1897

Extract from letter by William H. Balch, Major, U. S. Army (Retired).

"In 1912 I received a letter from U. S. Secretary of State Bryan praising my work in Haiti. Besides being in jail there for a week, I got too close when they assassinated the President. So I lay down on the ground to avoid the bullets. Four of the assassins came past me - pointed their carbines at me and were about to shoot. Another of them said, 'No, that's the American.'

In 1916 I was Quartermaster Sergeant, M Company, 5th Infantry, U. S. Army in Texas. We had a 3-regiment Brigade. I built a sewer for them that ran into the Rio Grande River and got a Special Order from the U. S. Army. That's the first of my collection.

In '17 I was mixed up with the Dominican-Haiti row. The Christian Science Monitor printed an interview with me that pleased the Dominican Republic Government so much that it put me in solid there. I received from General Trujillo a large portrait with an inscription (in Spanish): 'To Mr. William H. Balch, the Good Friend of the Dominicans.' I was made a Caballero, Order de Duarte - their highest decoration.

In 1918 I received a Citation, signed by General Pershing, for Exceptional Service, American Expeditionary Force, France, U. S. Army. In 1919 I received a decoration from the French Army."

Secretary, Treasurer and BequestChairman, 114 State St., Bridgeport 3, Conn.