"With the help of God and a few Marines,"

1–26 June 1918

Battle of Belleau Wood

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More than that, we had the pick of the men from the military colleges, because we were the first to pick. Of our young lieutenants a large number were college athletes. There was Lagore of Yale; Bastien of Minnesota, an All-America end; Moore and Murphy of Princeton; Maynard of the Uni- versity of Washington; Overton, the Yale runner, who was killed in the offensive last summer, and a dozen others who won fame on the gridiron, track, and diamond while the United States was yet at peace. When you read of what these men did in Belleau Wood and Bouresches, remember who they were, and perhaps their exploits will seem less un- believable.

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"As a result of the splendid work of the Marine Bri- gade, notably between June 6th and loth, when our regi- ment did its share in the capture of Bouresches and part of the Bois de Belleau, we .have learned that the brigade is to be cited by the French army and that the regimental colours will have the Croix de Guerre and the palm. It is a wonderful honour, the highest that any

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The task was given to the two regiments of Infan- try, which had hitherto seen but little action. They had been merely holding their section of the line and serving as a barrier across the threatened road. The capture of Vaux was not spectacular, but was a cleanly done job from a military point of view. Our guns were now in position in force, and there was perfect artillery preparation, such as had not been possible in the earlier fighting. Following a thor- oughly effective barrage, the Infantry took their objectives almost without loss, and the work for which our division had been thrown in was com- pleted.

APPENDIX 333

In the meantime, although the capture of Bouresches was the most spectacular of the first fighting, Sibley was having heavier work in the Bois de Belleau. He reported early that there were many machine guns in the woods. At first prisoners came in early and the men who brought them back reported that the companies were cleaning up fast with few casualties. Young Timmerman charged one machine gun nest at the point of the bayonet and sent in 17 prisoners at a clip.