August 26, 1918: Don Martin visits Quentin Roosevelt's grave

Don Martin diary entry for Monday, August 26, 1918: 

Went out today with [Edwin] James [New York Times]. Went to Fere-en-Tardenois; then to the headquarters of the 28^th division; then to corps headquarters and to Quentin Roosevelt’s grave which has been newly decorated by the French. Got back at 5. Wrote short cable on Roosevelt’s grave and longer one on Lieutenant Langstaff and various other things.

Don Martin at Quentin Roosevelt's Grave

       Don Martin reported on August 7 the sighting of the grave where Quentin Roosevelt had been buried by the Germans on July 14, and on August 10 the confirmation of the location. On August 26 Don Martin visited the grave site and had his photo taken, which appeared in many U.S. newspapers. Here is a series of photos of Quentin Roosevelt's burial site at Chamery, and his final resting place in Normandy (moved from Chamery by Roosevelt family after WWII).

Quentin Roosevelt's grave
as prepared by the Germans on July 14, 1918,
and on August 26, when visited by Don Martin.

Quentin Roosevelt's grave marker, 
Author's visit September 2014

Quentin Roosevelt's grave in Normandy

         Don Martin on Monday, August 26, sent his daily report from the front to Paris, which was published in the Paris Herald on August 27.

AMERICAN PATROLS CLASH WITH GERMANS IN VESLE SECTOR

Enemy Seems Decided to Hold Until 

Programme of Retirement to Aisne Is Completed

(Special Telegram to the Herald)

By DON MARTIN

With the American Armies, Monday

           Five times last night and early this morning American and German patrols clashed in the Vesle sector. There was lively fighting each time. The Germans still have strong divisions opposite the Americans and are apparently determined to prevent an Allied advance until their programme of removal from the immediate Vesle region to the Aisne has been completed. It is likely that the successes of General Mangin’s army in the region of Soissons will hasten the Germans’ northward trek.

           One of the German prisoners captured yesterday by the Americans talked with considerable freedom to-day. He said that he believes Germany’s star has set. He says the soldiers have given up hope of victory and want the war to end. The people at home, he said, would not accept simultaneously the hardships which are certain to come this winter and the disappointments and gloom which inevitably go hand in hand with defeat.

       From the Toul sector comes a story, officially authenticated, of remarkable pluck shown by two American soldiers. With his nose practically blown off, his face severely cut and a wound in the abdomen caused by a grenade, a private pressed on to combat. Officers insisted on his removal from the line, and he ceased fighting, but much against his will, as he said he was well able to continue.

           In a five minute skirmish another soldier received sixteen machine-gun bullet wounds in one leg between the hip and the ankle. He received three in the arm also. He never lost consciousness and is expected to recover. In the number of bullets received in a short period it is believed this young man holds the record.

         The Boches attempted a raid in the Vosges last night. Five of their soldiers were killed.

          Three American planes on a photographic mission this morning were attacked by five Albatross machines. The enemy was driven off, but one American machine was hit. Its pilot was able to make a safe landing, however. Neither he nor the observer was injured.

     Don Martin also reported on an American decoration ceremony that, he wrote, took place on August 26. It is not clear whether he observed it. It was published in the Paris Herald on August 27.   

AMERICANS WIN DECORATIONS 

FOR BRAVERY IN BATTLE

Legion of Honor, Médaille Militaire and D.S.C. 

for 136 Officers and Men

(Special Telegram to the Herald)

By DON MARTIN

With the American Armies, Monday

           One hundred and thirty-six officers and men of a division which distinguished itself in the recent fighting north of the Marne were decorated to-day for bravery. Eight officers, including a chaplain, were made Chevaliers of the Legion of Honor; sixteen non-commissioned officers and privates received the Médaille Militaire; twenty-nine officers received the Croix de Guerre, and seventy-four officers and men received Distinguished Service Crosses.

           Sixty-one of those honored were absent, most of them being in hospitals recovering from wounds. One Distinguished Service Cross went posthumously to Corporal B. W. Shumate. The officers receiving the Legion of Honor are Captain Arthur H. Turner, First Lieutenant Joseph W. Starkey, First Lieutenant Richard S. Hevenor, First Lieutenant Harry W. Caygill, Major D. Fechet, Captain E. A. Cook, Second Lieutenant Daniel W. Bender, Chaplain Harris Darche.

          Lieutenant Louis Viaud, of the French Army, received the D.S.C. because he led a Franco-American detachment on a raid on April 18 “with greatest coolness and bravery, displaying qualities of leadership and courage.” This presumably is the first American decoration given to a member of another army.

           The decoration ceremony took place in the presence of 5,000 troops. It was in a spot in a wood back of the American front. An American major-general, accompanied by French and British officers, took part in the ceremony. An inquisitive Boche flier nosed toward the scene, but was driven off by anti-aircraft guns.