Lawrence Scanlan of Cedarhurst, Long Island, was studying electrical
engineering at the outbreak of the war; RUSSELL KELLY of New York was
a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute. Both abandoned their
studies to join the Legion and were placed in the so-called American
squad. John Earl Fisk, known to the Legion as "John Smith", was still
another member of the squad; his previous career had included
gold-seeking in Alaska, soldiering in the Mexican and Chilean
revolutions, and also serving in the United States army at home
and in the Philippines. All these three were reported missing immediately
after the Souchez affair on June 16 and 17, 1915; Scanlan, after lying wounded
for fifty-six hours on the battlefield, was rescued by a stretcher-bearer,
but Fisk and KELLY were never to be heard from.
~~ Alice S. Weeks, Greater Love Hath No Man (Boston: Bruce, Humprhies, Inc., 1939).
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Special to the New York Times
BOSTON, Jan. 16 (1916) -- Russell A. Kelly, son of James E Kelly of 45 Boradway, this city,
enlisted in the Foreign Legion of the French Army in November, 1914. He was 22 years old. The Legion has been in many important actions on the French front, from the battle of the Marne onward.
Kelly had distinguished himself in most of them, and wrote home breezy and interesting accounts of his adventures.
A few months ago he was reported missing, and it was believed that he had been captured by the Germans.
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