As a result, by his orders the Division Commander relieved General Lenihan, Colonel Mitchell and also Captain Merle-Smith and Lieutenant Betty. As a matter of fact, a few days later when the ill humor had cooled down, Merle-Smith was sent back to us in command of a battalion and Betty also returned. When General Lenihan submitted his statement of the actions of his brigade (supplemented by messages and maps) to the Army commander, General Liggett, the latter assured him that he would name him to fill the first vacancy in a combat Brigade on the fighting line. This happened to be in the 77th Division, and two weeks later I met him at St. Juvin, still in line and going strong.
I do not wish to adopt too critical a tone with regard to the action of the Corps Commander. He is the military superior, and his judgment must be accepted even if it is wrong. Moreover, the loss of rank or position by officers weighs nothing with me in comparison with the two big factors: the proper handling of the men under them; and victory. In the heat of action every commanding general has to make rapid decisions. General Summerall came to one of these decisions in our regard, and we must abide by it.
But speaking as an historian, I think that his decision was wrong. It was a question of whether our Colonel was a man to get out of his regiment all that it was capable of. No person who knows him could ever accuse Harry D. Mitchell of losing his nerve in a battle. He liked a fight. He would have been happier out on the line as Lieutenant Colonel than back in his P. C., but he knew that there was nobody who could handle an attack and put courage and dash into it better than Colonel Donovan, and that any body of troops, even less experienced and willing than our own, would fight to the last under such leadership. Colonel Mitchell’s spirit was equally resolute and his orders crisp and strong. The whole regiment was devoted to him, and anxious to do their very best under his command. Indeed, amongst the older men, there was never any doubt about our ultimate success. It had taken five days to reduce the German resistance at the Ourcq, but we did it. With more help from artillery and tanks, they said, we can make it yet. The worst blow to our morale that we ever received was inflicted by the order relieving our Colonel.
The days following were anxious and gloomy ones for us, and our spirits were kept up by the unchanged dry humor of the man we were sorry to lose. When he was going, I said, to relieve the tension: “Now you are leaving us just when I had you running fine and I’ll have the job of breaking in another new Commanding Officer.” “Father,” he said, “this continuous change of Commanders would break up any other regiment I ever knew, but this old regiment can keep itself going on, no matter who commands it. It would get along on spirit and unity if it never had a Commanding Officer.”
Our new commander was Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Dravo, who had been Division Machine Gun Officer. A number of us have known him for a considerable time and like him already, all the more because his first action was a report on conditions in the regiment which was aimed at the restoration of Colonel Mitchell to his command.
We had 53 officers going in at the Argonne and of those five were killed and fifteen wounded. Of those killed, after Captain Michael Walsh, the greatest sense of loss was felt at the death of Lieutenant Andrew Ellett of Company E, a soldier of unlimited courage. We did not know until long afterwards that Lieutenant Henry Davis, an officer of the same type, who had been wounded by shell fire on October 12th, died in Hospital. Two young officers who were comparatively newcomers in the Regiment, but who had made many friends, Lieutenants William O’Connor and John P. Orr, were killed on the field.
Headquarters Company lost, beside Color Sergeant Sheahan, Sergeant Edward J. Hussey, with Gustave Cosgrove and Charles Schulmerick and James Gaunthier, died of wounds.
Company A lost Sergeants James P. Duff and Fred. Stenson; Corporals Sidney H. Clark, Bernard McOwen, John Nallin, and Peter Barbee, David Bignell, William Cook, Jeremiah Dineen, Silas Donegan, Raymond Fitzpatrick, Charles Freeman, Frank Gilday, Lester Hess, Oscar Iverson, Edward Kelly, Lafayette Sharp, A. B. Harrell, William Smith, William Bress, Leo Tully, Charles Hallberg and Earl Wilder.
Company B lost Sergeants James Donnelly and John J. Mahoney; Corporal Thomas F. Winters; and Philip Benoit, Joseph Cole, Thomas J. Cronin, David Dempsey, Thomas Doyle, Dewey Houck, Jesse Johnson, Benjamin Robert, Ed Zeiss, Robert Wallack.
Company C lost Sergeant Edward Kearin; Corporals James Farnan, Arthur Potter, Daniel J. Slattery; and Avery Bridges, James Cody, Lloyd Harris, Clinton Hart, Martin Haugse, W. P. Hensel, Harold J. Hogan, Samuel Key, Daniel Medler, James Murnane, J. P. Myers, Charles Nabors, George O’Neill, Anthony Palumbo, William Fountain, J. H. Reneker, Edward Sheridan, Francis Conway and Thomas D. Vegeau.