Iowa
Old Press
The Red Oak Sun
Red Oak, Montgomery co. Iowa
Friday, April 26, 1918
TWO MORE WIN CROSSES
Hawkins and Hoke are Decorated says Corporal Oliver Reiley in an
Interesting Letter from France to His Parents
--- Fife Writes an Appropriate Verse --- Several Good Letters.
NEWS FROM THE BOYS OVER THERE -- ALL GOOD READING
------
This week The Sun has several good letters from the
boys "Over There." In the following letters friends of
the company will see many of the things about which they have
been wandering. That two other Red Oak boys, Owen C. Hawkins and
Arnold Hoke have been decorated for distinguished service is some
of the news
included in a dandy letter from Oliver Reiley, and that the boys
had been over the top twice is one of the things mentioned by
Chas.. Sanke. That there is some news from Capt. Ross and a
newspaper story about the Iowa boys being heroes written by the
United Press correspondent at the front.
Olive Reiley's letter.
"Somewhere in France
March 25, 1918
Dear Folks and Kids: --
Received your letters of Feb 2, 8, and 10. Thanks for the bill
and check. It sure comes in very handy as we haven't been paid
for two months and we might possibly get a furlough in about a
month. That is if the Boche --- -- too much and in that case we
will have to go back to the trenches, --- and as you probably
know by now ---- ---- time in them and that was the way Hank Fall
was killed. Of course there were a few others killed and quite a
few wounded, but I don't believe you know them. It was a false
report that Percy Breese was
wounded. Captain Ross and Casey, Owen Hawkins and Hoke received
the Croix de Guerre for distinguished service. The
captain left yesterday as acting major of the 1st battalion and
Lieut. Ericsson is in command now.
I forgot to say I spent my birthday at the front. I received two
boxes with underwear, gloves, sox and candy and they sure were
fine. As yet I have not received your cablegram of $10 and as
near as I can check up on your letters two of them with $5 in
each are missing yet. Thank grandma for her money order too. If I
ever get the time I will write her. At present we are in a small
town back of the lines and if we could live this way all the time
it would be great. Phil Brooks, Joe Cadio, Carl Clement and I
have rented a room here and we have two large feather beds and
nice stove, table, chairs -- a very good room and this was our
supper: French fried potatoes, three fried eggs, steak, hot
chocolate and bread and butter. Of course we are in a very good
part of Lorraine, a clean little village, and with what money you
have you can get about what you want. I see in the Red Oak paper
about all the drafted fellows, all the service flags and the
like, but nothing about Co. M. Tell "Runt" Woods, Mac
and all the other fellows hello (let them read this if you wish).
Tell them that Ben Morris and I expect to take our vacations
together.
How is Max Brown, Russ Schaeffer and Russell Loomis. I saw their
advertisement of the "Big County Fair" and I bet that
was great if it was anything like the ones we used to have. I
expect the Ford and Studebaker are in good condition now that I
am not there to break them up and keep the tires worn out. When I
get back I sure am going to drive them though because I have been
walking too much lately....
I went to a French picture show the other night with Ben Morris.
It was fairly good if it was a French picture.
Lately, (and I imagine it will be this way from now on) the
weather has been great. Plenty of sunshine, you know, but I
thought for a while last winter somebody had lied about this
being a "Sunny France." Don't send any more underwear
or sugar for a while because I have a plenty now and it's hard to
carry very much extra. The gloves and sox were the best yet, but
I have enough for now, I think and the candy was great. I took
some to the trenches and it sure was the stuff for there because
it was had to feed us and very little at that.
Here is Orville Fife's opinion of "no man's land" after
our visit there:
"Those still, bare trunks stand sombre,
Alone in the pale moonlight,
And there's nothing more silent or lonely or still
Than "no man's land" at night.
Oh! Those tall, white trees have a story.
And if their tale they'd tell,
T'would be of horror, bloodshed and sorrow,
Of shrapnel and bursting shell."
We have a long hike ahead of us now and then a rest so if
nothing happens we wont be in the trenches again for about six
weeks. Of course we can't get much war dope here but they think
Germany is preparing for their last big Spring drive which will
determine the war. I hope so as I have had all the sightseeing I
want.
I get the Saturday Evening Post alright, but the papers fail to
arrive except a few old ones. But they get bunches of them for
the company so I get to red them that way. I will try to send you
a box tomorrow and I'll write more often. Lover to all, your son
OLIVER
~~~~~~~
Charley Sank's Letter.
In the following letter to his father, Chas. Sanks, former Sun
office employee now with Co. M in France, gives his version of
two trips, which he and other members of the company made
"over the top."
Dear Folks:
Received letters, 11 or 12 and two boxes, the other day. The
boxes were both in fine condition and were just as fresh as if
they had never taken a six weeks' trip to get here. The Y. M. C.
A. here is out of paper so if you hadn't sent what you did I
would not be writing this letter.
I have seen some mighty exciting times since I last wrote. I have
been in the trenches under fire and "over the top"
twice. I have been in German territory for over an hour. That is
something that very few American soldiers can boast of.
When we came back there was not a Boche left. Their trenches and
dugouts were just a mass of shell holes. We sure licked the life
out of them. Believe me when old Uncle Sam gets a few more men
over here and in fighting condition, this war will not last very
long, for the Americans can sure go. I think Fritz knows it too,
for he would not come out of his dugout and take a chance at a
hand-to-hand fight. We didn't argue the matter with him though,
so when we came to one of them we would toss in a couple of bombs
and then throw in a fire bomb and it was "Goodbye
Fritz."
I gave the captain that little flag and he carried it with him
when we went over. He showed it to me the next day after we got
back to rest billets. We are just a little puffed up over our
little fuss and I think we are about the first U. S. company to
go over.
Those people have got a lot of nerve to write that kind of stuff
home. We are getting the best that Uncle Sam can get for us. If
we were in the States it would be a little better for supplies
would be easier to get, but as lots of them have to be purchased
in France and as she has an army to feed herself it is a hard
job. The captain buys everything he possibly can for us. I'll
admit that once in a great while our mess is rather slim, but if
some of the foreign soldiers would eat with us they would think
they were at a banquet. You remember I stayed there for a few
days one time and could not stand the feed, so I think they have
it better here than they did at home.
My allotment had ought to be coming alright now. The first month
when it started was last October and I should have $125 counting
February.
I hope you are all well and the cold weather has let up. I wish
you could keep as well as I do. I haven't been sick all winter.
I forgot to tell you that during our raid of the German trenches
there were several of the Boche planes, four or five of them,
soaring around over us and dropping bombs on us. They did not do
us much damage and I was wishing they would light and get out of
their machines and see if they would show more class than their
comrades.
Well, I had better close for this time. I will write again soon.
With love, your son,
Charley
~~~~~~~
By Fred S. Ferguson........
A correspondent of the United Press was present when Iowa boys
went over the top in a trench raid on March 9. He has written a
story for his association and it has been printed in daily papers
all over the country. The story refers to Capt. Lloyd D. Ross and
Capt. Chas. J. Casey, and their men, and says they are heroes of
the first class. The Sun first received the story from
the New York Mail, sent by Roy T. Pryor, a former Red
Oak man, but it has since been printed in dailies closer to home.
It is as follows:
"WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY NEAR LUNEVILLE," .....
March 12 (By Mail). -If out of the toil, the sacrifices and
the confusion of this war, you have not got a thrill; have not
been stirred by the thought that the spirit of the men of
Lexington, and of those who opened the West and fought the civil
war still lives-then you should see American boys go over the
top.
You should talk to them upon their return. Your respect for what
is in the heart and soul of the man, who left the desk next to
your block to come over here, will become greater, and you'll
realize that in the farmer boy you are passing, a hero.
Passing a hero who has only to be put to the test to show the
qualities first displayed by his grandfather or great-grandfather
who helped to build the nation.
It was after the big raid against the German lines of March 9.
The United Press automobile was hidden away behind a building. It
was waiting for an Iowa farmer.
He was sitting at a rough wood table writing out a report of what
had happened the night before for his superior officer. His
lieutenant colonel called him "Charlie" and patted him
affectionately on the shoulder.
The Iowa farmer was Capt. Charles Casey. His home is in Villisca.
His massive shoulders were bent far over the table as he wrote a
plain, colorless statement to the effect that he and his men left
their trenches at 5:05 the afternoon before; that all objectives
were reached, and that they had returned to their own lines on
scheduled time.
It was what would be called a "minor operation" in a
military sense-merely a raid. But this is a super war and during
the brief time the operation lasted it was probably as violent as
Americans have ever seen.
How the men vaulted over the parapets, how they passed through a
hell of fire, found the woods, trenches and dugout of the Germans
demolished by artillery, human flesh splattered against the side
of trees and hanging from ragged limbs; how an airplane swooped
down on them until the grinning face of the aviator plying his
machine gun could be seen-all this has been told.
The boys who went through this are simple farmers boys again,
through in uniform and in a soldier's billet. The men who led
them are simply Americans, such as live all about you.
Capt. Casey finished his report. The United Press machine was
waiting to take him to a little shattered town farther back of
the lines where he has a bar room, the plaster knocked from its
walls in spots, the exterior nicked and torn. For a time it is
home-a place to rest.
"All right, let's go," and Casey handed his report to
the colonel, saluted and started for the door.
"The boys were great, weren't they?" the Iowa farmer
said, as the car headed for the open road.
"It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life-that blowing
the whistle that sent them over. I know they wanted to go, every
one of them. They were spoiling for it. But to look out there, to
know what they were going into-by George, it was hard."
"We're all from the same county, you know, and there wasn't
a yellow one in the bunch. Two boys left behind to see that every
one went over had nothing to do, and ran as hard as they could
from one dugout to another on their inspection so they....
Have you seen the old man?
The "old man" is Capt. Ross, also from Red Oak. He is
beyond forty. His thinning hair is streaked with gray, and his
face lined by work and study. He led another raiding party that
entered the German lines, not far from where Casey and his men
went in.
Ross had not been seen, but the machine turned off at the next
road, winding and twisting through a forest and down a steep hill
until it came into another village.
"I just want to shake the old man's hand," mused Casey.
"He didn't have to come over here, of course, but he's a
wonder."
Up a flight of rickety stairs and into a big bare room and there
was Capt. Ross. His gray eyes were tired. He was sitting at an
open window. The warm rays of the afternoon sun poured in. On the
window sill was a map spread out before him.
"I was just looking over last night's party as it appears on
paper." Ross explained as he arose, "I guess I'll keep
this as a sort of souvenir."
He was told that Capt. Casey was downstairs. His eyes lighted up.
Then, standing in the middle of the street, their clothes torn
and tattered by German barbed wire, their hands and faces still
soiled, an Iowa merchant and an Iowa farmer clasped hands. All
about them were other Americans. There was joking and laughter as
group after group of these boys passed by.
HONOR THE BOYS TODAY.
Men For the National Army to be Escorted To Station This
Noon-Patriots Should Turn Out.
Today (Friday) 26 men leave Montgomery county to take up
military training at Camp Dodge, they being the men who will
represent this county, in the present draft. And they are to be
given a fitting send-off by Red Oak and Montgomery county.
The local Elks lodge assumed the responsibility of seeing that
Patriotic Day was properly celebrated. They obtained from Red Oak
business houses an agreement to close at 11 o'clock today,
remaining closed the remainder of the day, and the people will
turn out to escort the new soldiers to the station. There will be
music by the Elks' drum corps, and the Stanton band will be here.
Those who go today to serve in the army are as follows: Charlie
Martin, Grant L. Curry, Amos Julian, Wm. F. Query, Grover
Edenfield, Clem Hite, Fred Sausman, Wm. L. Turner, John P.
Westerford, Ray C. Dugger, Ernest T. Hjort, Goran W. Carlson, Ray
A. Givan, H. F. A. Swanson, Axel A. Nelson, Luther E. Erickson,
Jos. C. Lake, Adolph Swanson, W. H. Miller, R. E. Embree, E. F.
Dally, A. J. C. Anderson, Henry A. Nelson, Paul H. Sandholm,
Robert M. Shepard, and Clarence E. Nelson.
All Wounded Doing Nicely.
Mrs. Lloyd D. Ross received a letter yesterday dated March 20, in which Capt. Ross said he was writing in a dugout 20 feet deep within 300 yards of the German front line trenches. The times are trying for the boys, he says, but their spirit is fine. All of Co. M's wounded are doing fine and the regiment has been highly praised by the division officers and even by Gen. Pershing.
Now a Corporal.
Leroy L. Goodrich, former Sun office employee who is now in a government school for gas engine men at Kansas City, has been promoted to the rank of corporal.
Farmers May Get Furloughs.
Blanks have been received by the local board, which may be filled out by farmers who wish to obtain furloughs of a month or two for men now serving in the army. The purpose of the plan is to release men from the army who are experienced in farming until the rush work on the farm is over.
[transcribed by B.R., November & December 2005]