“Just my fate,” he told me one day. “If I
didn’t have bad luck, why I wouldn’t have any luck at all.”
On the morning of my fourth day in the
trenches, I was called into General Merritt’s office at the Cavite
naval yard.
“Mr. Battles, I understand you have been
taking part in the fighting with the First Colorado Volunteers,” he
said, sitting behind a cluttered desk.
I was expecting to be reprimanded because I
was a civilian, but I was in for a surprise.
“I applaud you for your unselfish
patriotism,” he said.
“It was less about patriotism than it was
about surviving,” I said.
“Well, nevertheless, your efforts are
appreciated. Major Lang has informed me of your skills with a rifle
and as a leader of men.”
“Major Lang is gilding the lily a bit,” I
said.
“I doubt that,” Merri
