"Jean Berger, 'simple soldat' of the Second Regiment of Infantry,
should, after the war, be Jean Berger, V. C. He is a Frenchman--yes;
but listen to this story:
"He, a boy of about eighteen years of age, lies in hospital here,
wounded badly, but not dangerously, in the side and also in the hand.
"Jean belongs to an old Alsatian family. After the war against
Prussia, his grandfather refused to submit to the rule of the
conquerors, and left the province to settle in Normandy. He passed
his hatred of the Prussians on to his son, and the son instilled it
in the four grandchildren.
"When war broke out, two of the sons were already in the army, one
as an officer, and the father, calling to him the two boys who were
not yet of age to be called upon by the military authorities, said
to them: 'Go and enlist! And be sure to join regiments which will
operate on the Alsatian frontier.'
"Jean joined the Second Regiment of Infantry, which was soon
under orders for Upper Alsace. Before it arrived at the scene of
operations, however, fresh instructions were received, and the
Second went to operate with the English on the left. He went
through the terrible ordeal of the battle of the Marne, and, with
his regiment, now sadly diminished in numbers, but with its dash and
spirit as of old, he formed one of the stupendous line drawn up to
face the Germans in their tremendously strong positions on the Aisne.
"It was during one of the almost innumerable fights which, battles
in themselves, are making up that Homeric struggle of the nations
on the River Aisne that the Colonel leading the gallant Second was
shot down. Machine guns were raking the quickly thrown-up trenches;
showers of rifle bullets were falling everywhere around. With that
heroism which takes account of nothing save the object in view, Jean
rushed out of his shelter to carry his Colonel to safety.
"Through a rain of leaden death he passed scatheless, reached his
Colonel, and carried him to safety.
_Back Through Hail of Lead._
"As he was performing his glorious act, he passed an officer of the
Grenadier Guards wounded severely in the leg who called out for
water.
"'All right!' cried Jean. 'I'll be back in a minute or two.'
"He put the Colonel in the shelter of a trench where the Red Cross
men were at work, procured some wine from one of the doctors, and
set forth again to face the bullet showers. And again he went out
untouched.
"Reaching the English officer, Jean held up the flask to the wounded
man's lips, but, before he could drink, a bullet struck the young
Frenchman in the hand, carrying away three fingers, and the flask
fell to the ground. Quickly, as though the flask had merely slipped
out of one hand by accident, Jean picked it up with the other; and,
supported by the young Frenchman, the English officer drank.
"While he was doing so, a bullet drilled Jean through the side. Yet,
in spite of the intense pain, he managed to take off his knapsack,
and, searching in it, discovered some food, which he gave to his
English comrade.
"'But what about you, yourself?' asked the officer.
"'Oh,' replied Jean brightly, 'it's not long since I had a good
meal!'
"As the Guardsman was eating, he and Jean discovered that near them
was a wounded German soldier, who, recovering from the delirium of
wounds, was crying out for food and drink. The Englishman, taking
the flask, which had still some wine in it, and also the remainder
of the food from the Frenchman's knapsack, managed, though suffering
great pain, to roll himself along till he reached the spot where the
German soldier lay. There, however, he found he was, by himself, too
weak to give the poor fellow anything.
"So he shouted to Jean to come to his assistance, and, though
movement could only be at the cost of great pain, the young
Frenchman managed, too, to reach the place, and together, Englishman
and Frenchman, succored the dying German. One held him up while the
other poured wine between his parched lips.
_All Fall in a Heap._
"Then human nature could stand no more, and all three fell, utterly
exhausted, in a heap together. All through the long night, a night
continuously broken by the roar of cannon, death watched over that
strange sleeping place of the three comrades of three great warring
nations.
"In the morning, shells bursting near them aroused the English
officer and the French soldier. Their German neighbor was dead,
and for a long time they could only wonder how the day of battle
was going. When the forenoon was well advanced, they saw Germans
advancing.
"Jean, who can speak German, called out: 'We are thirsty; please
give us something to drink.' He was heard by some officer of Uhlans,
who rode up, and, dismounting and covering them with his revolver,
asked what was the matter.
"'We are thirsty,' replied Jean.
"The German looked at the little group. He saw his countryman lying
dead with an empty flask beside him, and guessed what was the scene
of comradeship and bravery which the spot had witnessed. He gave
instructions to an orderly, and wine was brought and given to the
two wounded men. Surely that is a scene and a deed which will wipe
out many a bitter thought and memory of war!
"Just then the cannonade burst forth again with tremendous fury,
and the German force which had come up had to retire. Shells were
soon bursting all around, and fragments struck the English officer.
He became delirious with pain, and the young Frenchman--stiff,
feverish, and weak himself--saw that it was necessary to do
something to bring the officer to a place where he would be safe and
would receive attention.
"Jean tried to lift the Englishman, but found that he had not
sufficient strength left to take his comrade on his shoulder.
So, half lifting him, and dragging and rolling him at times, the
gallant little piou-piou brought the wounded English officer nearer
and nearer to safety and help. The journey was two miles long! * * *
But at last it was over."
_May Get Victoria Cross._
"The two men came upon some trenches occupied by the allied forces;
they were recognized and taken in charge by an officer of the
English Red Cross. They had both just enough strength left to shake
hands and say good-by.
"'If I live through this,' said the officer of the Guards, 'I shall
do my best to get you the British Victoria Cross. I've your number
and that of your regiment. God bless you, mon camarade!' And the
Guardsman lost consciousness.
"Jean Berger lies in hospital here in Angers; he is expected to
recover.
"That is the story; and that is why I believe that England will
think that Jean Berger, 'simple soldat' of the Second Regiment of
Infantry, should become Jean Berger, V. C.
"For the two nations have become one by blood shed and bravery
displayed, and, in addition, a little incident which I can relate
will show that there is a precedent for a union of honors as there
is evidence of a complete union of hearts.
"In the British Expeditionary Force there is an English soldier, a
member of a cyclist corps, who is proud to wear upon his breast the
'médaille militaire' of the French Army.
"The story of the stirring incident has been told to me by Henri
Roger, a young soldier of the Fifth Infantry who saw it from the
trenches and who is now lying wounded in hospital here.
"During one of the engagements last week on the River Aisne, the
Fifth was holding an intrenched position and was faced in the
distance by a strong force of the enemy. To the right and left of
the opposing forces were large clumps of trees, in one of which a
force of English troops had taken up a position, a fact regarding
which the Germans were unaware. In the other wood, it was soon
discovered, lay a considerable body of German infantry with several
machine gun sections.
_Cyclist Wins Decoration._
"A road ran beside the wood in which the enemy lay hidden, and along
it a force of French infantry was seen to be advancing. How were
they to be saved from the ambush into which they were marching? That
was the problem, and it was a difficult one.
"Every time the French troops in the trenches endeavored to signal
to their oncoming comrades hidden German sharpshooters picked off
the signalers. Soon the position seemed to be almost desperate;
every moment the intrenched French soldiers expected to hear the
hideous swish of the Maxims mowing down their unsuspecting comrades.
"Suddenly, however, something happened which attracted the attention
of the French and German trenches. From the wood where the English
lay hidden a cyclist dashed--the English, too, had seen the danger,
and a cyclist had been ordered to carry a message of warning to the
advancing French column, several hundreds strong.
"The cyclist bent low in his saddle and darted forward; he had not
gone a hundred yards before he fell, killed by a well-aimed German
bullet. A minute later another cyclist appeared, only, in a second
or two, to share his comrade's fate.
"Then a third--the thing had to be done! The bullets whizzed round
him, but on he went over the fire-swept zone. The Frenchmen held
their breath as they watched the gallant cyclist speeding toward the
French column; puffs of smoke from the wood where the Germans were
showed that the sharpshooters were redoubling their efforts. But
the cyclist held on and soon passed beyond some high ground where
he was sheltered from the Germans, but could still be seen by the
intrenched French.
"The Frenchmen could not resist a loud 'Hurrah!' when they saw the
daring cyclist dismount on reaching the officer in command of the
troops which he had dared death to save.
"The officer heard the message and took in the position at a glance.
He gave an order or two instantly, and turned to the Englishman.
"Then there was a fine but simple battle picture which should live.
"The deed which had saved hundreds of lives was one of those
which bring glory as of old back to the horror of modern warfare.
Courage, and courage alone, had triumphed, unsupported by any of the
murderous machinery of the armies of to-day.
"That was what the French officer recognized. He saluted the gallant
fellow standing by the cycle. Then, with a simple movement, took the
'médaille militaire'--the Victoria Cross of France--from his own
tunic and pinned it on the coat of the Englishman.
"'I am glad,' young Roger told me when he had finished relating the
story, 'to have lived to see that deed. It was glorious!'"
DR. MARY CRAWFORD OF BROOKLYN TELLS OF AMERICAN AMBULANCE WORK
IN A PARIS HOSPITAL.