St Ignatius College - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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14 THE 1o.v.a1r1.4.v realized will be admitted readily by all. Ilut we will let him speak for himself, The following letter is addressed to his brother, Thomas NVhitheld Sullivan, a member ot the St. Ignatius Unit, S. A. III. C. Another member of the Sullivan clan, james MCG., belonged to the famous llase Hospital No. 47, so hig'hly praised by the Surgeon- General for efficient service: Sars, my noble Brother: Yesterday Marshal Foch, Admiral lfYeyrnss, General Pershing and myself called the war off and so there isnlt any more guerre. So when the Boche delegation had departed, I said to Marshal Foch: XVhere to, Marshal, old top, now that the war is fini, I am out of an occu- pation. Have you an opening for a bright young man? And the Marshal, clever old man that he is. replied: Why, yes, Sully, I have one, but close it behind you when you go through the door. And so to-day, Sars- Field, I rind myself a member of the Army of Gceupation, which the Allies are going to maintain in Prussia. I do not know whether to be glad or sorry that I was not on the front when the end came. I could not he there on account of my wound. If I had been there, the last shell of the last gun would have riddled me, I am sure. I'm sorry, for there must have been a wild celebration. The fighting where I was, was particularly hard. You know where the First American Army was operating lVell, Sars, they threw the picked Prussian Guard divisions against us, they pounded us with artillery and machine-gun barrages till the very air seemed to be so hlled with flying lead that there was not room for more. And they showered us with gas, so that our breathing apparatus became null and void. VxIhen my bat- talion went to the attack, we were war-strength. XYe had a Major and four Captains. I was Captain of HI Co., and I was right support company of the battalion. The Noche barrage broke over us for eight hours before the

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Glam. Zlnavph 15. Su1liuan,3H. Sv. A. Capt. -Ioseph P. Sullivan needs no letter of introduc- tion to the readers of the Ignatian. Along with Briga- dier-General Charles I-I. Mcliinstry, Blaster Electrician Dick Queen, twice recipient of the Croix de Guerre, Sergeant Con O'Brien, awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and so many other heroes whom St. Ignatius gave to Uncle Sam, he will be pointed to with pride by all the loyal sons of Alma Mater. 'Toe was al'-vays a fighter, courageously attacking anything from a Greek verb to Euclid's method of finding the L. C. ll. He was a fighter on the football field too. and often did he put a healthy scare into the opposing front-rankers. Having passed successfully the examina- tions, Joe went to represent St. Ignatius at Vlfest Point. Popularity was the keynote to his success at XVest Point as at college, and when his class was graduated just at the outbreak of hostilities, he was commissioned Cap- tain of Infantry, and was among the first to be sent overseas. . That Capt. -Ioc's ambitions to engage in the fight were

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let Sul of ol Lllli 'Ull- eral sul lliul 'hal uu- lu? ltlll YOU lars- llnl1, it l NUI ltlt, c, l will larly mi ,sian len u be mr our bal- hall Co, The thc C1-IPT. JOSEPH P. SULLIII-1.Y, U..S'..l. 15 time for attack was set. But my men were dug' in. which means that they were in holes in the ground perpendicular to the axis of hostile fire. All through the night the hell continued. The Austrian 88's twhiz-bangs, we call themyl, just cleared the slope and broke on the reverse side where we were. Frequently l would receive a clod of dirt in the face, which some Roche shell had sent Hying. Then when the hour of attack C2!.1TlC, the battalion rose out of the hole and went for the Boche. Such a day and such a night! Captain Sackett, a classmate, led the left sup- port company of the regiment. As we rose, an increase in the lloche barrage was' apparent, and Sackett dropped with twenty machine-gun bullets through him. My of- ficers were wonderful. My men-too much cannot be said for them. Cf course contact and control were dif- ficult, and as we jumped from crater to crater we could preserve no formation. The ground was a succession of slopes, and over each one the Boche had complete inas- tery. The Boche had direct flre on us with artillery, and it was deadly. He enliladed us from the Hanks and from the left rear as we progressed, and when we reached our objective the battalion was reduced to ZOO men under the command of a lst Lieutenant. The Major was wounded, I was wounded, Capt. Ed. Leonard, Class of 1017, K Co., was dead, Capt. Mudge, L Co., and C.apt. lVi1helm, M Co., were wounded, while Lieutenants were strewn over the battlefield. lVell, it's all over now but the shouting, and lin sick of war, of its havoc, its ruin and destruction. l want beaucoup peace and quiet, and they are sending me into Germany to get it. Sars, it's a funny world. Be good to yourself and take good care of Mother, Ever your loving brother, I . oe. In the accompanying picture, we see Capt. loe making' friends with a young lady of the family. The simple nar-