VI. BOCHE IN FULL FLIGHT 91 VII. BOMBED FROM THE AIR 108 VIII. IN HEROIC MOLD 121 IX. THE CHURCH OF RONCHERES 137 X. AT GRIPS WITH DEATH 157 XI. DRIVE TO THE VESLE 168 XII. IN DEATH VALLEY 184 XIII. STARS OF GRIM DRAMA 199 XIV. AMBULANCIERS TO FRONT 213 XV. A MARTIAL PANORAMA 227 XVI. IN THE ARGONNE 241 XVII. MILLION DOLLAR BARRAGE 251 XVIII. "AN ENVIABLE REPUTATION" 262 XIX. ENSANGUINED APREMONT 278 XX. TOWARD HUNLAND 291 ILLUSTRATIONS THE OFFICIAL ORDER DESIGNATING THE 28TH AS THE KEYSTONE DIVISION _Frontispiece_ PAGE FRANCE AT LAST! IRON DIVISION DEBARKING 22 INTO THE MAW OF BATTLE 186 BRIEFLY AT REST IN THE ARGONNE FOREST 248 CHAPTER I MEN OF IRON "You are not soldiers! You are men of iron!" Such was the tribute of an idolized general to the men of the Twenty-eighth Division, United States Army, after the division had won its spurs in a glorious, breath-taking fashion at the second battle of the Marne in July and August, 1918. The grizzled officer, his shrewd, keen eyes softened to genuine admiration for the deeds of the gallant men and with real sorrow for the fallen, uttered his simple praise to a little group of officers at a certain headquarters. It was too good to keep. It was repeated with a glow of pride to junior officers and swept through all ranks of the entire division in an incredibly short time. The gratified and delighted soldiery, already feeling the satisfaction of knowing their task had been well done, seized upon the words and became, to themselves and all who knew them, the "Iron Division." The words of praise have been attributed to General Pershing. Whether they actually emanated from him has not been clearly established. That they did come from a source high enough to make them authoritative there is no shadow of doubt. Furthermore, to make the approval wholly official and of record, there has come to the division from General Pershing a citation entitling every officer and enlisted man to wear on his left sleeve, just under the shoulder seam, a scarlet keystone, an unique distinction in the American Army. The citation called the Twenty-eighth a "Famous Red Fighting Division," but even this formal designation has not supplanted, in the minds of the soldiers, the name of "The Iron Division," which they regard as their especial pride. And, to make the record complete, scores of the officers and men throughout the division have been cited for gallantry and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by General Pershing, while others have won the French decoration, the Croix de Guerre.