Phillips Exeter Academy - PEAN Yearbook (Exeter, NH)

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I , , f 4, -f, Aidgqlylzgy qi.. 'eg of 'f X 4? 'fri I' ' my -.mt I ' ' ' ,.. li...T.,!l H111 Ie ,I I I, - progress of the wer. A gmnfl totul of 2,187 is the glorious reeorrl which Exeter holflsg of these 862 :ire oflieers, hoth in :Lrmy :incl natvy, rnnking ns follows: ARMY NAVY I lirigzulier General I Cuptuin 3 Colonels 3 COIYlfIlfLI1fI0l'H 7 lllellflellrmt Colfmels 2 I,ieutermnt-Commanders 46 Majors 5 Lieutennnts Cs. g.J 135 CILDIIILIIIH 25 Lieutemmts Qui. g.J 200 First Lieutenzmts I00 Iflnsigns 325 Ser-onfl Lieutennnts The numher of rleeorzitions ztwrtrflecl is 57 elzissified below: I I 28 Croix rle Guerre I4 Distinguisherl Service Crosses 4 Itulixui Wan' Crosses 4 Crosses of the Legion of Ilonor 3 Meduille Militnire I Prix fle Vertu 2 Meclul of Aero Club of AIIIOPIISSI , I Cross of' Leopold The hrnve nets for whieh these honors were given will remain forever ll souree of highest, honor to the men :incl :L souree of great pricle to their sehoolg they will :ilwnys serve ns it stimulus for those who follow in their footsteps. The flezithless spirit whieh fired the souls of our men in the serviee is one whieh to the observer is but the logienl outeome of sturrly Iflxeter trzulitions :mrl fuithful Iflxeter teuehing. The letters from the men in the serviee flowing over with irleuls that trunseencl the Imseness of wnr eontziin mueh that will he preserved for the erlifieution of future generations. The following extrxiets will serve to show the motives o f those Iflxonizms who served their eountry in the Greet Wur. . , , , l'Come what may I only hope I'm uhle to go through with it und pluy IL mun's pert ,.... I wonder what it is thut this wer puts into :L mung :tml yet its only finfling out thut 'its Love that mzike the worlll go 'rounrlg' for it's Love of Country :tml Cziuse, Love of' Ilome :incl l'urents, Love of Ifzunily unrl lfrienfls that mnkes :ill these snerifiees worth while. . . . . . . . American is :it lust in this wzir with both feet :mrl we 'out here' grow proumler eueh fhty of being Ameriezin .... . . . . We :Lre expeeting to hleerl :Lnfl suffer too, unrl I helieve we :ire rezuly. I expeet to give the best that is in me - to he first in the firing line mul lest to quit .... They say Tor- tune favors the hruve.' I'm going to try to live up to thut saying! .lust think of ull the wonderful cleerls performed in the pest hy Atheninns, liomzins, Iunglish, Ifreneh zmrl even f-ermnns. Anil then think of the ehnnee l've got! I woulrln't swzip pluees with :L king. Stephen Potter, killecl while fighting llun phmes ugzminst superior oclrls, writes in referenee to fleeision to enter serviee: I feel sure thnt this is my fluty :Lhove ull else. I realize thnt nothing

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x , x4 -1' ii Ns 'g fi Ns fi , , ,, X 1 , . 1 U ' t . f 'lk .4 Q ' ' 4 ful, i71id 7 it ni! N332-XELFY sitgwqtgisaafacxtixwrfevsifki aeexiiggg .-Gifs.-qw f w -1 H x X i- . 4 i. wife' . . .1 -as-v-GN. f. a-fee-tee. ,.-X-:lasts-st t. -1atvsstaiwsz,rxsassssa-1Q1-s.ta:w:..Mi Wie? Edwin C. Parsons, '10, Croix de Cuerrc, with Nine Palms, Medaille Militaire, Cross of Legion of Honor, Cross of Leopold. This is the b1'illiant reco1'd of the vanguard of Exonians whom the zest f or adventure and the desire to serve a lnunane civilization against a cultured barbarism wrested from peaceful lives of comfort and pleasure, and subjected them to the terrific ordeal of a modern war. To them it was a wonderful opportunity to donate to a glorious cause the greatest gift within their power: no man hath greater love than this, that he lay down his life for another g this they did, and to them belongs all praise and honor. In a letter from one of the early volun- teers this passage occurs: - . . . Don't think for a minute that 1 won't do everything l can to live - 1 love life - but my life does not new belong to me. lt belongs to France -- to the Allies - to the cause for which I have pledged myself till the war is over and won ..... - And if l shouldn't come back I want you not to feel badly about it. I am glad l have the chance to live in times like these and to do my bit for the future of the world - for a world that my family is going to be able to live in peace and happiness, because there will be no more war . . And if l Slltlllltlllili ever see you again, remember not to be sorry but glad and proud of me ....... mis is a funny way for me to write, isn't it? But I am a lot more serious over here than I was at home. Here we face every day the stern facts of life and death and we are not afraid. lt's hard to explain the way we feel about it all, about France - we who volunteered to fight for her before our own country was not too proud to fight. Alan Seegar, who was in the Foreign Legion, our regiment, summed it all up in his 'Ode to the Volunteers' fallen for France- the following verse -- H Ylwl 'Yet sought they neither recompense nor praise, Nor to be mentioned in another breath 3 Than their blue-coated comrades whose great days It was their pride to share - ave, Share even unto the death. N : rather France to ou the rendered thanks Y J I Y Seeing they came for honor nel. for gain, ,- Who opening to them your glorious ranks, Gave them that grand occasion to excel, That chance to live the life most free from stain And that rare privilege of dying well.' When finally the United States entered the war Exeter's sons hastened to be foremost in offering their services to the government. They helped to swell the ranks of the R.. 0. T. C., in camp and college, making the most of opportunities to fit themselves for trained service. Others, more impetuous and restless at the thought of delay, enlisted in the ranks of the army and navy as privates, speedily winning advancement in recognition of their efficient service. Several Exeter men were attending Annapolis and West Point. ln the Red Cross and Y. M. C. A. work, in hospitals at home and abroad, Exeter men' served in all branches of service that forwarded the 13

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1 1 , ' 40 .- Nm ff 1 -fllvxxsms ,RN ' x ' 5 . --- - I D x f 'u .F , ' ' x . 0 Xu - l X f If 4 s g Ms . 1' I X . f I ' ,ff f, 61:61 Lv.. ...ry .... X5 - '- I - - I else now eonnts. I am glad to have such :L great opportunity. From letters concerning his affairs to he delivered in case of his death: lf you receive this you will know lillllli I have done my duty to the best of my ability. Also, H lie sure that I :Lm wonderfully glad that l could give up my life so usefully. Our feeble attempts to describe the magnificent spirit that animated our men in the field fall far too short t.o do them the simplest justice. 'l'he extract lielow, taken from :L letter from Harry A. liutters, '09, Itoyal Field Artillery, is one which must live as one of the finest epistles yet brought forth from the war. HI am no longer untried. 'l'wo weeks' action in :L great battle is to my credit, and il' my faith in the wisdom of my course or my entlnlsiasin for the cause had been due to fail, it would have done so during' that time. But it has only lmeeome strongerg I find myself :L soldier among millions of others in the great allied armies fighting for all I believe right and civilized and hmnaue against a power which is evil and which threatens the existence of all the right we prize and the freedom we enjoy, It may seem to you Ifllllli for me this is all quite uncalled for, that it can only mean either the supreme sacrifice for nothing or at least some of the liest years of my life wasted, but I tell you that I am not only willing to give my life to this enterprise Cfor that is comparatively easy except when l think of youj, but that I firmly believe--if I live through it to spend :L useful' lifetime with you - that never will I have an opportunity to gain so much honorable advance- ment for my own soul or to do so much for the worldls progress, as l am here daily, defending the liherty that mankind has so far gained against the attack of an enemy who would deprive us of it, and set the world hack some centuries if he could have his way. I think less of myself than I did, less of the heights of personal success I aspired to climb, and lnore of the service that eaell of us must render in payment for the right to live andiliy virtue of which only can we progress. Yes, my dearest folks, we are indeed doing the worldls work over here, and I am in it to the finish. A l rom the foregoing one can realize something of the high ideals living in the minds ol' our young soldiers. It remained to be discovered whether their conduct in battle, their own deeds on the field, followed these noble utterances. 'l'he ensuing extracts, taken from letters of oflicers and eenlrades, will show how firmly these ideals we1'e welded into their cliaracter hy the liery furnace of war. Concerning Stephen Potter, '152 . . . t l'here are no words that can expressthesplendid- ness of a life and death like Stevc's. He did his duty at this station with a skill and devotion which surpassed the most experienced pilots. Ile shot down :L llnn seaplane in :L perilous fight way up the German coast. l'Ie has left us an example and an inspiration which makes us grit our teeth mul go to it harder than CV0l'. NVQ: will win this war or die trying, as Steve did. Steve went will- Int-'Ely llllfl tlladly, with a smilc. May we follow his example, and 'carry on' till the world is right again. Again, Ile died well, fighting against heavy odds. Ilardwieke M. Nevin, '18, an ambulance driver, had his ear blown to pieces by a shell during Il' lf0l'l'llic attack. Ile found a lied Cross car and assisted in the evacuation of civilians for thirty- six hours. All the while he sought for his own company which had lost him in the confusion.