It is beyond my power of expression to describe fitly my admiration for
your heroism. You attacked magnificently and you seized Blanc Mont
Ridge, the keystone of the arch constituting the enemy's main position.
You advanced beyond the ridge, breaking the enemy's lines, and you held
the ground gained with a tenacity which is unsurpassed in the annals of
war.
As a direct result of your victory, the German armies east and west of
Rheims are in full retreat, and by drawing on yourselves several German
divisions from other parts of the front you greatly assisted the
victorious advance of the Allied armies between Cambrai and St. Quentin.
Your heroism and the heroism of our comrades who died on the
battlefield will live in history forever, and will be emulated by the
young men of our country for generations to come.
To be able to say when this war is finished, "I belonged to the 2d
Division; I fought with it at the battle of Blanc Mont Ridge," will be
the highest honor that can come to any man.
JOHN A. LEJEUNE,
Major General, United States Marine Corps, Commanding.
Thus it is that the United States marines have fulfilled the glorious
traditions of their corps in this their latest duty as the "soldiers
who go to sea." Their sharpshooting--and in one regiment 93 per cent
of the men wear the medal of a marksman, a sharpshooter, or an expert
rifleman--has amazed soldiers of European armies, accustomed merely to
shooting in the general direction of the enemy. Under the fiercest
fire they have calmly adjusted their sights, aimed for their man, and
killed him, and in bayonet attacks their advance on machine-gun nests
has been irresistible.
In the official citation lists more than one American marine is
credited with taking an enemy machine gun single handed, bayoneting its
crew and then turning the gun against the foe. In one battle alone,
that of Belleau Wood, the citation lists bear the names of fully 500
United States marines who so distinguished themselves in battle as to
call forth the official commendation of their superior officers.
More than faithful in every emergency, accepting hardships with
admirable morale, proud of the honor of taking their place as shock
troops for the American legions, they have fulfilled every glorious
tradition of their corps, and they have given to the world a list of
heroes whose names will go down to all history.