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faith. If anything they believed more deeply.

Not only was this the attitude of the men, but the Chaplains of all faiths accepted it. Protestant, Catholic Father, and Jewish Rabbi served all American soldiers without distinction.

In the hospitals worked Sherrad Billings, a Protestant Clergyman who was my father's classmate in college and my schoolmaster when I was a boy. He is a little dark man with a hearty as courageous and gentle as Sir Philip Sidney's. To him all Americans had an equal appeal and he tended with equal solicitude. 

Father Francis Duffy, winner of the D.S.C., and chaplain of the 165th held the first services over the grave of my brother Quentin.

In Atlantic City, N.J., there is preaching Rabbi Davidowitz, also winner of the D.S.C., who served with the 312th Infantry. I have had Protestants and Catholics of that regiment tell me of services which he conducted and they attended.

It would be wrong to pay tribute to the men whose deeds are recorded by story and citation and to neglect to recognize the great number, who, for one reason or another, failed of notice. In every engagement there are many who handle themselves with the highest heroism, but who pass unmarked. Sometimes there are no witnesses to the act, sometimes all who saw it are killed. Every man who was privileged to fight in France recalls countless instances of this.

A typical example occurred in Belleau Woods. The 2nd Division had been struggling to drive the Germans from this position. Burial details were sent out after the battle. Two of the men who were engaged in this work, Sergeant Sweeney and Private Price, found the following story of heroism written in the bodies of the slain. 

A German machine-gun had been placed between the rocks on the crest of a rugged hill. A couple of squads of Marines under the command of Sergeant Edqin Kishler, while advancing across the valley, had come under its fire. Two or three dead soldiers were crumpled in the underbrush at this point. The Sergeant had evidently ordered a charge. The bodies of half a dozen American soldiers were sprawled on the slope that led to the emplacement. Half-way up the hill, the detachment had been halted by the fire. More dead soldiers marked this live. Here apparently all were killed but Kishler and a Private McDonough. A few yards farther on was McDonough, dead with empty cartridge-clips and an automatic rifle by him. Finally, five yards from the enemy replacement pitched on his face lay Sergeant Kishler, a rifle with a fixed bayonet clutched in his hand and a dozen bullet wounds in his chest.

The war is long past. The German guns which pounded the American soldiers in France now stand in parks of our cities and towns. Around them on national holidays the people gather for patriotic celebrations. The veterans march up. The years of peace have padded their figures until many of the brown uniforms seem about to burst their buttons. Songs and speeches follow. All is worth while, for all helps to keep alive the greatest victory we won, National-Unity.

First American Troops To Land in France And The Last To Go Home

FIRST—In Sector.
FIRST—To Attack Germans.
FIRST—To Shoot at Germans.
FIRST—To Conduct a Raid.
FIRST—To Be Raided.
FIRST—To Capture Prisoners.
FIRST—To Suffer Casualties.
FIRST—To be cited in General orders, in number of divisions, corps and Army Commanders and General Staff Officers produced from its personnel.
In front line 220 days.
Captured 163 Officers and 6,304 men, 119 pieces of field artillery, 62 trench mortars, 413 machine guns. 
Casualties 21612.
Killed and died of wounds 4,411.
Replacements received 30,206.
Distinguished Service Crosses won 356.
Such were the achievements of the First Division, A.E.F.

Excerpts From Our Annual Gathering In Milwaukee 1941

GEN. C.P. SUMMERALL:
"General Parker, etc.: Thank you for the honor of electing me again as your president. Of course, it came as a complete surprise to me. There is most likely someone among you who is more capable of holding that office. It really is an honor and one that gives me a great deal of happiness. And as you continue to elect me, I shall continue to be surprised. These reunions are very close to my heart. Except for a few, I have attended every one. Those of you who were in Boston last year expressed a disappointment that could not equal my own and I hope I shall never know another attack of illness as the one I had that year.

"I want to thank Dr. Maurer and all that committee who have done such superb service in arranging this dinner and this reunion. I want to thank the committee of this club who have placed this room at our disposal and served us this delightful dinner.

"I am glad you noted Captain Flaherty's absence and plan to send your regrets that he could not be with us. We have no more loyal member than Captain Flaherty, whose heart trouble for many months, if not a year, has confined him to his bed where he has been carrying on his correspondence.

"I am sorry Mr. Butler, the cartoonist, could not be with us. I am sure that he could bring back many memories for us."

It was with reverence that General Summerall recalled the first fighting days of the war, of the time when the First Division men fought side by side. There were those who fell and in their memory white markers were placed on their graves with their names and other data, And on many a field there was a bronze column erected on which was listed the names of the men who had fought and fallen on that field. Still, General Summerall felt those symbols in honor of our dead were not enough and he hoped that some day there might be a fitting tribute in the United States of those who had given their all. And it was to that end that General Summerall worked until his goal had been realized.

when the Army returned to the U.S. after the Armistice had been declared, he began almost immediately to work on a plan whereby a monument could be erected. He knew it would be hard job and many people repeatedly told him it could not be done, because, to begin with, he needed a great deal of money. Nevertheless, a campaign was started and it was surprising how generously the people responded.

After the money was acquired, there was the problem of selecting the men to build the monument. General Summerall choose Mr. Cass Gilbert and Mr. Daniel Chester (French), the outstanding men in their respective professions at that time, and told them what he wanted. He wanted something that would express triumph, sacrifice and gratitude. They told him that it could not be done. He said they could try, and it was not long before General Summerall was presented with a piece of work that surpassed all his expectations. And to this day every time he makes a trip to Washington he does not fail to visit that monument on which is depicted the face and figure and victory. There is a message in that monument that overwhelms all who view it for there is a sacrifice written in the lines of that beautiful face, there is triumph in those lovely eyes and there is gratitude in that outstretched, gracious arm. It rises above all its environment. There is also a truly beautiful tribute in the inscription accompanying the monument; a tribute that includes the names of 6,000 men.

The rest of General Summerall's speech was in reminiscence of the intimate experiences of war. Of the men who thought first of their duty instead of themselves, who looked upon fallen comrades not with horror or fright for how could they when those faces were so peaceful in death.

Time and time again he stressed the fact that the First Division men were outstanding in their spirit in their will to win. He seemed to take a personal pride in all their achievements and expressed hope of being able to attend as many reunions as it would be possible. He closed his speech by asking that a one minute silence be observed in honor of the dead.