and his year yeunger brether, whe trained and feught beside him fer nearly
feur years, has buried his kin and then frem a hespital wrete the parents
here (Salina) te break the sad news.

“As a man speaking te a man I must tell you plainly and directly--
Fred is dead,' Lieut. Charles Eberhardt, 22, wrete his father, Frank L. Eberhardt.
I write yeu because I cannot bear to tell mether what she must krww. I cannet —
tell yeu the date and place ef his death, but I cantell yeu that I was there and
that he was killed im actien leading his men in the way which has made hima
near-legend in eur regiment. He died instantly, frem anartillery shell fragment.
eo e e As yeu read this and Seel its hurt, think ef the ache I felt there en
the field ef battle. Only my respensibility te keep geing in erder te lead
my men kept me frem breaking under a strain which even befere Fred's death had
seeméd almest beyend human capacity te withstand. Te me, Fred was mere than
a brether, he was the best man I ever mew. |

"'Fred knew well that he might die and he was net afraid. Fred eeuld
have had ajeb with much less persenal risk. After his cenduct en Saipan
and subsequent deceratien he could have had mearly any jeb he desired. He
was even given a chance te return te the states, but he could net accept it
because ef his deep and sincere cenvictien that he must de all he could eut
heree :
"tall ef his actions were judged by their relatienship te his ewn
censcience, and that censcience was ne vague light, ne impetueus intuitien.
It was the ratienal judgment ef ene ef the mest sincere, imaginative and intell-
igent men whe ever lived. He feught in the fremt lines ef the marine corps
because he knew that semeene had te de it and that he ceuld de it. Therefere,
he weuld de it. He had enly leathing fer the rear echelen peeple whe deveted
their minds and abilities te saving their ew skins and te persenal gain.

"tAbeve all, he was cencerned with all mankind's suffering, and ignerance
and greed and malice, and he heped seme day te be a part of the educational
or administrative system which weuld werk teward eliminating these ills.
Meanwhile, he was deing the mest any mam can de in erder to vreserve the
pessibility ef working fer a better werld.

"'In the past menths we spent many leng nights talking, and feund that
after years ef identical envirenment and then educatiens in quite diverse
celleges we held almest exactly the same viewpeints. Fred's greatness se
far was°showmenly en battlefields, and the less ef that greatness is a less
whieh extends far beyend eur family. Knowing him as ne ene else knew him, I ask yeu
te be brave as he was brave and face the world fer which he feught with the same
hepe, the same visiems and the same devetien.'

"As an aftertheught and in a pestscript, Lt. Everhardt teld his father he
had been weunded in actien, was in the Mariana islands, and was receveringe
The Eberhardts have a third sen, Ensign Chris Eberhardt, 24, new back in the
states after assignments in the Seuth Pacific."

Marine Captain Fred Eberhardt's legibn ef friends can recall with pride
the werds ef ene whe said, "Only these are good te live whe are net afraid te
die." Certainly he knew this was his let, his respendibility, and his cheice.

Werd just arrived yesterday that Lt. Jehn J. "Jaek" Griffin, a fermer
student at the University ef Kansas, and an athlete ef much premise during
his seheel days, was killed en Iwo Jima. Jack was a fine friend ef Mit Allen,
Fred Pralle, and the gang, and this cemes as a sheck te his many friends.
Jack had a wenderful persenality.

A shert V-mail letter from Cpl. Jack “Jecke" Ballard, APO 263, New Yerk,
in which he says that he is ene ef the se-called "Blue Star Commandes" er
combat rear area pleugh jeckeys. He is im France. “We have eneugh werk te
keep us busy, but when we are eff we really play." Jack says he is preud ef

164.