Transcriber’s Note Italic text displayed as: _italic_ [Illustration: OFF FOR CAMP MILLS ] [Illustration: FUNERAL AT LUNÉVILLE. GROUP AT LEFT CENTER: GENERAL MENOHER, GENERAL LENIHAN, SECRETARY BAKER ] [Illustration: OVERLOOKING BACCARAT ] [Illustration: GENERAL PERSHING CONFERRING D. S. C.’S ] FATHER DUFFY’S STORY [Illustration: COLONEL DONOVAN IN FIGHTING TRIM AFTER ST. MIHIEL ] FATHER DUFFY’S STORY A TALE OF HUMOR AND HEROISM, OF LIFE AND DEATH WITH THE FIGHTING SIXTY-NINTH BY FRANCIS P. DUFFY CHAPLAIN, 165TH INFANTRY WITH AN HISTORICAL APPENDIX BY JOYCE KILMER NEW [Illustration: Decoration] YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY _Copyright, 1919, By George H. Doran Company_ _Printed in the United States of America_ TO THE MEMORY OF OUR DEAD THIS BOOK IS REVERENTLY DEDICATED PREFACE On one occasion, after having had to swallow an exceptionally large dose of complimentary eloquence, I stated that I was going to borrow a title for my book from my favorite philosopher, Mr. Dooley, and call it “Alone in Europe.” The title that has been given it sounds almost as egoistic as that; but there will be found in these pages other names than my own. Indeed, objection may be made from a literary point of view that the book bristles with names. I could not write my story otherwise. I knew these men, and what they did, and my only regret is that I have undoubtedly overlooked some, especially amongst replacements, whose names and deeds should be mentioned. Battles are not fought by commanding officers alone, not even by chaplains unaided; and the men who do the fighting usually get little personal credit for their valor. My chronicle claims no merit save that of being true. The only critics I had in mind while writing it were those who fought in France. If they say that the pictures are true, I am content. The diary style has been deliberately chosen because it permits the introduction of incidents, and also lends itself to the telling of a plain unvarnished tale. Every Regiment in a combat division has a similar story, if any one of its members has the knowledge and patience to tell it. “The Irish 69th” had naturally its own special flavor of race with the buoyant spirits, the military _élan_, and the religious ardor that mark the race. No picture of the regiment would be complete that did not give a generous place to this phase of its life. Happily, the Irish spirit has always managed to combine generous tolerance with its fervors. As a result, there are no more enthusiastic adherents of the Irish 69th than those of its members who did not share in the blood or the creed of the majority.