Skip to main content

April 14, 1918 - Don Martin spent the day in Paris with other war correspondents

Don Martin dairy entry for Sunday, April 14, 1918: 
Having decided not to leave Paris till tomorrow, took it easy. Went for long walk through Tuilleries, meeting Bingham of N.Y. on way back. At 12:30 went to [New York] World office and met Martin Green, Joe Griggs and some others and then went to the New York bar where we sat for three hours with Percival Gibbons, war correspondent of the London Chronicle and Myrtle Williams of Colliers. Gibbons, one of the best English correspondents, told many good stories. Went from there (alone) to the Chatham Grill and had a good steak. Then to the hotel. Have decided to go back to Neufchateau. 
German drive against British continues serious. Good many persons pessimistic now but I’m not. It is pitiable though how helpless U.S. is. France is the only formidable ally.

Weather cold and rain.

       'Percival Gibbons' of the 'London Chronicle' is a mystery; no information was found about such a person. The famous war correspondent named 'Percival' was the American Percival Phillips, working for the London Express, but who had been hired by Commodore Bennett to cover the British front for the New York Herald as 'Special Correspondent of the Herald with the British Forces in France'. His bylined dispatches were appearing on page 1 (Second Section) frequently, and Don Martin should have known that. This would have been Don Martin’s first meeting with Phillips; could he have accidentally mixed up the last name with Floyd Gibbons, Chicago Tribune, and got the London newspaper wrong?

Comments

  1. Vintage DudeApril 14, 2018 at 7:38 PM

    I find it strange that Don does not refer or mention Percival earlier as he got connected to the London office. It is unclear how he made his decision to go back to Neufchâtel . He shows concern about the British losses but recognizes the ability of the French while the Americans are not heavily involved. What does he expect to achieve going back to “N”?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

October 14, 1918: Don Martin’s funeral service in Paris

        A funeral service for Don Martin was held in Paris on Sunday, October 13, 1918, at the American Church, rue de Berri. The New York Herald published this report on Monday, October 14, 1918. MANY FRIENDS AT CHURCH SERVICE FOR DON MARTIN Simplicity and Sincerity of Character of “Herald” Writer, Theme of Dr. Goodrich’s Sermon                     Funeral services for Don Martin were held yesterday afternoon in the American Church in the rue de Berri. They were simple and impressive. Before the pulpit rested the coffin, over which was spread the American flag. Floral offerings were arranged around it. Flat against the wall behind the pulpit were two American flags and the tricolor, and on either side were standards of these two emblems. Uniforms of the United States army predominated in the gathering of 200 persons composed of friends Mr. Martin had known for years at home and friends he had made in Fr...
2 comments
Read more

Welcome to Don Martin blog on Armistice Centennial Day

Welcome to the World War I Centennial Don Martin daily blog, on Armistice Centennial day, November 11, 2018. Don Martin was a noted war correspondent reporting on the American Expeditionary Forces in France in 1918. Regrettably he died of Spanish influenza in Paris on October 7,1918, while covering the Argonne Forest offensive. He missed the joy of the Armistice by a month. Beginning on December 7, 2017, this blog has chronicled each day what Don Martin wrote one hundred years earlier – in his diary, in his letters home, and in his multitude of dispatches published in the Herald newspaper, both the New York and the European (Paris) editions. The blog, for the several days following his death, recounts the many tributes published, his funeral in Paris and his trip back to his final resting place at his home in Silver Creek, New York. To access the daily blogs, click on the three red lines at top right, then in the fold-down menu, click on Archive. There are 316 blogs from D...
1 comment
Read more

September 30, 1918: Don Martin assesses war situation, and visits recaptured Varennes

           On Monday, September 30, Don Martin sent a cable sent to the New York Herald beginning with his review of the war situation in France, and then reporting on his day at the front in and around Varennes-en-Argonne. It was published on Tuesday, October 1. ENEMY EXHAUSTED BY FOCH STRATEGY OF VARIED BLOWS Enemy Forces Bewildered  and Never Quite Certain of Plan of Defence By DON MARTIN Special Correspondent of the Herald with the American Armies in France [Special Cable to the Herald] WITH THE AMERICAN ARMIES IN FRANCE, Monday                  Competent observers who long feared to believe their own convictions are now fully convinced that Germany is in a most serious predicament – not only because of her desertion by Bulgaria, but because of the general military situation on the Western front. To-day this situation is far more favorable to the Unit...
1 comment
Read more