Skip to main content

March 31, 1918 - Easter in midst of the war, and reporting the interview with Secretary Baker

Don Martin diary entry for Sunday, March 31, 1918, Easter: Easter and nothing but suggestions of war everywhere. American troops moving through Neufchateau in the rain and mud all day and most of the night. They are relieving the French in quiet sectors so the French can go up to help in the big fight. Indications are that the French have checked the advance of the Germans but the situation is still serious. It is all up to the French again. The British didn’t last. Gen. Foch, Frenchman, made commander in chief.
I stayed in Neufchateau all day. Wrote some mail stuff – also letter to Dorothy. Sat around the club till 11 with Floyd Gibbons and some Hearst men.

Weather rainy except for two hours of sunshine.
          Don Martin was not permitted by General Pershing to write up the interview on March 30, so he wrote up and cabled an optimistic report of his interview with Secretary Baker. It was published in the New York Herald on Sunday, March 31, 1918.
TROOPS SPLENDID, SECRETARY BAKER TELLS THE HERALD
Greets Reporter at the Front as He Leaves Field Hospital
CAME UNDER FIRE IN FRONT TRENCHES
Germans Became Active as Soon as Secretary Arrived and Maintained Ceaseless Bombardment
By DON MARTIN
[Special Cable to the Herald]
AMERICAN FRONT in France, Tuesday (delayed)
     Covered with mud from the front line trenches and glowing with enthusiasm for the splendid examples of devotion and valor he had seen on the American front, Secretary Baker said to a reporter to the HERALD:--
     “I am glad to say to a paper of such wide influence both in Europe and America as the HERALD that I have continued my trip along the front with increasing interest. I find the boys from everywhere in splendid condition and splendid spirit.”
     The Secretary greeted the HERALD reporter as he left the hospital where he gave permission to a wounded American soldier to wear the Cross of War granted by the French government. The men under the officer touchingly thanked the Secretary for this tribute to the officer, whom they love and revere for his heroism.
On “Frontier of Freedom”
     Earlier in the day the Secretary uttered a phrase which thrilled the soldiers standing near by and which will live. He said as he surveyed the Boche front from the parapet of the front line trenches:--
     “I have been from factory and farm to the front line trenches. Now I am on the frontier of freedom.”
     A shell burst one hundred and twenty feet from the Secretary and caused excitement among the officers who had undertaken a safe conduct for the head of the War Department. But that did not worry Mr. Baker, who merely asked the size of the shell and whether anyone had been hurt.
Secretary Under Fire
     Other shells burst near by and the Germans became active as soon as the Secretary arrived at the front. They maintained ceaseless bombardment of the American batteries, so the Secretary was unable to see them at close range.
     The Secretary’s trip to the front trenches amazed the soldiers, none of whom knew of his approach. Many recognized him and many did not. One sentry demanded his pass, but condescended to overlook it when a general said the visitor was the Secretary of War.
     Mr. Baker wore a trench coat, helmet, gas mask and other paraphernalia and talked familiarly with men from a dozen States. He complimented them on their fine spirit in coming as far as five thousand mile3s from home to help win the war against the worst autocracy in the history of the world.
     In the trenches a soldier said he had the grip, and the Secretary asked:--“Have you got a grip on the Germans, too?” The soldier replied, “You bet we have.”
Shoot Better Than Germans
     The Secretary asked, “Can you shoot better than the Germans?” The reply of the soldier was, “We certainly can.”
     The spirit of the men overjoyed the Secretary. He is filled with pride at the bearing and determination of the men and at the achievement already to their credit. He is also gratified to find the boys from forty-eight States fighting with vim and fire shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers of France and Britain.
National Archives Photo No. 165-WW-439A-42 4/11/1918

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘New war with Israel at any moment’, ‘still digging through rubble’

The news about Iran has taken an ominous tone in the last couple days. Here is some reporting and commentary.  Newsweek on August 18, 2025, reported that Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior military adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said ‘ We are not in a ceasefire; we are in a stage of war. No protocol, regulation, or agreement has been written between us and the U.S. or Israel. A new war with Israel could break out at any moment .’  Yonah Jeremy Bob commented in The Jerusalem Post on August 19, 2025, that ‘ Khamenei can either “drink from the poisoned chalice” of diplomatic concessions … or face more airstrikes, possibly next time some targeting him directly ’.   Bob also noted that ‘ right now Iran is still digging through rubbl e’. The U.S. attacked Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan on June 22. Two months of digging. No surprise that there has been no public news about that.
Post a Comment
Read more

U.S. Sanctions, Middle East views

Trump’s special envoy Witkoff has hit the capitals again; in Tel Aviv Netanyahu probably told him to tell Trump that he will take over all of Gaza; in Moscow Putin probably told him to tell Trump that Ukraine will be destroyed and forget the sanctions. Witkoff didn’t get to number 3 on his list, Iran. But Trump played another ‘ getting to a deal ’ with Iran card, adding sanctions he can later get credit for removing. And the Middle East commentators are worriedly reacting to the Iran situation. Here are some highlights.  From Newsweek:       The U.S. announced on July 30 the largest Iran-related sanctions since 2018 , targeting entities and vessels linked to the country's petroleum sector: 20 oil firms, 5 vessel management companies, 1 wholesaler, and over 115 individuals in 17 countries and regions, including the U.K., Italy, Switzerland, India, the UAE and Hong Kong.       U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said: "Today's Depar...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Quit the nuclear deal”

The E3 (Britan, France, Germany) upped their ante with a letter to the UN Security Council on August 12, 2025, that included: ‘ if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism ’. (AP, Aug 13, 2025)  So far, we have an Iranian response from Parliament member Manouchehr Mottaki — who was Iran’s top diplomat for five years in the 2000s — saying the Iranian parliament has a “ finger on the trigger ” for quitting the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. “ We only need 24 hours to approve quitting the nuclear deal, ” if the E3 raises the issue at the U.N. Security Council, Mottaki said. (AP, Aug 13, 2025)  On ‘extension’, following July’s meeting in Istanbul [between E3 and Iran], an E3 diplomat said Iran could delay [snapback] by doing two things [1] renewing cooperation with the Vienna-based IAEA and [2] addressing concerns about its highly enriche...
Post a Comment
Read more