Part 52

_Neibaur, Thomas C., Private_, Co. M, 167th Infantry, 42nd Division, Sumner City, Idaho.—Landers, St. Georges, France, Oct. 16, 1918. On the afternoon of Oct. 16, 1918, when the Côte de Chatillon had just been gained after bitter fighting and the summit of that strong bulwark in the Kriemhilde Stellung was being organized, Private Neibaur was sent out on patrol with his automatic-rifle squad to enfilade enemy machine-gun nests. As he gained the ridge he set up his automatic rifle and was directly thereafter wounded in both legs by fire from a hostile machine gun on his flank. The advance wave of the enemy troops counter-attacking had about gained the ridge; and, although practically cut off and surrounded, the remainder of his detachment being killed or wounded, this gallant soldier kept his automatic rifle in operation to such effect that by his own efforts and by fire from the skirmish line of his company, at least 100 yards in his rear, the attack was checked. The enemy wave being halted and lying prone, four of the enemy attacked Private Neibaur at close quarters. These he killed. He then moved along among the enemy lying on the ground about him. In the midst of the fire from his own lines, and by coolness and gallantry, he captured eleven prisoners at the point of his pistol, and, although painfully wounded, brought them back to our lines. The counter-attack in full force was arrested, to a large extent, by the single efforts of this soldier, whose heroic exploits took place against the sky line in full view of his entire battalion.

77TH DIVISION

_Kaufman, Benjamin, First Sergeant_, Co. K, 308th Infantry, 77th Division, Brooklyn, N. Y.—Forest d’Argonne, France, Oct. 4, 1918. He took out a patrol for the purpose of attacking an enemy machine gun which had checked the advance of his company. Before reaching the gun he became separated from his patrol, and a machine-gun bullet shattered his right arm. Without hesitation he advanced on the gun alone, throwing grenades with his left hand and charging with an empty pistol, taking one prisoner and scattering the crew, bringing the gun and prisoner back to the first-aid station.

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_McMurtry, George G., Captain_, 308th Infantry, 77th Division, New York City.—Forest d’Argonne, France, Oct. 2-8, 1918. Captain McMurtry commanded a battalion which was cut off and surrounded by the enemy; and, although wounded in the knee by shrapnel on Oct. 4th and suffering great pain, he continued throughout the entire period to encourage his officers and men with a resistless optimism that contributed largely toward preventing panic and disorder among the troops who, without food, were cut off from communication with our lines. On Oct. 4th, during a heavy barrage, he personally directed and supervised the moving of the wounded to shelter before himself seeking shelter. On Oct. 6th, he was again wounded in the shoulder by a German grenade, but continued personally to organize and direct the defense against the German attack on the position until the attack was defeated. He continued to direct and command his troops, refusing relief, and after assistance arrived personally led his men out of the position before permitting himself to be taken to the hospital on Oct. 8th. During this period the successful defense of the position was due largely to his efforts.

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_Miles, L. Wardlaw, Captain_, 308th Infantry, 77th Division, Princeton, N. J.—Révillon, France, Sept. 14, 1918. Captain Miles volunteered to lead his company in a hazardous attack on a commanding trench position near the Aisne Canal, which other troops had previously attempted to take without success. His company immediately met with intense machine-gun fire, against which it had no artillery assistance, but Captain Miles preceded the first wave and assisted in cutting a passage through the enemy’s wire entanglements. In so doing he was wounded five times by machine-gun bullets, both legs and one arm being fractured, whereupon he ordered himself placed on a stretcher and had himself carried forward to the enemy trench in order that he might encourage and direct his company, which by this time had suffered numerous casualties. Under the inspiration of this officer’s indomitable spirit his men held the hostile position and consolidated the front line after an action lasting two hours, at the conclusion of which Captain Miles was carried to the aid station against his will.

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_Peck, Archie A., Private_, Co. A, 307th Infantry, 77th Division, Hornell, N. Y.—Forest d’Argonne, France, Oct. 6, 1918. While engaged with two other soldiers on patrol duty he and his comrades were subjected to the direct fire of an enemy machine gun, at which time both his companions were wounded. Returning to his company, he obtained another soldier to accompany him to assist in bringing in the wounded men. His assistant was killed in the exploit, but he continued on, twice returning, and safely bringing in both men, being under terrific machine-gun fire during the entire journey.

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_Smith, Frederick E., Lieutenant Colonel_, 308th Infantry, 77th Division, Portland, Ore.—Binarville, France, Sept. 28, 1918. When communication from the forward regimental post of command to the battalion leading the advance had been interrupted temporarily by the infiltration of small parties of the enemy armed with machine guns, Lieut. Col. Smith personally led a party of two other officers and ten soldiers, and went forward to re-establish runner posts and carry ammunition to the front line. The guide became confused and the party strayed to the left flank beyond the outposts of supporting troops, suddenly coming under fire from a group of enemy machine guns only fifty yards away. Shouting to the other members of his party to take cover, this officer, in disregard of his own danger, drew his pistol and opened fire on the German gun crew. About this time he fell, severely wounded in the side; but, regaining his footing, he continued to fire on the enemy until most of the men in his party were out of danger. Refusing first-aid treatment, he then made his way in plain view of the enemy to a hand grenade dump and returned under continued heavy machine-gun fire for the purpose of making another attack on the enemy emplacements. As he was attempting to ascertain the exact location of the nearest nest, he again fell, mortally wounded.

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_Whittlesey, Charles W., Lieutenant Colonel_, 308th Infantry, 77th Division, Pittsfield, Mass.—Binarville, in the Forest d’ Argonne, France, Oct. 2-7, 1918. Although cut off for five days from the remainder of his division, Major Whittlesey maintained his position which he had reached under orders received for an advance; and held his command, consisting originally of 463 officers and men of the 308th Infantry and of Company K of the 307th Infantry together, in the face of superior numbers of the enemy during the five days. Major Whittlesey and his command were thus cut off, and no rations or other supplies reached him, in spite of determined efforts which were made by his division. On the fourth day Major Whittlesey received from the enemy a written proposition to surrender, which he treated with contempt, although he was at that time out of rations and had suffered a loss of about 50 percent. in killed and wounded of his command and was surrounded by the enemy.

78TH DIVISION

_Sawelson, William, Sergeant_, Co. —, 312th Infantry, 78th Division, Harrison, N. J.—Grandpré, France, Oct. 26, 1918. Hearing a wounded man in a shell hole some distance away calling for water, Sergeant Sawelson, upon his own initiative, left shelter and crawled through heavy machine-gun fire to where the man lay, giving him what water he had in his canteen. He then went back to his own shell hole, obtained more water and was returning to the wounded man when he was killed by a machine-gun bullet.

82ND DIVISION

_Pike, Emory J., Lieutenant Colonel_, Division Machine Gun Officer, 82nd Division, Des Moines, Iowa.—Vandières, France, Sept. 15, 1918. Having gone forward to reconnoiter new machine-gun positions, Colonel Pike offered his assistance in reorganizing advance infantry units, which had become disorganized during a heavy artillery shelling. He succeeded in locating only about twenty men, but with these he advanced; and when later joined by several infantry platoons rendered inestimable service in establishing outposts, encouraging all by his cheeriness, in spite of the extreme danger of the situation. When a shell had wounded one of the men in the outpost, Colonel Pike immediately went to his aid and was severely wounded himself when another shell burst in the same place. While waiting to be brought to the rear, Colonel Pike continued in command, still retaining his jovial manner of encouragement, directing the reorganization until the position could be held. The entire operation was carried on under terrific bombardment; and the example of courage and devotion to duty, as set by Colonel Pike, established the highest standard of morale and confidence to all under his charge. The wounds he received were the cause of his death.

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_York, Alvin C., Sergeant_, Co. G, 328th Infantry, 82nd Division, Pall Mall, Tenn.—Châtel-Chéhéry, France, Oct. 8, 1918. After his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and three other non-commissioned officers had become casualties, Corporal York assumed command. Fearlessly leading seven men, he charged, with great daring, a machine-gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine-gun nest was taken, together with four officers and 128 men and several guns.

89TH DIVISION

_Barger, Charles D., Private, first class_, Co. L, 354th Infantry, 89th Division, Stotts City, Mo.—Bois de Bantheville, France, Oct. 31, 1918. Learning that two daylight patrols had been caught out in No Man’s Land and were unable to return, Private Barger and another stretcher bearer, upon their own initiative, made two trips 500 yards beyond our lines, under constant machine-gun fire, and rescued two wounded officers.

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_Barkeley, David B., Private_, Co. A, 356 Infantry, 89th Division, San Antonio, Texas.—Pouilly, France, Nov. 9, 1918. When information was desired as to the enemy’s position on the opposite side of the River Meuse, Private Barkeley, with another soldier, volunteered without hesitation and swam the river to reconnoiter the exact location. He succeeded in reaching the opposite bank, despite the evident determination of the enemy to prevent a crossing. Having obtained his information, he again entered the water for his return, but before his goal was reached he was seized with cramps and drowned.

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_Chiles, Marcellus H., Captain_, 356th Infantry, 89th Division, Denver, Col.—Le Champy-Bas, France, Nov. 3, 1918. When his battalion, of which he had just taken command, was halted by machine-gun fire from the front and left flank he picked up the rifle of a dead soldier and, calling on his men to follow, led the advance across a stream, waist deep, in the face of the machine-gun fire. Upon reaching the opposite bank this gallant officer was seriously wounded in the abdomen by a sniper; but before permitting himself to be evacuated he made complete arrangements for turning over his command to the next senior officer; and under the inspiration of his fearless leadership his battalion reached its objective. Captain Chiles died shortly after reaching the hospital.

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_Forrest, Arthur J., Sergeant_, Co. D, 354th Infantry, 89th Division, Hannibal, Mo.—Rémonville, France, Nov. 1, 1918. When the advance of his company was stopped by bursts of fire from a nest of six enemy machine guns, he worked his way single-handed without being discovered to a point within fifty yards of the machine-gun nest. Charging, single-handed, he drove out the enemy in disorder, thereby protecting the advance platoon from annihilating fire, and permitting the resumption of the advance of his company.

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_Funk, Jesse N., Private, first class_, 354th Infantry, 89th Division, Calnan, Col.—Bois de Bantheville, France, Oct. 31, 1918. Learning that two daylight patrols had been caught out in No Man’s Land and were unable to return, Private Funk and another stretcher bearer, upon their own initiative, made two trips 500 yards beyond our lines, under constant machine-gun fire, and rescued two wounded officers.

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_Furlong, Richard A., First Lieutenant_, 353rd Infantry, 89th Division, Detroit, Mich.—Bantheville, France, Nov. 1, 1918. Immediately after the opening of the attack in the Bois de Bantheville, when his company was held up by severe machine-gun fire from the front, which killed his company commander and several soldiers, Lieutenant Furlong moved out in advance of the line with great courage and coolness, crossing an open space several hundred yards wide. Taking up a position behind the line of machine guns, he closed in on them, one at a time, killing a number of the enemy with his rifle, putting four machine-gun nests out of action, and driving twenty German prisoners into our lines.

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_Hatler, M. Waldo, Sergeant_, Co. B, 356th Infantry, 89th Division, Neosho, Mo.—Pouilly, France, Nov. 8, 1918. When volunteers were called for to secure information as to the enemy’s position on the opposite bank of the Meuse River, Sergeant Hatler was the first to offer his services for this dangerous mission. Swimming across the river, he succeeded in reaching the German lines after another soldier who had started with him had been seized with cramps and drowned in midstream. Alone he carefully and courageously reconnoitered the enemy’s positions, which were held in force, and again successfully swam the river, bringing back information of great value.

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_Johnston, Harold I., Sergeant_, Co. A, 356th Infantry, 89th Division, Denver, Col.—Pouilly, France, Nov. 9, 1918. When information was desired as to the enemy’s position on the opposite side of the River Meuse, Sergeant Johnston, with another soldier, volunteered without hesitation and swam the river to reconnoiter the exact location of the enemy. He succeeded in reaching the opposite bank, despite the evident determination of the enemy to prevent a crossing. Having obtained his information, he again entered the water for his return. This was accomplished after a severe struggle, which so exhausted him that he had to be assisted from the water, after which he rendered his report of the exploit.

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_Wickersham, J. Hunter, Second Lieutenant_, 353rd Infantry, 89th Division, Denver, Col.—Limey, France, Sept. 12, 1918. Advancing with his platoon during the St. Mihiel offensive, he was severely wounded in four places by the bursting of a high-explosive shell. Before receiving any aid for himself he dressed the wounds of his orderly who was wounded at the same time. Then, although weakened by the loss of blood, he ordered and accompanied the further advance of his platoon. His right hand and arm being disabled by wounds, he continued to fire his revolver with his left hand, until, exhausted by loss of blood, he fell and died from his wounds before aid could be administered.

91ST DIVISION

_Katz, Philip C., Sergeant_, Co. C, 363rd Infantry, 91st Division, San Francisco, Cal.—Eclis-fontaine, France, Sept. 26, 1918. After his company had withdrawn for a distance of 200 yards on a line with the units on its flanks, Sergeant Katz learned that one of his comrades had been left wounded in an exposed position at the point from which the withdrawal had taken place. Voluntarily crossing an area swept by heavy machine-gun fire, he advanced to where the wounded soldier lay and carried him to a place of safety.

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_Miller, Oscar F., Major_, 361st Infantry, 91st Division, Los Angeles, Cal.—Gesnes, France, Sept. 28, 1918. After two days of intense physical and mental strain, during which Major Miller had led his battalion in the front line of the advance through the forest of Argonne, the enemy was met in a prepared position south of Gesnes. Though almost exhausted, he energetically reorganized his battalion and ordered an attack. Upon reaching open ground, the advancing line began to waver in the face of machine-gun fire from the front and flanks, and direct artillery fire. Personally leading his command group forward between his front line companies, Major Miller inspired his men by his personal courage; and they again pressed on toward the hostile position. As this officer led the renewed attack he was shot in the right leg, but he nevertheless staggered forward at the head of his command. Soon afterward he was again shot in the right arm, but he continued the charge, personally cheering his troops on through the heavy machine-gun fire. Just before the objective was reached he received a wound in the abdomen which forced him to the ground, but he continued to urge his men on, telling them to push on to the next ridge and leave him where he lay. He died from his wounds a few days later.

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_Seibert, Lloyd M., Sergeant_, Co. F., 364th Infantry, 91st Division, Salinas, Cal.—Epinonville, France, Sept. 26, 1918. Suffering from illness, Sergeant Seibert remained with his platoon and led his men with the highest courage and leadership under heavy shell and machine-gun fire. With two other soldiers he charged a machine-gun emplacement in advance of their company, he himself killing one of the enemy with a shotgun and captured two others. In this encounter he was wounded, but he nevertheless continued in action; and when a withdrawal was ordered he returned with the last unit, assisting a wounded comrade. Later in the evening he volunteered and carried in wounded until he fainted from exhaustion.

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_West, Chester H., First Sergeant_, Co. D, 363rd Infantry, 91st Division, Idaho, Falls, Idaho.—Bois de Cheppy, France, Sept. 26, 1918. While making his way through a thick fog with his automatic-rifle section, his advance was halted by direct and unusual machine-gun fire from two guns. Without aid he at once dashed through the fire, and attacking the nest killed two of the gunners, one of whom was an officer. This prompt and decisive hand-to-hand encounter on his part enabled his company to advance further without the loss of a man.

93RD DIVISION

_Robb, George S., First Lieutenant_, 369th Infantry, 93rd Division, Saline, Kan.—Séchault, France, Sept 29-30, 1918. While leading his platoon in the assault on Séchault, Lieutenant Robb was severely wounded by machine-gun fire; but rather than go to the rear for proper treatment he remained with his platoon until ordered to the dressing station by his commanding officer. Returning within forty-five minutes, he remained on duty throughout the entire night, inspecting his lines and establishing outposts. Early the next morning he was again wounded, once again displaying his remarkable devotion to duty by remaining in command of his platoon. Later the same day a bursting shell added two more wounds, the same shell killing his commanding officer and two officers of his company. He then assumed command of the company and organized its position in the trenches. Displaying wonderful courage and tenacity at the critical times, he was the only officer of his battalion who advanced beyond the town; and by clearing machine-gun and sniping posts, contributed largely to the aid of his battalion in holding their objective. His example of bravery and fortitude and his eagerness to continue with his mission despite severe wounds set before the enlisted men of his command a most wonderful standard of morale and self-sacrifice.

TANK CORPS

_Call, Donald M., Second Lieutenant_, Tank Corps, Larchmont, N. Y.—Varennes, France, Sept. 26, 1918. During an operation against enemy machine-gun nests west of Varennes, Lieutenant Call, then Corporal, was in a tank with an officer, when half of the turret was knocked off by a direct artillery hit. Choked by gas from the high-explosive shell, he left the tank and took cover in a shell hole thirty yards away. Seeing that the officer did not follow, and thinking that he might be alive, Corporal Call returned to the tank under intense machine-gun and shell fire and carried the officer over a mile under machine-gun and sniper fire to safety.

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_Roberts, Garold W., Corporal_, Tank Corps, San Francisco, Cal.—Montrebeau Woods, France, Oct. 4, 1918. Corporal Roberts, a tank driver, was moving his tank into a clump of bushes to afford protection to another tank which had become disabled. The tank slid into a shell hole ten feet deep and filled with water, and was immediately submerged. Knowing that only one of the two men in the tank could escape, Corporal Roberts said to the gunner, “Well, only one of us can get out, and out you go.” Whereupon he pushed his companion through the back door of the tank and was himself drowned.

Transcriber’s Notes

pg 37 Changed: They let go their ammuntion belts to: They let go their ammunition belts

pg 50 Changed: Colonel Montgomery commandered General O’Ryan’s racing car to: Colonel Montgomery commandeered General O’Ryan’s racing car

pg 64 Changed: generally understod among us brothers to: generally understood among us brothers

pg 75 Changed: The comandming officer of the 32nd to: The commanding officer of the 32nd

pg 78 Changed: into the French capital were greeted with enthsuiasm to: into the French capital were greeted with enthusiasm

pg 82 Changed: Had is done what had been intended to: Had it done what had been intended

pg 106 Changed: a fierce bombardment from the enemy’s adtillery to: a fierce bombardment from the enemy’s artillery

pg 127 Changed: I could not restrtain myself any longer to: I could not restrain myself any longer

pg 277 Changed: picked up 156 offcers and men to: picked up 156 officers and men

pg 309 Changed: Involntarily, without the smallest intention of quitting to: Involuntarily, without the smallest intention of quitting

pg 345 Changed: (an offishoot of the National German-American Alliance) to: (an offshoot of the National German-American Alliance)

pg 383 Changed: awaited the second shock we knew would some to: awaited the second shock we knew would come

pg 390 Changed: further established liason with two French batteries to: further established liaison with two French batteries