Hughes High School - Hughes Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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Cincinnati, 0., April 23, 1919. To the Students of Hughes High School: It was my good fortune to participate in the Welcome Home parade of the 147th Infantry. The rousing cheers and hearty greetings of the Citizens of Cincinnati filled all of us with pride, and again we realized how loyally the folks at home had supported us in our efforts Over Seas. Nine months of service in France and Belgium-were filled with new and thrilling experiences. However, I fear that the continued telling and re-telling of these war experiences will soon bore you to the utmost. After spending several weeks in the trenches and going Over the Top in the first phase of the Argonne Offensive, the 37th and 91st American Divisions were relieved from further operations in France and sent into Belgium, there to assist the Armies 0f the King in driving the hated Hun from their country. The 37th Division moved by train from an area near Verdun and after three days of tiring travel, detrained near the ruined city of Ypres, Belgium. From here we hiked across the famous HNo Man's Land of Ypres, a strip of territory ten miles Wide and over one hundred miles long, a tangled shell plowed desolation habited only by death, rats, and vultures. It stands as a monu- ment to the bravery and bull-dog tenacity of the British and Belgium soldiers.- It was extremely difficult to cross these battlefields over the hastily con- structed roads, and we stopped for a days rest in the ruined town of Hooglede, Belgium, which is situated on the Eastern edge of HNo Manls Land. There was little or no cover available for ofhces and billets, so we established Division Headquarters in an abandoned German barrack. The following morning a very disagreeable odor was noticed in the immediate vicinity and we sent the burying detail out to investigate. That evening they reported that they had buried 134 dead soldiers, most of them Germans who had fallen there eight days before. We did not know just what to expect in Belgium. We had heard so much about the German atrocities there. We thought that the entire country had been devastated and expected to find evidence of Child-mutilation everywhere. Much to our surprise, the country, except where there had been severe fighting, was in excellent condition. But Belgium has suffered. Its people have been robbed and enslaved. In the early months of the war, when the German army began its advance into Belgium, the German high command did not feel that any resistance would be offered. However, at Liege and Namur they soon hnd out that Belgium was a Nation, not a highway. As soon as a Belgian city came into their hands, many of the prominent citizens of the town were arrested and held as hostages. Then the Kom- mandantur issued the most stringent orders controlling the movements of the citizens and imposed the most severe taxes. If any of these laws were broken, l211

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A FEW OF OUR HEROES Captain Joseph Coy Green, 1908, was decorated with the Belgian Order of the Crown, for service in Belgium with the Commission for Relief in Belgium during 1915-1916. Captain John A. West was given the Distinguished Service Cross Citation For extraordinary heroism in action near Blane Mont Ridge, France, October 2-5, 1918. He voluntarily led a reconnaissance patrol under difficult condi- tions and secured information necessary to an attack three days later. After the command of his company had devolved on him, he continued in action in spite of being sevefely wounded, leading his men to the objective and refusing to be evacuated until proper disposition had been made. Junior Lieutenant Tom Conroy was decorated by the King of Greece with The Order of the Redeemerf Quartermaster Sergeant Carroll E. Phillips 090m received Croix de Guerre for services in Belgium during the offensives in which he iZassisted materially in maintaining supplies and rations to the troops on the hring line and worked untiringly night and day in the performance of his duties, often crossing over roads that were almost impassable and under heavy hostile artillery fire. Captain Kenneth G. Althaus 0913 was thus cited in French Army Orders for Croix de Guerre: HThis officer on the first and second of November, V01- untarily established an Advanced Center of Information near Heurne, Belgium, in a position exposed to the most intense artillery fire, and during two days and nights maintained communications with units on the front line in spite of the fact that three of his horses were killed, his motorcycle wrecked by shell fire and wire communication was frequently cut by artillery lire. He remained at his post and kept the Division Commander informed at all times of the progress of operations. I20

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or if anyone refused to pay the heavy taxes, some of these prominent citizens held as hostages, were immediately shot. This was a most unjust, but a very effective means of preventing any trouble or espionage by the Belgians. In this same city, a. few days later, all the male inhabitants were ordered to appear at the railroad stations. When they arrived, they were put aboard trains and sent into Germany to work in the factories and munition plants. They were not even aIIOWed to bid their families good-bye, or to provide for their welfare. When these loyal Belgian citizens arrived in Germany, they refused to work. They Were then placed in large unclean barracks and starved. Still they refused to work. Sickness and disease soon broke out among them, and when they became a burden to the Germans, they were again put aboard trains and sent back into Belgium. Here they died in numbers. There was little opportunity to give them food and medical attention. About this time the Food Commissions from the United States began to arrive. Stations for the free distribution of food were immediately established and the Belgians began to look upon Americans as the saviours of their people. But a nation that' can do the things that Belgium has done in the last four years, will not suffer long. In spite of all their sorrow, they are extremely happy and have begun with a vengeance to manufacture and rebuild. I will not dwell long-on the operations of the Buckeye troops in Belgium. Our first drive began on the morning of October 30th, and in live days of severe fighting we Pushed the Prussian Guard Divisions across the Lys River, drove them in disorder 15 kilometers t0 the Escaut River. Then in the face of the most stubborn resistance, log foot bridges were thrown across the Escaut River and the Division prepared to continue the attack just as soon as the units on our right and left had caught up to us. Our second drive began on the morning of November 9th, and as before, the hostile resistance was broken and we were about to penetrate the hostile lines when the order for the cessation of hostilities reached us. The lighting was over. I might ramble on at great length and never tire of telling about these wonderful experiences, but I want to take this opportunity to express to the pupils of Hughes High School my appreciation for their loyal support and splendid devotion to duty during the crisis which confronted us. Accept my sincerest regards and best wishes for all. Cordially, KENNETH G. ALTHAUS. Capt, Inf. U. S. A. l221