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Another Pulaski war heroIn 1918 Aitierica entered World War I, and Pulaski County furnished 450 of her sons, who were sent to Europe to fight to make the world safe for democracy. The enemy in that struggle was Germany, and with a brave, young group of soldiers our country came out the victor. As Judge John S. Draper wrote in his 1939 history of Pulaski County, “The county was well represented in World War I as well as all wars and skirmishes we have fought.in ” _■*In the history of Pulaski Gounty, one family name has stood out when the military leaders were mentioned, and that is the name Bosang. When the call to battle came in 1918, one of the outstanding units in Pulaski was a company of National Guards led by J. G. Bosang, a local. lumber dealer. On March 25, 1918, Busang's Company left for Alleghany on the C, O. Railroad, where the men engaged in guard duty for several months. -They then joined their regi-( ment at Roanoke, where they picked up several other recruits from Pulaski County, and became known as Co. L., Second1 Virginia Infantry. They were than transferred to Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala. At this camp, Bosang’s Company L was consolidated with Company M of Radford, becoming the 116th U.VS. Infantry, 29th Division.Most of the men in the 116th U.S. Infantry were sent overseas in April of 1918, sailing to St. Nazaire, France, on the Matsonia. The 29th Division was engaged on three fronts, Haute Alsace, St. Mihiel, and the Mense-Argonne.It was at the Argonne that many of America's great heroes of World War I fought. One in particular was Roy Hall of Pulaski, described by historians as one of the greatest unsung heroes of World War I. I’m sure the heroics of Hall were well publicized at the time, but I have read only one article in locaT papers about this Pulaski County war hero.Just six days before the Armistice was signed the Germans were making a last stand, and machine guns located in a concrete bunker were causing devastating harm to the American troops. Sergeant Roy Hall and a private serving under him devised a plan to silencC the machine guns. The plan was to work their way around, to the rear of the bunker and toss in grenades.The two men courageously 0 crawled forward,LloydMathetvskeeping their bodies low in a slight depression in the ground. But there were too many bullets in the air. Both men were wounded. The private could go no farther. Hall was shot through his lung, and even though blood flowed from his mouth, the brave Pulaskian continued to move until he was at the rear of the bunker. Rising up, he tossed two hand grenades toward the guns, knocking out the guns and gunners. Six survivors staggered out of the bunker- with hands , held high. With themachine gun nest silenced,0 the American troops advanced.For this heroic act while under heavy enemy fire, and though critically wounded Sergeant Roy Hall was awarded two medals, the American Silver Star and the French Croix de guerre.Roy Hall was in the hospital six weeks after his daring feat, returning to his division in June of 1919. He was discharged, along with other members of the 116th Infantry on June 20 of that year at Camp Lee, Va.Like all real heroes, Roy Hjall did not like to talk about the daring destruction of that machine gun nest. One person told me that whenever anyone would ask him to tell about the feat, if Mr.. Temple Painter was in the group, Roy would say, “You telj them, Temple, you tell it better than I do”** .From what I've heard and read about Roy Hall,he yras every bit as great a baseball player as he was a warrior. „I've been told that besides playing professional ball, he was a member of local semi-pro teams, where he was always £ star player. He was one of the stalwarts on T. J. Whllner’s Virginia Maid teams back when they were always ready to take on all comers with such players as Peck Baxter, Gannett Moore, Kinky Darnell and Hatfield McCroskey. On top of his other interests, Hall was once a police officer, and later in life, the operator of a Streetcar Diner on East Main Street.He is remembered for all of these things, but first and foremost Roy Hall should be remembered as a gallant defender of the United Statesof America. ‘ . 1♦ -■ . - . • • . # . ■ «i• 1 1 ■ # ♦ r 4r# . * 1 . . |- lt;4Lloyd Mathews is a retired land surveyor and a historian who lives in Pulaski with his wife.
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Other Publications Near ,
The Pulaski News
Pulaski Times Journal
Pulaski News Review
Pulaski Staunton News Leader
Pulaski Southwest Times
