Produced by Christine Aldridge, Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcribers Notes 1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. 2. Passages in bold are indicated by =bold=. 3. Minor printers errors have been corrected. A detailed list can be found at the end of this text. 4. Text spelling was common at the time of its publication. 5. All dialect spelling has been retained. * * * * * "AND THEY THOUGHT WE WOULDN'T FIGHT" FLOYD GIBBONS [Illustration: FLOYD GIBBONS] "AND THEY THOUGHT WE WOULDN'T FIGHT" BY FLOYD GIBBONS OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENT OF _THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE_, ACCREDITED TO THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES NEW YORK [Illustration] GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY _Copyright, 1918,_ _By George H. Doran Company_ _Printed in the United States of America_ TO GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING AND THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES I RESPECTFULLY DEDICATE THIS INADEQUATE RECORD IN REVERENT MEMORY OF OUR SACRED DEAD ON FIELDS IN FRANCE ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author expresses his hearty thanks to _The Chicago Tribune_ for the opportunity he enjoyed as a correspondent of that paper, in the service of which he secured the material for these papers. * * * * * Personal. AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES OFFICE OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF France, August 17, 1918. Mr. Floyd Gibbons, Care Chicago Tribune, 420 Sue Saint-Honore, P a r i s. Dear Mr. Gibbons: At this time, when you are returning to America, I wish to express to you my appreciation of the cordial cooperation and assistance you have always given us in your important work as correspondent of the Chicago Tribune in France. I also wish to congratulate you on the honor which the French government has done you in giving you the Croix de Guerre, which is but a just reward for the consistent devotion to your duty and personal bravery that you have exhibited.