Lieutenant Wallace: “I would send two members of the point out to the place where the enemy was to see if we could get an identification.”
The Director: “Do you agree with that procedure, Lieutenant Ralston?”
Lieutenant Ralston: “Our battalion commander would want an identification if it is possible to get one, and it seems to me that something should be done at once to secure it.”
The Director: “I agree with you entirely that an identification is desirable, but it is not the job of the point to get it. Members of the point do not go off on excursions to the flank. They keep plugging along on the line of march. If flank patrols are to be sent out, they must come from the advance party or the support. I cannot conceive of any circumstances that would warrant sending two members of the point off on patrol duty. Now, Lieutenant Ralston, assuming that it is desirable to get an identification, what would you, as point commander, do?”
Lieutenant Ralston: “I would send a message back to Lieutenant Wallace, who is with the advance party.”
The Director: “By whom would you send this message?”
Lieutenant Ralston: “By Private Bailey, the rear man of the point.”
The Director: “Now state the exact message that you would send back.”
Lieutenant Ralston: “I would fall back to where Bailey is marching. I would say to him:
“‘Bailey, you go back to Lieutenant Wallace. Tell him that we fired on an enemy reconnoitering patrol of about one squad. Show him where they were. Tell him that they did not return the fire. That when we opened fire they withdrew. That there are probably two dead or wounded men in the woods. Rejoin the point when you can.’