WESTERN FRONT HERO

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 June 1940, Page 3

WESTERN FRONT HERO

SON OF FAMOUS JOCKEY. DRIVE IN NO-MAN’S LAND. An American citizen has come under shell fire on the Western Front. The son of a famous American-Irish jockey, he joined the American Red Cross Volunteers with the French Army last September. Frank O’Neill is his name, the same as his father’s, which is why they are known as Frank senior' and Frank junior. Frank senior won the Derby on Spion Kop in 1920.

Frank senior, who has been living in Paris for 32 years (he owns a cafe) got a letter recently. It came from the Western Front, written by Frank junior’s commanding officer and tells the full tale of America's non-fighting hero in the West. The letter reads: “Dear Mr O’Neill—l just want to drop you a few lines to say how proud I am of having a fellow like young Frank in my section.

“He certainly is a fine boy, and just the other day showed what he had in him by volunteering to do an act which he was not obliged to do at all. He had been stationed for the past weeks at an outpost and when I say outpost, I mean outpost. The other night there was a skirmish between patrols and four men were wounded. Frank was told to get his ambulance ready to evacuate them. He was ready in two minutes but not content with this Frank junior volunteered to drive out in no-man’s-land to get the four wounded.

’ “Now this isn’t his job. He could have waited safely fin his shelter for the stretcher-bearers to fetch them in. By volunteering he was able to save them an hour’s suffering—as you no doubt know that’s plenty.”