Kelly of the Foreign Legion: Letters of Légionnaire Russell A. KellyKelly, Russell Anthony
History
Kelly of the Foreign Legion: Letters of Légionnaire Russell A. Kelly
Kelly, Russell Anthony
France. Armée. Légion étrangère; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
“Paris, January 15th. Official news reached the Lyon depot to-day
that Kenneth Weeks of Boston was killed on June 17th last year near
Givenchy.
“Official announcement also is made that John Earl Fike of Wooster,
Ohio, was killed the same day. The death of Henry Farnsworth,
another American in the Foreign Legion, reported on October 16th
last, is officially confirmed.”
On January 17th all the New York dailies contained the following cable:
“Paris, January 16th. Five Americans attached to the Foreign Legion,
whose names were included in the list of casualties at Givenchy on
June 17th, are now officially reported as having been killed in
action. They were Russell Kelly of New York, Harman Edwin Hall of
Chicago, John Earl Fike of Wooster, Ohio, and Kenneth Weeks and
Henry Farnsworth both of Boston.”
In view of the discrepancy between these despatches, as well as the fact
that seven months elapsed between the disappearance of Kelly and Fike
and the publication of these so-called official notices, doubt was
raised as to their authenticity, and the death of these two will not be
conceded until the facts are disclosed upon which the conclusion of
death is based. Besides, it is now known that the French War Office has
not transferred the two names to the official list of dead.
The uncertainty of his death has been increased in the case of Russell
Kelly, by information given by an English lady. She communicated with
his family, and stated that in September of 1915 she received a letter
from a relative in which he said he and two other English soldiers
together with a French soldier, had been in hiding since the middle of
the previous June, within the German lines, east of Souchez; and that
French peasants had supplied them with clothing and food. It stated that
the French soldier was an American named Kelly, and that he was badly
wounded in the head. The letter had been surreptitiously passed through
the lines.
The high character of the English lady, as well as many corroborating
circumstances, have convinced the family of Russell Kelly of the truth
of the statements; and there being no other American in the Foreign
Legion named Kelly, they believe it refers to him, and that he is still
alive.
An adjutant of the regiment sent word, in January, 1916, to Lyon, that
he had seen Russell Kelly and two other prisoners in Belgium. He
reported that Kelly had lost one of his legs and that he was careful not
to disclose his American citizenship. The circumstances connected with
this information show it to be consistent with the story of his being in
hiding the previous September.
These rumors appear to be true but they cannot be satisfactorily
verified.
It is known that the French prisoners in Belgium and northern France are
not allowed to communicate in any way with the outside world, although
prisoners in Germany are allowed to send and receive communications from
relatives and friends.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account