purpose to
do."

Ringing words that will go down in history to the honor of America!

And with this advance, fighting as they went, Ned, Bob, and Jerry, and
thousands of their brave comrades, dashed forward into what was to be
one of the bloodiest and most desperate engagements of the war. To let
General Pershing tell the story in part, by quoting again from his
wonderful report:

"On the night of September 25th our troops quietly took the place of
the French who thinly held the line in this sector, which had long
been inactive. In the attack which began on the 26th we drove through
the barbed-wire entanglements and the sea of shell craters across No
Man's Land, mastering all the first-line defenses. Continuing on the
27th and 28th, against machine guns and artillery of an increasing
number of enemy reserve divisions, we penetrated to a depth of from
three to seven miles and took the village of Montfaucon and its
commanding hill and Exermont, Gercourt, Cuisy, Septsarges, Malancourt,
Ivoiry, Epinonville, Charpentry, Very, and other villages. East of the
Meuse one of our divisions, which was with the 2d Colonial French
Corps, captured Marcheville and Rieville, giving further protection to
the flank of our main body. We had taken 10,000 prisoners, we had
gained our point of forcing the battle into the open, and were
prepared for the enemy's reaction, which was bound to come, as he had
good roads and ample railroad facilities for bringing up his artillery
and reserves.

"In the chill rain of dark nights our engineers had to build new roads
across spongy, shell-torn areas, repair broken roads beyond No Man's
Land, and build bridges. Our gunners, with no thought of sleep, put
their shoulders to wheels and drag-ropes to bring their guns through
the mire in support of the infantry, now under the increasing fire of
the enemy's artillery. Our attack had taken the enemy by surprise,
but, quickly recovering himself, he began to fire counter-attacks in
strong force, supported by heavy bombardments, with large quantities
of gas. From September 28th until October 4th we maintained the
offensive against patches of woods defended by snipers and continuous
lines of machine guns, and pushed forward our guns and transport,
seizing strategical points in preparation for further attacks."

And Ned, Bob, and Jerry had an honorable if humble part in all this.
Forward they fought their way, now falling back as some fierce German
resistan