Ozieres via A i l l i a v v ill e (where we picked u p .

Company B , Co . A and Headquarters being together) . L a fo u ch e , Pres sous h al r i a n 2 La Fouc he , Se mill y , C v a a ne s d Clincham p . Dece mber 7 we marched

C he z o . to Bannes via Montigny Le Roy , Ferme de y and Frecourt Dece mber 29 — marched to Villiers les A pre y vi a Langers , St . Geosmes , Bourg , Lon ea — g u , and A t Villiers les we were rej oi ned by the o fficers who had been at school and on J anuary 1 got our machine guns and m ul e 2 4 carts ( per company ) . 1 2 guns and 4 spare guns per company . Also got our Christ mas m ail and pack a ges and the news that t he battalions were to s e s re mai n as inde p endent unit s . All thi ti me we wer more or les under the ’ M chi ne l ni . 1 50th a i pa es . I t becomi ng Co D Gu n Batta on statione d at

Bourg .

I t woul d appear t hat pressure must have been a pplie d as we were not — e xpecti ng orders to go to trenches until March l st . However t his move ment 8 i — was begun on February 1 , t he Battalion travel ng by rail Joe Marston

- a nd I went i n t he Battalion si de car goi ng on the 1 8t h to Luneville vi a St . o mos u i T e nto nv il l e Ha rdu Ge s , , Cle fmont , Ne fchateau , M recourt , , e ,

Bayon H aussonville and Blai nville . We stayed at t he i n Luneville o verni ght and i n t h e morni ng bei ng mi sdirected went to Morivill er , t hen bac k to Luneville w here we got strai ghtened out " an d found t he ne w station

er ai nv ill . Gi ri viller , getti ng t here b y way o f Gerbeviller and S e

Gerbeviller has bee n give n some pro mi nence i n t he states . Several magazi ne arti cles havi ng been written about it . Fritz burne d i t for spite and — people i n Cali fornia are rebuilding . Fri ts di d a good j ob so did t he Cali f r ni o ans . Howe ver , J acques i nsists o n decorati ng t he front yards of the — pretty bu ngalows wit h hi s m arks of prosperi ty dung heaps .

Gi r v il l er was Battalion headquarters for some ti me . A and B co m ni pa es goi ng i nto the tre nches near Luneville ( Rouge Bouquet Sub Sector , the 1 65t h I nfantry (69 th Ne w Y ork ) and C and D Companies near B e na mi ni l Be n i nil Bl e m r c D o m e v i k (to get to Company P . C . we rode from a m to e y via j ) wit h t he l 66th (4t h Ohio) . Betwee n Ble mere y and D o moev i n I had m y first e xperience wi th shell fire a nd gas . Not dangerous but i nteresting .

“ 1 B n a m n On M arch 0 Headquarters we nt to e i il by truc k v ia M attexe y ,

n a h m nil . Magnieres , Moye , V t e e and Chenevieres

On Marc h 2 2 Battalion Headquarters moved to Laronxe via C he ne v i er

. i res and St Cle me nt and went bac k to Gir viller vi a Chenevieres , Moye n , r l S e ai nv i l e 2 r . Vallois , and , on the 3 d Here t he Battalion was asse mbled and all plans made for a grand maneuver march back to t he ol d trai ning area

( Battalion headquarters at Flagey ) but the H un o ffensive had begun . Persh i ng offered t he French t he use of all A merican troops and we took over the 1 1 0 Baccarat sector as a division holdi ng it , as you know days , and being t he first A merican division to hol d a di visional sector . ( Whe n we first went i n each of our four I nfantry Regi me nts had a Battalion i n li ne with a French 1 Battalion sandwiched i n between French 1 Battalion 1 65th , French Batta l 66th 1 i 6 lion , French Battalion 1 67 th , French 1 Battal on 1 8th .

On March 2 9 t he Battalion moved to Domptail i n Mat texey Magnieres and St . Pierre mont . This march was the first to be made by the co mplete 4 Battalion ( co mpanies) as a unit . Here Company D was attached to t he

I n fantry , t he balance of t he Battalion marc hing on t he 3 1 st , to Brouville i via Fontenoy La J oute , Glonv ll e and Azerailles . The other t hree com panies le ft Brouville one by one to j oi n t he I nfantry Battalion to w hich they were attached for trench service and on t he 1 8th of April Headquarters went to the next village Merviller where Brigade Head quarters was located . Here we remained for t wo months attached to Brigade H eadquarters while the 1 65th and 1 66th alternated i n li ne and di vision r eserve and the Regi ment i n line alternated its battalions i n line support and reserve . M y work w as L IEUT . ALLAN B . ELL I S Adjutant 1 50th Machine Gun Battalion and part of time Commanding Company G

' I 1 I U QUd L 6 5 . u l W C I L UH L to billet .

On t he ni ght of the 2 1 - 2 2 I we nt b ac k to Merviller b y tru ck to pic k up a nu mber of non - combat ants we h ad le ft w it h the 7 7 t h division (Ne w ’ Y a ork s own ) w ho had relieved us , as instructors i n auto matic we pons , an d retur ned the mght of the 2 2 nd .

On the 23r d we mar ched to Chatel sur Moselle w here we entrained Hq .

C and D on one train . San . Det . A and B on the other . A fter this al l trai n move ments were by sections H eadquarters A and B on one San . Depart e ment C and D on t he other . We w nt by rail to Cha m pagne , detrai ned J u ne 2 4 at a place called Cool us (near Chalo ns) marc hed via M airy to Togny l aux Boeu fs . H ere it was planned to dri l and h ave maneuvers but we marc hed “ on t he night o f t he 2 8- 29 to a ca m p i n the bi g maneuver ground Cam p de ” “ Chalons know n as Ca m p To mbeau des Sarrazi ns (Ca m p o f t he S ar ece ns

- E au To mb ) . Via M ary sur M arne , Sarry Chalons , St . tienne Te m ple and

St . H illai re a u Tem ple . This l atter place w e will never forget . We got to know it better later . Ca mp Tombeau is w here We had the photos ta ken and saw our first tanks (i n demonstration ) .

I t w as ori gi nally pl anned to use the di vision i n a huge rai d on Fritz sout h w est o f Rhei ms goi ng fro m t he Chalons area to t hat place by Ca mion but Foch got wind of the H un plan for the o ffensive of J ul y 1 5t h and the Battalion w as marched t o Fer me Suippes on t he night of the 3rd of J uly via Vadena y r and Vadenay Far ms . Battalion H eadquart ers and B i gade Head quarte rs stayed at t his point w hile the com pan i es were aga i n attached to the I n fantr y 2 Battalions . ( Com pany A to t he n d Bat talion 1 65t h . Com pa ny B to 3r d 2 n 6 h Battalion 1 6 5t h . Com pany C to d Battalion l 6 t . Com pany D t o 6 h 3rd Battalion 1 6 t . ) O n the ni ght of t he 1 3t h we recei ved a false ala r m t hat t he H un attack was on and Machi ne Gun H eadquarters moved to a splint er proof about kilometer fro m the Ferm e . Nothi ng happened a nd A w e went bac k to t he Fer me i n t he . M . The night of the 1 4th ( Bastile day ) t he word ca m e at about t hat the ball would begi n at midni ght , our artillery opened u p a nd at mi dnight

i . exactl y , Fr tz opened fire We dug bac k to our hole i n the ground but i n t he morni ng I went bac k to the dugout “ Bri gade occupi ed and sle pt t here t he

, 1 6 th and 1 7 th . Here is where Com panies A and B received t heir baptism o f fire . C and D being with reserve battalions .

1 8 0 0 The night of t he th the tr ps were relieved and moved bac k , Battalion and Bri gade H eadquarters goi ng to St . Hilaire a u Tem ple where H eadquart ers

A and B entrai ned the night of the 2 1 st . Fritz was aware o f so met hi ng — i going on and ca me over , and bombed u s hitt ng the depot and settin g it — i a fire and smashing u p t wo cars causing several casualt es , bot h men and " ’ mules . Li ke i pli ng s skunk everythi ng t hat has ever been said about bombing planes is true . Deli ver me from t he m hereaft er .

We went by trai n to E sbl y (bet ween Pa r i s and Meaux ) on t he 2 2 n d and on the morning of the 2 3 r d arri ved a nd billeted at Co nde , t he pretti est town I sa w i n France . I n t he a fternoon of t he 23 rd we marched to Veux

' through Meau x and La Fert e cous J ouarre , the com panies rej oining t heir — battalions at once moved by Ca mion through Charly and V au x ( a nother one ) Chateau - Thierry and E pieds Bri gade and Battalion Head q u arters being — ‘ il - C o u r o . at p w here I got my first belt buckle . I went by side car We e r a nd were darn close on t he heel s of Fritz , his d ad still lying it was “unbu ied

rather unpleasant .

i 2 1 - 2 The n ght of t he 8 I was u sed by Brigade H eadquarters as aide ,

i n fact continued under General L e ni ke n until t he O u r c a ffair was over . I went forward t h r ough B ea u v ar de s to w here t he regi ments were forming " — for attac k t hen bac k to Bea u v a rde s (a smelly hole l ater cleaned up and used

for Division Hea dq u ar t er s ) t he n ahead to Chate a u de La Foret . Stayed in thi s vici ni ty u ntil t he O u r c fight w as over moving bac k several miles the night o f the 2 9 t h to where the detach ment was and where I met Bev the morni ng 3 t h ’ o f the o . Bac k forward t hat morning to w here we d made a small shelter i n a corner of Foret de Fere on t he 2 8t h (Chateau de l a Foret is j ust south

o f V i lliers sur Fere) .

M h he i Marched to Chateau ou c et on t he 4t h of August , t troops be ng

a t the ti me in Fore t de Fere . Thi s is the beauti ful chateau I described and

is near E pieds . O n t he 1 2t h the Battalion asse mbled at E pieds and marched

to Dom ptin and t o Villiers sur Marne on t he 1 3 t h . On the l 6t h we marched

- i D mbl a i n to Chateau Thierry (Gare) , v a rail fro m there to o where we de

trai ned o n the 1 8t h and marched to Vrecourt (Southeast o f N eu pc h a t e au ) . H ere we had a bath house and two days to loa f and clean u p t hen a bit of

dri ll and m achine gun maneuver . 2 Well , we le ft Stenay the 0t h , goi ng to A u i oth via Chavenay , Mont me dy

and Thionville . Here we had the r ece ptio n al I wrot e about and at l ast got

- - out of the fough t over zone . 2 1 — The st we entered Belgium a t Li mes Route , Breux , Fagny , Li mes , 1 6 h Soye , Belle fontaine , St . Marie , Frati n . The 5t band played us over the

. 2 2 z e no l line N ove mber we marched t o Lischer t via B a , Chantemelle ,

L ffer . Fouches , o t and Thiau mont

23 r d we entered Luxe mbourg a t Oberpallen and arrived at present . The

s t a t l on . Route , Bonnert , Oberpallen , Beckerich , H uttange , N oerdange , l n e B n e Usse da u e v a . Ri ppweiler , g , g

On t he 2 6th I took a day o ff and went to t he capital . Prices are rather — — stee p and t he rate of exchange Francs for Marks high , so I bought nothing i n t he way o f souvenirs except t he Mada me La Guerre notices w hic h I thought

rat her i nteresting .

28th On t he the movement to San Mihiel was begun , all marching being

done at night . Schedule follows " F 28 h 2 h . 4 a al i er e t Bulgneville , 9 t Viocourt , Sept , Bois del (bivouac) , — m . . 5 t h 8t h E . H u t s Sept , Barizey l a Cote , 7 Chaloy , q , t o Bouc Battalion to the woods south of Mandres and Tours ( Foret de Reine) w here head quarters

moved the l ot h .

O n the l 1 t h (at night ) we went into pos ition for the attack which began 2 h v . i i 28t h . Le ft Langres October 7 t by rail . Arri ed St D z er Slept u ntil a m . Le ft t hat eveni ng by rail . Arrived i n t he morni ng of t he 29 h t at Cler mont , nort heast of Verdun and went b y truck to Battalion Headquarters i n a springhouse near Apre mont t hat evening and spent t he night t here . The Battalion had moved here about t he 1 5th by ca mion and foot a fter havi ng done a second trick on front li ne near St . Benoit . ’ On t he morni ng of t he 30th I moved forward to Captai n Gr ae f s advanced

C . P . he com mandi ng t he Battalion since t he 2 7 th of September This was h1 1 1 k no wn i s located on a . as Cote de Maldah about a k lo meter out h of Landres

St . Georges . T he brigade had been t hrough hell here be fore we arri ved , b ut we enj oyed our part i n t he attac k of Nove mber l st (as machi ne gunners) , whic h consisted i n assisti ng i n a per fect hell o f a barrage . L ater we had t he pleasure of lear ning t hat “ t he art illery drove t he H uns out of t heir dugouts and t he machine guns drove t he m back i n and still later moved fro m t he Seda n front bac k over t he ground which had bee n traversed by t he b arrage and found it to be as full of shell holes as t he moon is of crater s and e very tree m arked with machine gun bullet s . I mmediatel y a fter t he barrage ceased (it lasted fro m u ntil — we packed up and fell bac k might y glad to do so too . Two days i n a fox hole was ba d e nough and t he Battali on had bee n there 2 1 and t he weather l st very nast y . We bi vouaced near t he spri ng house at Apre mont the 2 nd i C ha m i 3 . and marching on t he rd to vi a Fleville , St J uv n and p g ne u l l e 4 on t he t h to a ferme west o f Brieulles vi a Thenorgues , , G er mont , Aut he , Brie ulles and A uthe . We had to counter march t hrough on account of the road leading to our ori gi nal destination (beyond

Brieulles) had been blown out w here a ravi ne had been fille d , some of t he

- mine craters being as bi g as a house . O n t h ? 5th we passed t hrough t he 7 8th Division and bega n our a d va nce u i i i on Sedan , passing t hrough Brie lles and bi v ou a ci ng n a ravine n t he Bo s de Mont Dieu . Did no firing t he first day but went into position t hree ti mes . 6 fi th N . Y . The second day , , I was assigned to t he l 68th (69 t h ) as liaison of cer and t hink I mentioned some of m y experiences i n a previous let ter . We i passed t hrough Maisoncelle and , t he advance li ne runn ng t hrough

Fer me St . Que ntin . I we nt back to the co mpany and slept i n a little grove east of Historia Fer me . The best fun I had that day was sniping at two groups ’

u i u . of H ns w th a Springfield , range 1 2 00 yards , and m aking e m h nt cover The scuts had t w o guns m ounted right under a white flag in a group of deserted hangars . We had come to accept the whi te flag as an i n dication of t he n b u i i i n prese ce of civilians and not of surrende r , t the cr me s my eyes even ’ greater . How ever , w e m ade e m h unt their holes . t i On the 7 h the dr ve on Sedan ende d . I moved the Com pany to Ferme

. u i b . St Q ent n , w here they s helled us . Capt . Co m s was reconnoiteri ng Fel l bac k a bit and later moved m y platoon forward and had t he satis faction of using my t wo guns and t hree Ger man Maxi ms i n drivi ng out a gang of H uns .

r 2 2 i r ifl . Late relieved Lt . Crawhall on Hill 5 , n easy e shot o f Sedan Spent the night there , nasty place , will tell you about i t w hen I get home .

. 8 1 u v N ext day , Nov , t he 50th French relieved s , we m arched to a bi ouac

u u . so t heast of Maisoncelle passi ng t hrough Cha mont , Bulson and Maisoncelle

t h e 2 9 t h w e, m a r c h e d t n P e t i t e. A r m o i s e s v i a M a i s o n c e l l e. C h e m e r a n d L I EUT . AUG US T A . AR EN S

Com pany A , 1 50t h Machine Gun Battalion Wounded in action a n i i o f making no more pro motions d, o f course , Ca pta n Grae f s blocked fro m being M aj or . Maj or Scott has j ust bee n made a Lt . Colonel . He was here a day or t wo ago . T HROUGH BE LG IUM A N D L UXE MBURG

v 2 . Boevange , Luxe mburg , No e mber 8

u u u These l ast t wo days have bro ght me bea co p m ail , including all m e that which has been for warded w hen at Langres at M achi ne Gun school .

By t he w ay , t he na me of t he Fort t here w here we were stationed was Con ” r stance C hi o e Auct Pei gney , t he Auct st anding for ancient , the site being t he sce ne of a b attl e bet we en t he original H uns an d t he Rom ans , in whic h — 4 - t he l atter won Fritz never entere d t he tow n in 1 87 0 nor i n 1 9 1 1 8 . T h e place i s never called by its newer na me , al way s bei ng known as Fort .

m 1 8 . e I t was co mpleted 7 5 Anot her point , th far m w here we were quartered 1 5 aroun d J ul y i n Cha m pagne was a stud buil t by N apoleon Third , all “ ” the doors an d wi ndows had keystones of t he letter N and over t he princi pal door w as a more or na t e one .

We leave to morrow for Fischbach , a march of 1 3 kilometers (eight and

- one hal f miles) , not a hard hike , and t he m en are i n m uc h better shape th a n w hen we st art ed from t he old French barrac ks at Stenay to cross B el giu m an d e nter Luxe mburg . Our march will consist o f si x or seven da ys of hiking followed by a period o f rest , t hen hike , then rest aga i n t ill we get there , o ur destination i s i n the vici ni ty of Coblenz .

We anticipate no trouble but are prepared for all event ualities . D uring the stop here we have drille d and i nst r u cted d a il y and will conti nue the work

at . i the next stop The men were badl y i n need o f disci pli nary drill , ow ng to the large percentage of re place me nts who see med fated to al ways arri ve j ust before a push an d who had never had close order drill si nce arrivi ng , but the company picked up with re markable speed and is as well disciplined and as ’ courteous an organization as you d care to see . I t would delight General " fl u ing to see us do close order , though the lac k of ri es red ce s the snappy “ appearance a well drilled in fantry company presents . We h ave for bri gade 4 com mander Brigadier General Caldwell , who com manded the th Wisconsin ’ i n 9 42 8 and was a n i nspector later . That puts the nd Di vision brigades under ”

4 . Wisconsi n men . M a c A r th u r (a first class fighti ng man ) having th e 8 th M a c r A th u r co m manded the di vi sion for a ti me and Colonel H enry J . Reilly 8 r u the 3 d, but the war depart ment decision not to pro mote caused their ret rn t o . .th eir old out fits and t hey put General Fl agl er i n com ma n d o f the di vision

i i Speak ng of general s , I was with L ggett for a mo ment or t wo whe n on th e

O u r c . General Lenihan had sent m e for ward to an observation post to ’ r watch the attack o f our b igade . I coul dn t see our own , but coul d see t he 84t h brigade go through t he whe at towards Sergy . I t was more li ke a movie battle t h a n reali ty . Our barrage advancing steadily , the men follow i b i i n g at a steady walk, t he H un arrage dropp ng on t h e m , m any fall ng , the line advancing st eadil y and surely .

h i b 3 1 9 1 8 . P e ffingen , R i ne Prov nce , Dece m er ,

i I n G er many at last . For twenty mi nutes w e marched b es de the rail i road , hi gh cli ffs on our ri ght an d on our le ft , beyond the tracks the rush ng t h e ui i fl i Sau er . Then a sharp turn to t he le ft past last b ld ng y ng the red , w hite and bl ue of t he Grand D uchy and across a bri dge past our General “ ’ and we were i n t he ene my s country . Our m arc h contin ued about t wo or v three hours w hen we arri ved at thi s l i ttle illage . I t took so me t i me for Captain Grae f to find the Burgomeister and m ake arrange ments and I w e nt forward to fi nd Co . B billete d and the Burgomeister busy wit h Co . C . I “ ” was astounded to learn from Mr . Coen , t he Y man , t ha t t he Burgome ist er b was putti ng only about hal f as many men i n a illet as it woul d hold , so all t he people could have some A mericans " I went around wit h hi m w hen he billeted me and w as every w here greeted wit h s miles . I coul d have i magined mysel f still i n Luxemburg were i t not for the pictures of me n i n the u ni form ’

I learned to hate so on t he walls . I t s si m ply i ncredible , during the day I ha d seen very few people with scowl s on their faces but h adn ’ t been prepared for hospitalit y .

Sergeant Reh ner arranged for a roo m beside the rolli ng kitchen for t he ’ o ffi cer s mess and t he ow ner , onl y two wee ks out o f t he ar m y , and hi s son killed , hi msel f spread a w hite cloth , brought us fresh bread , butter , ho me i made prune j a m , preserve d appl es and ch na pl ates and cutlery . And his sol e resent ment see m s to be agai nst t he authorities w ho ca used the war as " ’ a n i nstitution I can t explai n m y feelings , the y are somethi ng aki n to pity

A 1 0 1 9 1 8 . Nieder de nau , Ger many , Dece mber ,

’ ’ Some ground we ve covered si nce last I wrote . We re not letti ng t he grass gro w under our feet . Here follows the route " — . S E i i Dec hlenz , via Wettli ngen , Bettingen , Oberwe s , R t tersdor f . — . 6 v ra i f Dec Budeshei m , Schle d , Se fern , Lasel , Reuland , Wettel dor f ,

He r s or f . d , Wallershei m

7 - - Dec . Belsdor f Lissi ngen , Gerolstei n , Bewingen , Doh m , La m mersdor f . — . 8 i Dec U del hoven , vi a H lleshei m , Weisbaum , Mirbach , Dollendor f ,

A hrhutte . — . 9 N D ec ieder Adenau , via Ahrdorf , Dorsel , Musch , Ant weiler , Fuchs ho fen , Schul d , I nsul , Du mpel feld .

7 9 — M y note book says Billet No . that counts fox holes , etc . , w hich are ’ ’ l not really billets , an d it don t count trains where I ve s ept many nights . ’ ’ ’ Well , I don t expect we ll be at it much longer . We don t know our destina ’ tion but we can t go muc h farther . We can ma ke the Rhine fro m here i n ’

. about three days Our latest hunch i s t hat we re goi ng to or near Bonn , ’ which the Ger mans say is even prettier than Coblenz . I d li ke to se e the latter though , or t he Rhi ne at least .

The people still continue to do everything to m ake us co m fortable , t hough none have done quite as much as that c hap a t Pe ffingen . Th e official Sum mary of I ntelligence see ms to t hi nk t his attitude is an assumed one and unde r neath there is a feeling of resent ment which crops out when the people become excited or a ngry . They mention t he case of a Fraeulei n

G u f . r nert , late of Metz , the daughter of a Prussian o ficer She left Metz on account of being bombed too much . She said the bombing planes had do ne a geat deal of da mage a t Metz - S a bl o n s m so your wish t hat the terror the H uns brought to Belgiu m be carried bac k to t he m was partl y ta ken care o f . b The weat her latel y has een prett y much i n our favor . Most of the ’ i ti me there s a fog , bu t we have had no snow or freez ng weather . However , I expect wint er will be down on us most any day now Hope i t waits till we get to our destination .

The deep ravines we encountered in Luxe mburg we see no more , but w e u are i n w hat I s ppose they call mountai ns , a nd have cli mbed some hills .

Roads on t he w hole are good , t hough so mewhat cut up in places . No car e ’ ’ for four years and Ger mans passing over e m don t i mprove roads . ” ( I sai d they call mountains . To me not hing is a mountai n wit hout snow on top . )

I have , of course , not na med all the tow ns occupied by units of the batt alion . I know nearl y all o f these and they wi ll speckle up the ma p to satisfy anyone " 6 I st Sergt . Lutz j ust counted up . We have 6 men and th r ee o fficers 1 n the battalion w ho saw service in t he co mpany on the border and sixty five men a nd three o fficers w ho were on t he roll when we left Ca m p Douglas for

Ca m p Mills . The rest not killed are scattered all over France and some are back home .

And today has been a trium phal procession . E very town was lined wit h r r people and a mass of streame s , ows of evergreens tri m med with colored papers and ribbons , even triu m p hal arches , had been erected in some of the more enterprisi ng villages . I n one town a woman gave me a bit of worsted wit h t he colors of Belgium . I wore it all da y and enclose it herewith .

The me n get coffee and bread as soon as they hit t heir billets (American t h Red Cross relie f for t he Belgian s ) , but e H uns took t he white flour we sent and gave t hem black bread .

’ The soun d of the j oy ful cries o f Vive L A mer iq u e and Vive les A mericans still ring i n my ears and how the bells pealed forth . I am repa1 d for m y poor s acri fices .

’ I ve got writers cra m p . H ave spen t all day on t his taking t he dope t o h n n lz T h o r- p m a h o a f la w Q l i h t p r r n r c a n I