Appletons Old Company Co. A. L5oth Machine
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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 France 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 .