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The original uniform of Sergeant Edward Bryan Tracy,
on display in the Veterans museum, Cheyenne, Oklahoma. The medal on the
uniform is the WWI Victory Medal. The detail is below. The medal has four
battle clasps. A discussion of the battle clasps follows the photo. The third medal, The French-awarded
Croix de Guerre is in a display case in the museum and appears in the photo
below, along with the original certificate presented to Mr. Tracy.
Sergeant Tracy acquired the reputation of being lucky to
always bring back his squad intact and sometimes with more men than he
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My second favorite story from the article:
This was written concerning the Battle of Argonne. By
this time casualties had caused him to be promoted to Sargeant. It took
place in late October, 1918, just days before the surrender.
"We went for perhaps a kilometer before we
came to the enemy front line, which was located in a ravine about a
kilometer away, where we were held up for the time being. I remember going
down this arroyo on a little tour of exploration, when my attention was
called to a dugout by the click of the bolts of rifles. Of course I was
frightened, because the realization came to me that I was under the
observation of an enemy that I could not see, and mighty soon would be
extending the customary greeting to St. Peter If they so willed. I retreated
and took up a more favorable position on top of the dugout, and requested
that they come out. They seemed very anxious to do so, and thus seven
surrendered to me. I did not capture them.
"Two reasons are given for making this
statement: These Germans could have precluded any possibility of my taking
them by putting an end to me when the opportunity presented itself; second,
when the capture of one person, armed as you are, is effected, you have done
a man-sized job; when you have taken two, it savors of the miraculous; and
more than that—well, it just wasn’t being done."
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