Davis was very much surprised when he was recommended and received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for this good piece of work. His one regret seemed to be that he was unable to place the machine gun _hors de combat_. He declared that the reason for this was that his prisoners were not gentlemen, and he, therefore, could not trust them to stand quietly by while he was destroying one of the Kaiser's machine guns.
Many people have had things to say of the French Canadians in Canada and their reasons for not having enlisted more freely. I wish to set down what I observed of the 22nd French Canadian Battalion, which is the only complete French Canadian battalion at the front, although there are quite a number of French Canadians mixed among the English-speaking battalions.
The 22nd French Canadian Battalion was absolutely fearless, coming second to none for their bravery. A few days after the Canadians had captured Vimy Ridge, the 22nd Battalion was detailed to take up its position in the front line of our brigade frontage, my battalion being in support at that time. Both of these trenches had been captured from the Germans. The 22nd battalion sector of the line at that particular time was named the "Observation Trench." It ran in a serpentine manner down the eastern slope of the Ridge. The Ridge at this point dropped abruptly, and the trench was dug through chalk. The Germans must have worked very hard to dig it. Along the sides were quite a number of very deep dugouts. At about 7:30 P.M., just as it was commencing to get dark, we saw on the crest of the Ridge the 22nd ahead of us. The Huns were at that time about one mile away. Their artillery was still further back, yet with their powerful glasses they could see very well, and they must have seen the 22nd, because there immediately began a rain of shrapnel over them as they were going down the slope of the Ridge in single file. It took some time for the last of the boys to get under cover.
We could not help but admire them as they moved along, as cool as if on parade. None of them showed the least sign of fear or nervousness, although shells were dropping and bursting all around them. It was with a sigh of relief that we saw the last man go over the crest and get under cover of the trench. We were always sure of the 22nd's doing the right thing at the right time.