Show I I I I I I I. I I I I I I ALL THAT REMAINED REMAIN Ern OF BATTERY WAS NAS 1 I A MULE I Italian tali h Artillery Regiment Regimen Buries Gun Carrier With o Military Honors By HENRY WOOD United Press Staff Correspondent ROME Feb 1 By mall mall mail a huge white mule from one of the Italian batteries of Messina has just jus been Interred with full military honors up behind the Italian fronin front fron frontin frontin in the Trentino Is not only believed to b bethe be the first army mule in the present war war warto to be accorded final honors but also the first mule to be buried at all ex except except as artillery mules occasionally get buried tinder kinder a hail hall of fire or of fly ny ing debris from the enemy's artillery ry shots A was 21 years of age a Veteran VetI Vet eran Bran of two campaigns and a participant participant I pant In many minor actions He wen went through the entire war in fn Tripoli p olt was waa called upon occasionally to dash up with his gun to settle riots in la southern southern southern south south- ern Italy and then went through the first six months of Italy's present war for the restoration of Trieste a and andI Trent one day of real fame came ame some three months ago His battery a famous one known as the Masotto participating In the terrible artillery artiller duel before Abba Garina was struck by a high explosive shell There w was was s nothing left but two artillerymen artillery men and the shattered fragments of ol the 6 gun Herol Heroically ally determined to save all of ot the latter that might be worth carrying carrying carrying car car- away the two survivors backI back strapped the gun to s Then a second shell struck which which killed the two men but dashing dashing dash dashing ing wildly away for the rear of the Italian lines succeeded In carrying hisgun his gun barrel to safety He was the only being either man manor manor or mule of the entire battery thaI tha came out alive aUve and the cannon Continued on page 5 5 I I I i I ALL THAT REMAINED Continued from page 4 strapped to his back was the only part of the equipment that equipment that was found From that day on b became came I. I more or of a sacred relic of the famous M Masotto b battery than an army mule bluM I He was given the position of honor in the artillery stables and had two I feeds a day As the fortunes of war thinned out I the the ranKS rants of the other mules however how ever the day came when again I had to take his place at the head of ofa ofa ofa a battery Despite his 2 21 years and nd his his' double doable feeding every day for a aI I I month ll he dashed away and got his hisgun hisgun hisgun gun t the position that thai Had been assigned assigned assigned as as- signed It But there in he artillery duel that followed an Austrian shell struck him full in the head When the hurricane of steel had bad passed and the battery retired the reI remains remains re re- re- re I mains of were brought back ona ona on a gun carriage under an artillery flag The next day tl the e entire battery batter as assembled as' as assembled s and full military honors were accorded at the final interment of the thelast thelast last of the Masotto battery batery |