Fortunately certain men who knew Him personally and others who knew His Apostles personally wrote about Him—what He said and what He did. Some of those writings were gotten together and compiled into a book. That book is called “The New Testament.” Now with all due respect and consideration for the motives and intentions of many of those who have since written, some of whom claim or infer “special” or “inside” information, I humbly suggest that the logical, safe, reliable place for each of us to learn about Christ is in the New Testament. Let’s find out whether He really said anything applicable and worth while now, whether He meant it, whether He lived it and proved it, and, above all, let us stick to it until we find out what it was and is. The world needs it badly—needs it pure and undiluted, unadulterated—needs to know what it is without concessions and without reservations. If the people are smart enough to govern themselves (and I think they are and that they’re improving in that ability right along) they are now at last smart enough to study the New Testament itself by themselves and for themselves. How can any Christian logically object to that?
The only solution for humanity’s problems and difficulties lies in a correct understanding of the teachings of Christ—not some vanity tickling subterfuge. Some persons think they know all about it now. No human is raising the dead or stilling the tempest these days and that “know it all” attitude is the result of fleshly vanity—not knowledge. So let’s start or review, beginning in the primary grade or the kindergarten. Many seem to have started in the post-graduate courses or at least in the senior class. I have a suspicion that selfishness, vanity, swell headedness, worldly pride, material ambition (whether called material or not), and so on, are the direct opposite to Christianity.
I thought I knew a lot about religion, but after they led me out of Bois Frehaut I started in in the primary grade to try to learn about Christianity—so to speak. The world must learn what it is, then begin learning to apply it or live it. It will be done. The churches will help. They’ll help or quit. Many of them are about through now. But Christianity as Christ taught it won’t quit. It will soon be the paramount subject of conversation and consideration. The world has reached a stage of material advancement. The people are awake, enlightened and organized to such an extent that things will become unbearable—impossible without it.
I couldn’t very well leave out all mention of Christianity in this lecture, for the things my Battalion fought to help make possible and to bring about in the world are in one sense closely allied to Christianity. There couldn’t be much real Christianity without Democracy and there can’t be any real Democracy without Christianity. I don’t claim to be much of a Christian, but I wish I had time to tell you what I think it is, and why I think so and what makes me think so, and so on. You look into it yourselves. And now we must get out of Bois Frehaut.
Not until ten-thirty o’clock on the morning of November eleventh did I receive orders relative to an armistice. The third runner sent out got through to me with a Division order. I was in direct command of the principal advancing done in attempts on the tenth and eleventh toward Metz and this was the first definite word I had about the armistice. We had heard that such a thing was expected but I supposed it would be several days, maybe weeks, before it went into effect. We knew that German officers had gone through the lines under a flag of truce to meet representatives of the High Allied Command, but we did not know what the result of those parleys had been. Some thought hostilities would not cease for months.
Therefore, imagine our joy in that unbearable shellhole, when we found the war had but thirty minutes to last. Of those with me at the time some shouted for happiness and some stared in amazement fearing it was too good to be true. I sent the word out to my leaders and sat looking at my watch. Artillery fire increased in intensity if any difference and enemy machine gunners elevated their pieces and were spraying the wood with bullets. It would have been hard luck to get hit then. Promptly at eleven o’clock all fire began to lessen and in a few minutes had ceased. The World War had stopped.
Not only our men but the Germans also seemed overjoyed. Soon after the buglers had sounded “cease firing” the Huns rushed out of their positions and our men met them between the lines. They actually shook hands and slapped each others’ backs. They traded trinkets and were holding a veritable reception until our officers succeeded in getting the men back into the lines. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it.
During the afternoon I received word that our Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding the Regiment, together with some members of his staff, had been badly gassed in a dugout at Regimental Headquarters and forced to go to the hospital and that I, being next in rank, was temporarily in command of the Regiment. My face was so swollen that I could see a little only with one eye. My ears had been bleeding and I had to be yelled at to hear. I was scratched and bruised and my voice refused to work. A sort of reaction had set in and I felt weak and sick. We passed a row of dead and pieces of dead and some more dead and finally reached the limousine that had been sent for me.
We were proceeding slowly because of shell holes in the road when one of the men with me said, “There’s a man ahead singing and waving his arms like he’s crazy.” I could see that he was rared back and singing or yelling and every few steps he stopped and waved his arms and executed some strange dance movements. When we overtook him I stopped the car and asked him what was the matter. “Sir—Major,” he said, his eyes beaming, “I—I just can’t praise God enough for letting me come out of that woods alive.”
The outfit was too tired to move far that day. But the next morning the regimental band came to me in a body and asked permission to march up the road a mile or so to meet the Second Battalion, which under my orders was coming to Loisey, where there were comfortable billets, to rest. I walked out into the village square, as Regimental Commander, to welcome my heroic battalion—the battalion that had earned undying fame for itself, its regiment, its brigade, its division and for the American colored race.