INCIDENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS
ONE of the most striking elements in the grip which General Pershing has
upon his soldiers is well shown by the following extract from a letter
which a quiet, unknown doughboy recently sent from France to his mother:
"I think I forgot to tell you that Pershing looked us over. He is a
wonderful man to look at. Power is written all over his face. Believe
me, with a man like that in the lead we ought to win, hands down. Just
one look commands respect and confidence."
One reason for this confidence doubtless is the frequently expressed
opinion which the commander also has of his men. Again and again he has
publicly declared that the idealism of the American soldier boys was
bound to win this war. "They will defend these ideals at any
sacrifice." And those who are aware of the spirit of many a young
American student in college or worker on some quiet farm, will
understand why General Pershing has made so much of this idealism which
he says is the backbone of the American fighting men in France.
It is not only the General, but the man Pershing behind the General that
makes its appeal and finds its response from the American boys. In every
Y. M. C. A. hut in France to-day there is hanging a picture of the
leader of the American armies. Underneath this picture are the following
words, which bear his own signature:
"Hardship will be your lot but trust in God will give you comfort.
Temptation will befall you but the teaching of our Saviour will give you
strength. Let your valor as a soldier and your conduct as a man be an
inspiration to your comrades and an honor to your country."
The meaning of these words perhaps becomes more apparent if for a moment
they are placed in contrast with the reported relations existing between
the German soldiers and their officers, sometimes driven into battle by
brutal methods, threatened, kicked and beaten, and if they protested,
sometimes the gunners were chained to their guns--small cause for
surprise is it that the American boys fail to appreciate the "blessings"
of autocracy or are determined that the brutality and aims of all war
lords shall forever perish from the earth.
Then, too, his personal interest in the young American fighter who has
done something to deserve recognition is one of his elements of
strength. There must, however, first have been given an indication that
the deed was worthy of praise--for General Pershing's commendation is
not cheap nor does he scatter it promiscuously. The following incident
may be looked upon as typical.
John Kulolski, born in Poland, emigrant to the United States, enlisted
at Buffalo, New York, June 7, 1916. In the following year, on his
birthday, he reenlisted and on the same month and day in 1918 he was
sent to the trenches. Indeed, he declared that his birthday "always
brought something great into his life." His first service in the army
was as a cook, but at his own request he was transferred to the fighting
forces. Cooking might be necessary, but it was "too slow for him." Soon
in the Bois de Belleau he found his opportunity. The fighting was savage
and John Kulolski's company was in peril from a nearby gunners' nest.
Suddenly, without orders and with the new spirit of initiative which had
been acquired by the young Pole in America, he darted ahead alone, and
by the sheer force of his own impetuous act charged the gun and made
prisoners of the gun crew and its officer. Doubtless his very daring
caused his enemies to believe that he was not alone but was one of many
who were about to attack them. At all events the Germans surrendered to
John Kulolski and his bravery was quickly known all along the line.
To him as soon as he heard of his daring deed General Pershing sent the
following telegram from headquarters:
"For Private Kulolski, Company (deleted).
"I have just heard of your splendid conduct on
June 6th when you alone charged a gun, captured it
and its crew, together with an officer. I have
awarded you the Distinguished Service Cross. I
congratulate you.
"PERSHING."
Who does not know that Kulolski's deed and the commander's quick and
personal as well as official recognition of the heroism of this private
soldier at once aroused a spirit of gratitude and enthusiasm not only in
the heart of the young Pole, but also caused a thrill in the heart of
every doughboy in the ranks that heard the story?
From Paris, July 22, 1918, the Associated Press sent the following
despatch:
"Your country is proud of you, and I am more than
proud to command such men as you. You have fought
splendidly."
General Pershing thus addressed wounded American soldiers lying in the
American Red Cross hospitals in Paris to-day. In each ward of every
hospital he talked to the men. He inquired if they were being well cared
for, how and where they were wounded, what regiments they belonged to,
and expressed his sympathy to scores of patients.
General Pershing also talked to the physicians, surgeons, and nurses,
and thanked them for the work they were doing in caring for the wounded.
"No one can ask of any fighting force more than that they should do as
well as you have done," he said to his troops. The General added that he
wished he could speak personally with each and every man in the
hospital, but this was impossible. So he asked Major James H. Perkins to
repeat his message and say to each individual man, "The American people
are proud of you."
It is a very devoted and democratic army which General Pershing commands
in France. Those who know him personally have a deep affection for him
for they understand what he is. Those who do not have a personal
acquaintance admire him no less for what they believe him to be. It is a
common remark in the ranks, even by those who never even saw their
leader, "What a fine man Pershing is." His nickname "Black Jack" is an
expression of admiration and affection, as much so as when the French
poilus tenderly refer to "Papa" Joffre.
Whenever General Pershing in his scattered duties arrives at a place
where there are wounded American soldiers he never fails to find a few
brief minutes when he can visit these boys and speak a word of
affectionate appreciation of what they have done. It is usually,
however, not to his own but to his country's pride and sympathy that he
refers. "Your country is proud of you." Sometimes it is just a
handclasp, sometimes only a glance from his dark eyes, expressive of the
deep interest and pride in his soldier boys that he can give the
wounded. He is a man of few words and as a consequence every spoken word
counts.
A direct report states that "faces are brighter, eyes have a new
expression whenever, which is as often as the crush of his duties
permits--he visits a hospital."
One further incident will illustrate the many-sided activities of the
American General. One evening at a certain nameless point he found that
he had a very few minutes free before his automobile was to rush him to
the next place he was to visit. Instantly he decided to visit the Y. M.
C. A. hut. As he drew near he found that a couple of hundred boys were
in the building and that someone was "banging the piano" with a furious
rag-time. Hobnailed shoes were noisily keeping time to the music and the
lusty voices of the shouting and singing young soldiers were plainly
heard far beyond the building. Not one of the boys was aware that the
commander was anywhere in the vicinity.
Suddenly a yell arose near the entrance. Instantly every soldier turned
to discover the cause of the break. "General Pershing" ran as a loud
whisper throughout the assembly and instantly every one of the assembled
doughboys sprang to his feet and stood at attention. Then no longer able
to repress or restrain their feelings they united in such an
enthusiastic yell as might have revealed their presence to an enemy if
he was not too far away.
Quickly the General was in the midst of the throng and was telling his
admirers just how he had "dropped in to see how they were getting
along." He was delighted, he told them, to find everything in good order
and expressed his deep satisfaction with the manner in which they were
doing their part in the gigantic struggle. "Your country is proud of
you."
Small cause for wonder is it that it is currently reported that "no army
ever went to the battlefield better protected against the pitfalls of
army life than the American forces in France." Every friendly and
helpful activity receives his cordial support--Red Cross, Y. M. C. A.,
Knights of Columbus, Salvation Army and all. He is deeply concerned not
only with the quality and quantity of the work in France but also with
the reports that are to go back home concerning what the boys are doing
on the far distant fields of France. Still more is he concerned about
the effects of their stay upon the boys themselves. "Everything possible
is being done to see that these young Americans who will return home
some day shall go back clean."
He is deeply interested in all the athletics and sports of his troops.
He simply is insistent upon one main quality, "everything must be
clean."
A certain reporter for a New York newspaper sends the following
incident:
Passing a dark corner one night I encountered a M.
P. (Military Policeman). Some of the M. P.s are a
bit rough. They have to be, and they would wade
into a den of wildcats.
"Hey, you pencil pusher," he called, "did you see
the big boss?"
I had.
"Well," he said, "you've flashed your lamps on the
finest man that ever stood in shoe leather."
One day General Pershing arrived at a station where a motley crowd
greeted his coming. The following day there was posted on a bulletin
board of the barracks a cordial commendation of the young French officer
who had so efficiently done his duty at the station in handling the
somewhat unruly assembly at the arrival of the American commander and
his staff. That is General Pershing's way. Quietly cordial, looking for
good in every one of his men and usually finding it, a strict
disciplinarian and quick to punish neglect or an evil deed, he is the
idol of the army.
"General Pershing is one of the finest men I ever met. Everybody in the
army admires him greatly," declares a prominent American officer, and
another adds, "I have never met a nobler man in my life than General
Perching."
According to a statement of an orderly sergeant of the commander, the
General has a regular order for beginning the work of every day. Rising
at five o'clock there is first a half hour of setting up exercises which
the two men take together. Next the General, although he is at an age
when most men abandon running except as a necessity or a last resort,
goes out for a run of fifteen minutes. Later there is a united attack
upon the medicine ball and there is no slight or "ladylike" exercise.
Although the sergeant is twenty-five years younger than the General, he
acknowledges that he is usually the first to declare that he has had
sufficient for the beginning of the day.
The hour of retirement is usually eleven o'clock, and just before that
time there are more setting up exercises, after which the sergeant says
he himself is entirely reconciled to the suggestion to turn in.
In this way and because he has followed this somewhat strenuous plan
since he was a young man General Pershing has kept himself in
magnificent physical condition.
Indeed, the sergeant said that in the ten years during which he had been
the commander's orderly he has never known but one day when the General
was incapacitated for his duties. That day was in the early rush of the
punitive expedition into Mexico to get Villa. The change of water or
perhaps the quality of it made him ill, but even then, in spite of the
surgeon's advice for him to remain quietly in his tent for a day or two,
General Pershing, unmindful of the influence of his example, "disobeyed
orders" and resumed his work. Fortunately no ill effects followed his
disobedience.
A tender touch in the sergeant's statement is one upon which we have no
right to enlarge though the fact is as suggestive as it is
characteristic. The first duty of the orderly in unpacking the General's
belongings when they move to new quarters is to take the photograph of
Mrs. Pershing and the four children as the family was before that
terrible fire in the Presidio, and place it on a desk or bureau where it
is easily seen. Often the General sits in silence before it, and as he
looks at the family group, the sergeant believes that, for the time, the
tragedy is forgotten and to the silent soldier his family again seems to
be complete. It is an occasion into which an outsider, however, has no
right to enter and however strong may be his sympathy, the sorrow is too
intensely personal for even a close friend to obtrude.
In the letter which General Pershing wrote from Mindanao to his
classmates on the occasion of their twenty-fifth anniversary of their
graduation from West Point he lightly referred to his difficulties in
acquiring French. In view of his ancestry, for his name and lineage can
be traced back to Alsace, this at first may appear somewhat strange; but
the statement is his own. However, when he first went to France his
fluency in the language of the people of that country was not sufficient
to satisfy him and an interpreter was provided, who usually was present
when he met with French officers who were as ignorant of his language as
he was of theirs. In a brief time, however, the interpreter was
discarded. General Pershing, in spite of the difficulty of acquiring a
new language when one is older, was soon conversing in their own tongue
with Marshal Joffre, General Petain and General Foch. Just what the
opinion of his accent was we do not know and they doubtless were too
polite to express it. The essential point, however, is that just as the
American Commander years before had learned the language of the Moros in
order to assist him in his task of dealing with the little brown people,
so he resolutely set to work to learn French, at least to an extent that
enabled him to understand what was said in his presence and to express
himself to his friends without the aid of an interpreter.
Not long before the raid upon Columbus by Villa and his bandits General
Pershing, in a letter from which the following extract is taken, wrote:
"We do not want war if we can honestly avoid it, but we must not
hesitate to make war if the cause of civilization and progress demands
it. Nearly every step in human progress has been at the sacrifice of
human life. There are some things dearer even than life. If a nation has
set up high ideals either for itself or for others it must be prepared
to enforce those ideals if need be by armies and navies. Of course it
would be better to enforce them through moral prestige." These
sentiments were expressed long before the declaration of war with
Germany or the President had written his famous words about making the
world safe for democracy. They are doubly interesting for that reason
and expressive of General Pershing's innermost feelings when there was
every reason why he should express himself freely. Most brilliant
American fighters have not been lovers of war for its own sake.
Washington was reluctant to enter upon war, although when he believed
there was no escape he fought to the uttermost limit of his power.
General Grant's most frequently quoted words are not warlike, but "Let
us have peace." And General Pershing is not one whit behind the other
two.
Early in July, 1918, Chairman Hurley sent a cablegram to the American
fighting men in France that the shipbuilders at home would launch one
hundred merchant ships July 4th. Promptly from General Pershing came the
following appreciative and defiant acknowledgment: "The launching of one
hundred ships on the Fourth of July is the most inspiring news that has
come to us. All ranks of the Army in France send their congratulations
and heartfelt thanks to their patriotic brothers in the ship-yards at
home. No more defiant answer could be given to the enemy's challenge.
With such backing we cannot fail to win. All hail American
shipbuilders."
His quick sense of appreciation is seen also in the following telegram
which he sent Premier Clemenceau after the hearty congratulations sent
by the great Frenchman on the occasion of the parade of American troops
in Paris in the celebration of the Fourth of July:
"Permit me to tell you how much I am touched by
the cordial telegram you sent me. I shall not fail
to make it known to the troops in question. All
the officers and men of the troops who had the
privilege of participating in the Fourth of July
ceremony in Paris will retain unforgettable
recollections of the enthusiastic reception
accorded to them. Proud of the confidence France
places in them they are heartened more than ever
to do their duty until common victory comes."
One day in France he saw two American soldiers at work on a woodpile.
One glance was sufficient to show him that the two men were working out
a form of punishment for some misdeed. As we know General Pershing is a
believer in strict and if necessary stern discipline. Soon after coming
to France he had ordered one American soldier to be hanged for a
nameless crime and several others to be disciplined severely for
drunkenness. Believing in the best and hoping and expecting the good in
every one of his men to manifest itself, nevertheless he is severe when
severity is demanded. And he was at once interested when he first saw
the two American boys at the woodpile, manifestly serving a sentence of
some kind.
Stopping his automobile, General Pershing sent his orderly to find out
what the offense was for which the two soldiers were serving their
sentence. Upon the orderly's return he reported that the two men had
taken "French leave" of their company several days before this time.
They were jealous because certain of their fellows "had been sent up
ahead to fight" while they had been left behind. And they were eager to
fight. They had enlisted and come to France for that express purpose.
And now to be left behind! The thought was more than the two Yankee boys
could endure. Fight they could and fight they would--with or without
specific orders from their officers. And fight they did, for without any
ceremony they departed for the front one night and kept on going until
they found it. According to their own story they "found war and mixed
in." And also they were found out and sentenced to serve five days at
the woodpile as a penalty for their disobedience and over-hasty zeal. It
is said General Pershing hastily departed from the spot and that he
laughed heartily at the story of Americans who were punished not because
they were not willing to fight, but were so eager that they did not wait
for such a little thing as orders or commands. And then the General fell
to talking about his favorite theme--the daring and bravery of his men
in the campaign against the Moros.
One day in Paris, General Pershing saw a tiny man--a dwarf--upon the
sidewalk of the street through which he was passing at the time. The
little man instantly recalled to the commander the wedding of Datto
Dicky of Jolo. The little chieftain was about to be married. There was a
current report that he was the smallest man in the world, but the
statement has not been verified. At all events, whatever he may have
lacked in stature he more than made up in his power over the tribe of
which he was a chief.
At a fair in Zamboanga, Datto Dicky was about to take unto himself a
wife, the little lady being as diminutive as her prospective husband.
After the formal wedding General Pershing presented to the bride a tiny
house in every way adapted to the needs of such a diminutive couple. The
dwelling stood on stilts on the beach, a thing of beauty in the eyes of
all the Moros that were attending the fair.
The tiny chieftain and his bride gratefully accepted the present of the
little building, which they occupied during their honeymoon. Upon their
return to Jolo they in turn gave their present to the children of the
General and they used it as a playhouse. As Datto Dicky is said to have
been just two feet and three inches in height the little children of the
American governor doubtless found the structure much to their liking and
well adapted to their needs. They were as delighted over Dicky's
generosity to them as the diminutive chieftain had been over the
unexpected gift their father had given him.
The following incidents are taken from the New York _Times_:
"About ten years ago he and Mrs. Pershing were in
Paris and the General, who was then a captain, was
suffering from a slight indisposition, which his
doctor thought might be attributable to smoking.
Upon Mrs. Pershing's insistence the captain went
to Mannheim where there was a famous cure. The
resident doctor examined him and advised that he
give up smoking. It happened that Pershing had
always been an inveterate smoker. His cigar was a
part of his life. He wrestled with the question a
day or two and made up his mind that he would
follow the medical advice.
"When asked if he hadn't found the job a hard one
and whether he wasn't still tempted the reply was:
"'Not in the least, the only hard thing was in
making up his mind. He had hardly given the matter
a thought since.'
"There are two subjects which the General will
always talk about with interest--his farming
experience and his four years with the Moros in
the Philippines.
"He loves to hark back to those days when his
highest obligation was to get out into the
cornfield at the very earliest minute in the
morning that there was daylight enough to see the
ears of corn. When he was fourteen he took the
management of the farm. His father had been a rich
man, but the panic of 1873 broke him. John was the
oldest of nine children and he had to go to the
front. In everything that he does now I can
detect the influence of his early training. I can
see in the General of to-day the farmer boy with
his contempt of hardship, the country school
teacher with his shepherding instinct for those
around him and the general wariness of country
bringing-up. It is inexorably true that the boy is
father to the man."