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- A Carol From Flanders
1914
In Flanders on the Christmas morn
The trenched foemen lay,
The German and the Briton born--
And it was Christmas Day.
The red sun rose on fields accurst,
The gray fog fled away;
But neither cared to fire the first,
... - Duty
So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is God to man,
When Duty whispers low, Thou must,
The youth replies, I can. - In Memoriam
[THE FIGHTING YEARS, 1914-1918]
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy... - Pershing At The Tomb Of Lafayette
They knew they were fighting our war.
As the months grew to years
Their men and their women had watched
through their blood and their tears
For a sign that we knew, we who could not
have come to be free
Without France, long ago.... - The Call To Arms In Our Street
There's a woman sobs her heart out,
With her head against the door,
For the man that's called to leave her,
--God have pity on the poor!
But it's beat, drums, beat,
While the lads march down the street,
And it's blow, trumpets,... - The Kaiser's Crown
(VERSAILLES, JANUARY 18, 1871)
The wind on the Thames blew icy breath,
The wind on the Seine blew fiery death,
The snow lay thick on tower and tree,
The streams ran black through wold and lea;
As I sat alone in London town
And dreamed... - The Little Old Road
There's a breath of May in the breeze
On the little old road;
May in hedges and trees,
May, the red and the white,
May to left and to right,
Of the little old road.
There's a ribbon of grass either side
Of the little old road;
... - The United States Marines
Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun,
We have fought in every clime or place
Where we could take a gun--
In the snow of far-off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job--
... - Trees
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer... - Where Are You Going Great-heart?
Where are you going, Great-Heart,
With your eager face and your fiery grace?--
Where are you going, Great-Heart?
To fight a fight with all my might,
For Truth and Justice, God and Right,
To grace all Life with His fair Light.
...
- A Congressional Message
FROM PRESIDENT WILSON'S ANNUAL ADDRESS TO
CONGRESS DECEMBER 2, 1918
GENTLEMEN OF THE CONGRESS: The year that has elapsed since I last stood
before you to fulfill my Constitutional duty to give the Congress from
time to time information on the state... - After-days
When the last gun has long withheld
Its thunder, and its mouth is sealed,
Strong men shall drive the furrow straight
On some remembered battlefield.
Untroubled they shall hear the loud
And gusty driving of the rains,
And birds... - Alsace-lorraine
On slight pretext, Germany in 1864 and in 1866 had made wars against
Denmark and Austria that might easily have been avoided.
France took notice of the warlike ambitions of her neighbor and began
to prepare for the war that she knew would soon come... - America Comes In
We are coming from the ranch, from the city and the mine,
And the word has gone before us to the towns upon the Rhine;
As the rising of the tide
On the Old-World side,
We are coming to the battle, to the Line.
From the Valleys... - America Enters The War
SPEECH BY LLOYD GEORGE, BRITISH PREMIER,
APRIL 12, 1917
I am in the happy position of being, I think, the first British
Minister of the Crown who, speaking on behalf of the people of this
country, can salute the American Nation as comrades in arms.... - At The Front
What one soldier writes, millions have experienced.
At first the waiting for orders; the wonder of how to adapt one's
nature to the conditions that lay ahead. The fear of being afraid.
Many times in that last week in London, which now seems so far... - Blocking The Channel
Bruges is an important city of Belgium made familiar to American boys
and girls by Longfellow's beautiful poem, The Belfry of Bruges. He
describes what the belfry old and brown has seen.
Till the bell of Ghent responded o'er lagoon and dike of sand,
... - Bombing Metz
ADAPTED FROM THE ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY RAOUL LUFBERY
In January, 1916, I belonged to the Bombing Escadrille 102. One fair
day a little after one o'clock, we were ordered to get ready for an
expedition. Naturally, we were curious about where we were... - Fighting A Depth Bomb
All who have read of the sinking of the Lusitania, by a torpedo, shot
from a German U-boat, realize the terribly destructive force of this
modern weapon of war, but many do not know that the depth bomb is even
more destructive and must be handled with... - Four Soldiers
THE BOCHE
The boche was chiefly what his masters made him.
He was planned and turned out according to specifications. His leaders
and his enemies always knew just what he would do under any given
circumstances, and he himself always knew just what... - Harry Lauder Sings
Harry Lauder, an extremely popular Scotch singer and entertainer, gave
his services to help cheer the soldiers on the western front.
The men went wild with enthusiasm and joy wherever he went. One day I
was taking Harry to see the grave of his only... - I Knew You Would Come
We are all very proud that America was permitted to have a share in the
holiest defensive war ever known. Then let us also remember that our
share in it was largely made possible by England. While we hesitated,
considered, debated, who was it that... - Joyce Kilmer The first poet and author in the American army to give up his life for
the cause of freedom was Joyce Kilmer. Like Alan Seeger, another
American poet who fell fighting in the Foreign Legion of France, Joyce
Kilmer greatly loved life. He loved the flowers...
- Just Before The Tide Turned
On the 27th of last May the Germans broke through the French position
at the Chemin des Dames, a position which had been considered by the
Allies as almost impregnable. They overthrew the French as they had
overthrown the British two months earlier....
- November 11 1918
Sinners are said sometimes to repent and change their ways at the
eleventh hour; and on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the
eleventh month of the year of 1918, the Kaiser, and other German war
lords, if they did not repent, at least changed... - President Wilson In France
On December 14, 1918, President Wilson arrived in Paris. He had by
leaving North America done something never done before by an American
president; but he was never afraid to establish a new precedent if he
believed his duty called upon him to do so.... - Redeemed Italy
Italy, since 1860 at least, has cherished the dream that sometime all
European territory with Italian-speaking inhabitants would be united
under Italian government. When the World War began Italy was supposed
to be an ally of Germany and Austria. She... - Sergeant York Of Tennessee
People will always differ as to what was the most remarkable exploit of
the World War. Major General George B. Duncan, one of the American
commanders who helped to drive the Germans out of the Argonne forest,
has said that Corporal Alvin C. York, a... - Song Of The Aviator
(This poem was written for an entertainment given by the Y.M.C.A. at
an aviation barracks in a large camp in France. Mrs. Wilcox addressed
five hundred aviators, and these verses were recited with great effect
by Mrs. May Randall. After the entertainment... - The Capture Of Dun
After the Americans had cleared the Saint Mihiel salient, Marshal Foch
gave them a task which was probably the most difficult and dangerous of
the whole war. They were to move north and west along the Meuse River
through the Argonne forest to Sedan.... - The First To Fall In Battle
During the trench warfare, it was customary to raid the enemy trenches
at unexpected hours, sometimes during the night, often during the
sleepiest hour, just before the dawn. In such a raid made by the
Germans in the early dawn of November 3, 1917,... - The Fleet That Lost Its Soul
Sailors and especially fighters on the sea have in all ages possessed
the noblest and bravest of souls and the finest morale. This is why
the British sailors have felt so bitter about the atrocities committed
by the German U-boats. In case a ship is... - The Lost Battalion On December 24, 1918, Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Whittlesey of
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was presented in the presence of 20,000
people on Boston Common by Major General Edwards with the congressional
Medal of Honor, the highest tribute of valor...
- The Miner And The Tiger
On an October day in 1866, David Lloyd George, then a little lad of
three years, came with his mother and younger brother to live with his
uncle, Richard Lloyd, for his father had died leaving the family
penniless. His uncle, a shoemaker and preacher,... - The Poilu
The soldier of France, the poilu, is a crusader. He is fighting to
defend France, his great mother, in whose defense, centuries ago, the
invisible powers called and sustained Jeanne d'Arc. In his love of
country there is something almost religious,... - The Quality Of Mercy
There is an old saying, Like king, like people, which means that the
king is usually not very different from the people whose executive he
is. If this is true of kings, it surely must be true of American
presidents. With this in mind, contrast the... - The Really Invincible Armada
The northern coast of Scotland is about as far north as the southern
point of Greenland and nearly all of Norway lies still nearer the pole.
Across the stretch of ocean between Scotland and Norway, a distance of
about three hundred miles, for over four... - The Searchlights
Political morality differs from individual morality, because there is
no power above the State.--GENERAL VON BERNHARDI.
Shadow by shadow, stripped for fight,
The lean black cruisers search the sea.
Night-long their level shafts of light
... - The Second Line Of Defense
In Norwich, England, stands a memorial which will forever be visited
and prized by travelers from every part of the world, and especially by
the people of England and of Belgium. It is the statue erected to
Edith Cavell, the British nurse who was wrongfully... - The Secret Service
The United States did not declare war till nearly three years after the
war had begun in Europe. During most of that time the situation was
this: Germany, to win at all, must win at once. The longer the Allies
could stave Germany off, the more time... - The Soldiers Who Go To Sea
If the army or the navy ever gaze on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded by United States marines.
So sing the soldiers who go to sea, commonly called the marines. The
Germans after the battles of Belleau Wood and Bouresches... - The Thirteenth Regiment
The World War has shown clearly that all peoples are not alike, that
they do not think alike, that they do not feel in the same way about
the great things of life and death, and that they do not live alike.
England felt very differently from Germany... - The Tommy
John Masefield, the English writer, says, St. George did not go out
against the dragon like that divine calm youth in Carpaccio's picture,
nor like that divine calm man in Donatello's statue. He went out, I
think, after some taste of defeat knowing... - The Turning Of The Tide
A division of marines and other American troops were rushed to the
front as a desperate measure to try and stop a gap where flesh and
blood, even when animated by French heroism, seemed incapable of
further resistance. They came in trucks, in cattle... - The United States At War--at Home
When any nation declares war, it immediately brings upon itself unusual
problems and difficulties, but probably no other nation ever had such
problems to solve and such difficulties to overcome as the United
States, immediately after Congress declared... - The United States At War--in France
Adapted with a few omissions and changes in language from the report of
General Pershing made November 20, 1918, to the Secretary of War.
Upon receiving my orders, I selected a small staff and proceeded to
Europe in order to become familiar with... - The Unspeakable Turk
Although the great issues of the war were decided, and victory was
finally won, by the fighting on the western front, the British
campaigns in Palestine and in Mesopotamia were in no small way
responsible for the final result. The fighting in this theater... - The Yank
The boche went into the war as a robber, the poilu as a crusader
determined to save the sacred and holy things of the world from
desecration and destruction, the Tommy as a player in a great game,
and the Yank as a policeman whose job it was to clean... - To Villingen--and Back
Very remarkable in the world struggle for liberty was the eagerness of
the Allied soldiers to fight and to make the supreme sacrifice if
necessary. The Americans, especially, brought cheer and courage to the
tired French, Belgian, Italian, and British... - U S Destroyer _osmond C Ingram_
If you were standing on the deck of a patrol boat watching for
submarines and, looking down at the water, suddenly perceived a torpedo
coming directly toward you and knew it would strike the boat beneath
your feet in a few seconds, what would you do?
A... - United States Day
United States Day was celebrated in Paris on April 20, 1918.
On that day, exercises were held in the great hall of the Sorbonne; on
April 21, a reception was given the American ambassador, and a great
procession marched to the statue of Lafayette.... - Vive La France 1
The determination of the people of Alsace and Lorraine not to submit to
the pressure of their conquerors was made evident even up to the very
day that war was declared in 1914. Von Moltke had predicted that It
will require no less than fifty years... - Waiting For The Flash Not at once can the mind grasp the full significance of the wonderful
event of Monday, and as time goes on, more and more will the world come
to realize what the signing of the armistice which ended the war means
to present and future generations. Events...
- When The Tide Turned
THE AMERICAN ATTACK AT CHATEAU-THIERRY AND BELLEAU WOOD IN THE FIRST
WEEK OF JUNE, 1918
BY OTTO H. KAHN
AN ADDRESS AT THE UNITED WAR WORK CAMPAIGN MEETING OF THE BOSTON
ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, NOVEMBER 12, 1918
WHY THE TIDE WAS FATED TO TURN
These... - Where The Four Winds Meet
There are songs of the north and songs of the south,
And songs of the east and west;
But the songs of the place where the four winds meet
Are the ones that we love the best.
And where do the four winds meet? you ask.
The answer... - Where The Tide Turned
It is the general impression that the tide of victory set in with
Marshal Foch's splendid movement against the German flank on July 18th.
That movement, it is true, started the irresistible sweep of the wave
which was destined to engulf and destroy the... - Why The United States Entered The War
The United States was slow to enter the war, because her people
believed war an evil to be avoided at almost any cost except honor. In
fact, Peace at any price seemed to be the motto of many Americans
even after two years of the World War.
[Illustration:... - To Wish To Take Away One From The Immortal Glory Which Belongs
to the Allied armies, nor from the undying gratitude which we owe to
the nations who for four heart-breaking years, with superb heroism,
fought the battle of civilization--our battle from the very beginning,
no less than theirs--and bore untold sacrifices...
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