Randolph Macon Academy - Sabre Yearbook (Bedford, VA)

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is .- IfE?:'g'?S?' x f1,1?'i - -1 X e if - 5 lgigigtg' .' 'Zi were he We 'Pe ' ' v- is 5 .fe 'Wi' 1 ...ef ...fe ters HIIEIX . .- .. -. .. ... x Yi ' f 5 -. . o 1 Z thrown into the 'front lines in the Argonne Forest. The war was liercest and this was one of the most hotly-contested sectors of the On the morning of October 7th, sitting under an old tree with friend, he wrote his last letter home. He seemed to know that he then at its line. his closest would not survive the battle and told his mother to give some things she was making for him to some one else who might need them worse than he. He also gave the other ofhcers instructions as to conduct in the event that he was killed. Un- daunted, however, by this strange foreknowledge, he led his men over the top the next day and continued to press forward, unrelieved, till on October 15th, at about 3 :SO P. M.. he fell, pierced with sixteen machine-gun bullets. Wford ran swiftly along the line that Lieutenant Reed was killed, and it was with difficulty that his men were held together when they knew that their leader, whom they loved and trusted so, had fallen. Iesse's remarkable popularity both in school and in the army was due to his wonderfully unseiish spirit, which is, at last, the great spirit of Democracy. Two instances at Camp McClellan illustrate this. l'Vhile out with his men on a long hike he saw that one of the privates in line was weakening. Stepping up, he took the soldier's gun and pack and carried them himself. Again while digging trenches, he got down into the trench and dug with his men to show them that he was ready and willing to take a part in whatever work fell to them under his orders. At the Methodist Church in Hampton, which Dr. Reed recently served, the membership have unveiled a tablet to him with the following inscription: jesse Veale Reed, liirst Lieutenant, Headquarters Company, ll6th Regiment, Infantry, 29th Division. Killed in action October 15, l9lS, in the Argonne Forest. The Blackstone Unit o li the J'X1l1C1'lCZlll Legion is named the jesse V. Reed Unit in his honor. Wfe can not bring him back, nor is it God's will that we shouldg but we can recall his lite and gain strength and inspiration 'From it. He was one indeed to be prized while living and to be cherished in memory when dead. He raised high the torch for freedom and, falling, passed it on to us. Boys ot Randolph-Macon, let us keep it high, that we may match lives with him when we meet him in the great beyond. . XVM. R. PHlzLPs. S

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V1 .v?.!2!..?lLa ..Fa.,-f : 6 i, , .gfz .em -.Fa -. . lg '--a-sg,-.:?g.S'f.- N .- Q . it so f -2r'2q-gs-'2'g- --Y ' we Am 1 M' 6 , 4' if :' 5 , 5 32 - gghligivsiisarg 5535 f x . 1 7 Delta Theta Fraternity, and with the demands of glee club, fraternity, social life in the town, and annual staff his time was completely occupied. At the end of two years it seemed best to break away from some of these outside diversions which called him so eagerly. and which his accommodating spirit could not refuse. He left R.-M. C. and went to 'lfrinity College, North Carolina, for the session 1911-12. Though his work was good at Trinity and his stay there both pleasant and profitable, his heart was ever with Randolph-lVlacon. V One outstanding feature of .lesse's gifts was his talent for art and con- struction. This ability showed itself when he was a mere child and developed until, both at Randolph-lvlacon and at Trinity, he was made art editor of the annuals. In the spring of 1912, deciding to go into business, he began work with the Barrow Grocery Company, of Blackstone, Vaf iLater, when his father was moved to I-lampton. Va., he took a position in Norfolk with the Texas Oil Company, where he remained till he entered the service of his country. Wfhile working in Norfolk, Jesse, together with a number of his college and fraternity mates. joined Company G. 4th Virginia Regiment, National Guard. ln March, 1917, one mouth before war was declared. the Du Ponts requested the Government to give their plant at Hopewell a guard and blesses regiment was put on duty there. Vtfhile at this post he was made line sergeant. ln August of the same year they were ordered in training at Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala. On September 4th they set out from Norfolk for Anniston. Sergeant Reed was at once made bayonet instructor, and his exceptional ability in this work won the attention and esteen of the commanding general with the result that on September 15th he was commissioned second lieu- tenant and put in charge of the Pioneer Platoon. The practical application of his training in art work at college is shown by the fact that the French instructor in trench digging pronounced Iesses trench and dugout the best that had been made at the Anniston camp. On April 23, 1918, he was given his commission as hrst lieutenant and placed in charge of a trench mortar platoon. On June 14th he sailed with his regiment from Hoboken and landed fourteen days later at St. Nazaire. From that time till October Sth his regiment was in training in the trenches and bchind the lines in Alsace-Lorraine. On October Sth, the 29th Division was - 7

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Zin 91B2I1IUfftII1'l Sylvester ibructnr Galloway ibute QEBHIYJZB Qllauzt Qlurps Diet! Qparcb 10, 1920 -if