Skabewis

News From Indian Country © 2007

June 1, 1917

Belleau Woods, France

Marine Sergeant Frank “Moose” LaHaye was wondering in this momentary quiet, how an Odawa Indian from Upper Hamlin Lake, Michigan, ended up here in the French forest alone behind enemy lines. His brown skin was caked in dirt and gunpowder and his uniform was soaked through with sweat and splattered with the blood of his fallen friends. His ears were still ringing from the recent gun battle, but thankfully all he heard now was his own heartbeat and artillery in the distance.

Hunkered low against a tree, Moose couldn't help but think of how much this scene reminded him of deer hunting in the forests of Michigan, though now he was the prey and the Germans were the hunters. He gripped his Springfield 1903 rifle tighter, shaking his head at the irony as the sweat ran down his face.

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