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Show I MONKEY MEAT AS EATEN BY LIEUT. ED CONROY, AFTER FIERCE f BATTLE WITH THE GERMANS I - The lunch hour at the Weber club today was enlivonod by a narration of his war experiences by Lieut. Edward Conroy, U. S. A., winner of a croix do guerre. In straightforward, soldierly fashion ho told of the engagements which he had participated in and which, Belleau wood, Chateau Thierry and Bourescho, had stung the German with a realization that the Americans opposite them, the first they had encountered en-countered in any number, were able Lieutenant Conroy told of a Uttlo scrap in a courtyard at Bouresche and said, "Believe me, If you say the Germans Ger-mans are cowardly fighters you arc wrong. They came In there facing the cold steel and any man who can do that has nerve of the firmest kind. We killed five in that courtyard and they every one fought like men and went down by the bayonet." Monkey meat and hardtack was all the boys had for two rtain days when thoy were In Belleau Wood and when Conroy got hold of a littlo butter, but-ter, supplied at great cost and with great bravery by the Y. M. C. A., he declared it tasted better than anything he had ever had in his life. Monkey meat Is the title applied to Argentina tinned beef, which the soldiers were rationed on at that particular time. Lieutenant Conroy said the boys have tried to eat it with their gas masks on an aid to their appetites. Going Into Battle. "Believe me It's some sensation," was all he could say about the strange experience of going into battle. "Everyone will have to imagine it for himself and decide how he would feel and then find ho is wrong when he actually goes Into battle it is 10,000 times worse." The attack and capture of Belleau Wood was the hottest little war party he ever tool: a hand in, Lieutenant Conroy said. The Germans had machine ma-chine gun nests at all vantage points and were so carefully concealed and protected that It seemed well nigh impossible im-possible to make any progress against them. The Marines started across the fields toward the wood, crawling on their bellies, and were intact until they got within a few yards of the wood when the Germans opened up with a deadly and merciless machine gun flro which thinned the rank's, dropping men on all sides. Knew The Americans "When you saw a wheat stalk move beside vou. you knew it was a bullet," bul-let," said the lieutenant in describing briefly that advance. Paid Compliment "The Germans well knew the character char-acter of the American troops opposite them in the fighting in this district," said Lieut. Conroy. "because a-document taken from a captured German officer described them as spirited, bravo and determined fighters. "This was the highest compliment that the American soldiers could receive," re-ceive," ho said, "coming from their enemy. "Another compliment, one tnat 1 received re-ceived personally," said Conroy, "was this Would you consider it a compliment? compli-ment? I was chosen by an officer, with another lieutenant, to accompany him on a particularly hazardous undertaking undertak-ing into Belleau Wood. He was told to choose whom ho -desired. It was almost certain death to undertake the trip and he chose me, among the others. oth-ers. They told me it was a compliment, compli-ment, but I had my doubts." Feat of Private The capture of 73 German privates and five German officers by an American Ameri-can marine, single-handed, was told bv Conroy. Its accomplishment was J reported in the newspapers at the time but his story added many details. A runner had been sent to a battalion bat-talion . commander from a unit in the wood for assistance. He got lost and fell in with a company of Germans who were holding a part of the wood. They told him they knew all about the disposition of all enemy companies and that they could not be ousted or captured. The runner told them, however, how-ever, they had figured without knowledge knowl-edge of a certain division which had orders to outflank them at a certain time. The runner enlarged on his tale and scared the Germans so that they thought they had better walk in and surrender Instead of remain and face the action and probable disaster. They asked him if he could lead them to the rear and ho told them yes. Leads Captor In A German officer then gave him a bottle of whiskey and told him to take it to his commander, but instead the runner fortified himself against many imagined dangers and got so warmed that he forgot the way back. Tho Gorman officer produced n pocket compass and map and showed the way back, leading tho soldior. When he arrived at headquarters the marine demanded de-manded an audience with the colonel and proudly turned over the prisoners. The clearing of Belleau wood the lieutenant described in graphic fashion fash-ion and said in his opinion it was brought about through a peculiar and unrcckoned Incident the blood curdling curd-ling warwhoop emitted by one man. War Cry Docs Work. Tho Americans were advancing against a particularly well fortified German position in tho wood, he said, facing almost certain death from machine ma-chine guns. They were nearly ready to rush tho position when a marine gave voice to a wiord, blood tingling yell. Immediately it was taken up by all the men in the line, as though re-rehearsed re-rehearsed for the action, and when the cry went up the Germans, panic stricken strick-en and unnerved at the hellish sound, threw up their hands and jumped from behind their guns yelling "kamcrad." j Tho marines rushed into them and j took tho position. j "The German prisoners for the most I part are just ordinary prisoners," said Lieutenant Conroy. "But the officers are arrogant- and ornery. Even capture cap-ture doesn't seem to knock tho ego ' out of them and they consider it dis-1 graceful to take orders from an American Amer-ican private when captured." Lieutenant Conroy finished his address ad-dress by making a strong appeal to Ogden citizens to support the welfare work which the Y. M. C. A., the Salvation Sal-vation Army, the Jewish Welfare board, and the Knights of Columbus are doing. |