VERNON CROSSEN was born in. He was a son of J. W . Crossen, now living at Confidence, Tuolumne County, California. His mother died in Oakland, California, in 1902. Vernon spent his early life in La Grande, but in 1903 he moved with his parents to Goldfield, Nevada, and from that time on until the date of his enlistment, made Nevada his home. Most of the time he was in the employ of his father, following the lure of prospecting and mining, at which he proved himself an expert. A host of friends remember and admire him for the strength of char- acter and manhood which he always displayed. When the war broke out, Vernon’s home was’ in Winnemucca, Humboldt County. He was one of the first intrepid Nevada lads to volunteer his services to the Nation, choosing for his place of service the United States Marine Corps (July 6th, 1917). His assignment was to Company E, 5th Regiment of Marines, one of the two Marine regiments in the 2d Division.

The first unit of the 5th Regiment landed in France on June 27th, 1917; by July 3d the whole force was ashore and under canvass. On September 24-25 the part of the regiment available for training was in the Bourmont area, and the part which had been left along the line of communication, arrived later. Then the 6th Regiment joined them on the heels of the 6th Machine Gun Battalion, and by February 1 0th, 1918, the 4th (Marine) Brigade was intact. During the night of March 16-17, the brigade entered the front line with head- quarters at Toulon. The brigade remained on the Verdun front until May 14th, when it proceeded to an area around Vitry-le-Francois for open warfare training, but the location proved unfit, and the unit went on to Gisors-Chaumont-en-Vixen. Almost immediately thereafter sudden orders came to move to the Chateau-Thierry front. From May 31st until June 5th the 2d Division played a leading part in the Aisne Defense, stopping the German rush near the Marne; then they in turn assumed the offensive, and captured Hill 142 and Bouresches (June 6th) Belleau Wood (June 26th), and V aux (July 1 st). During the fighting the 2d suffered 9,063 casualties, of which 4,677 were Marines. Soon after this (June 20th) the name “Bois de Belleau” was changed by the French to “Bois de la Brigade de Marine.”

Next came the Aisne-Marne Offensive, beginning July 18th. “The 2d Division.” wrote General Pershing, “took Beaurepaire Farm and Vierzy in a very rapid advance, and reached a position in front of Tigny at the end of the second day. . . . It was relieved on the 19th by a French Division. . . . Due to the magnificent dash and power displayed on the field of Soissons by our First and Second Divisions the tide of war was definitely turned in favor of the allies.” Between August 8th-18th, the Marine Brigade occupied the sub-sector at Mar- bache on the Moselle River; it then moved to the Toul sector until September 2d, undergoing intensive training. From September 12th-16th, it took part in the St. Mihiel offensive as a part of the 2d Division. The next great offensive in which the 2d Division served was the battle for Mont Blanc October 3d-9th. On the night of October 30-31, the 2d Division moved forward to play its part in the great Meuse-Argonne Offensive. It jumped off on the morning of November 1st, following a terrific barrage, just south of Landres-et-St. George near the Meuse River. The division advanced 9 kilometers the first day “destroying the last strong- hold on the Hindenburg Line,” seized the enemy’s line of defense southeast of Vaux- en-Dieulet on the night of November 2-3, and during the night of November 4-5 “occupied Beaumont and Letanne and threw the enemy on its front across the Meuse.”

This was the action in which Sergeant Vernon Crossen fell, November 4th, 1918. So heroically had he conducted himself that he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, which was afterward sent to his father. The citation accompanying it recites: “While Sergeant Crossen was forming an attack, a shell hit in the midst of his platoon. Disregarding the heavy counter barrage, he reorganized his command and led them in the attack, continuing for three days, when he was killed.” The brave Marine left to mourn his loss, his father, J. W . Crossen of Confidence, Tuolumne County, California; a brother, Bryan Crossen, of the same place, who had also been in the Service, a step-mother, Mrs. J. W . Crossen, to whom he was deeply attached, and a host of friends in Nevada. But perhaps none felt his loss more keenly than did his fiancée, Miss Maude Hill, of San Francisco. During the war she dedicated a poem to the sergeant called ” My American Marine.” He now lies in the cemetery at Beaumont, near the Meuse, with other heroes who fell in the last great battle of the war. His name and deeds stand out boldly in the brilliant annals of Nevada’s fighting men.