To the Voters of Milford:
I was pleased to learn that Thomas F. Malloy was going to be a candidate for Selectman at the next election, and I feel that I should let the public know certain facts about him that modesty will probably prevent him from telling you. I have known Thomas F. Malloy for about 15 years. He was a member of the original Company M of Milford in the National Guard in 1916. When the war broke out, I was in the same Company with him, which was Company M of the 104th Infantry, 26th Division, and it was this same 104th Infantry that received from the French Government the first decoration received by any American Infantry during the World War. We landed in France in September 1917, and the boys of our Company were engaged in every serious encounter that took place during that hectic series of campaigns that extended from February 1918 to November 1918. He was in the engagements at Ainse, Marne, Apremont, Seichprey, Chateau-Thierry, and the Meuse-Argonne.
I will never forget July 19, 1918, and what happened on that day is what has caused me to come forward and tell the people of Milford what kind of a man Thomas F. Malloy is. We were fighting in the front line trenches in the offensive at Chateau-Thierry on July 19 when a machine gun bullet wounded me in the left thigh, at about 3:15 p.m. and that wound disabled me so that I lay there in the battle area while the fight was raging during the night, We were at the tip of a triangle driving in and our two supporting flanks had not reached the advance that we had reached. There the fighting was raging all day and all night, and it was dangerous to move anywhere until our two supporting flanks came up. I was there on the ground from 3:15 in the afternoon until 9 the next morning, in a serious condition, without any medical attention, and realizing the danger that I was in, it was this same Thomas F. Malloy who took me up over his shoulder and carried me back about one mile. Most of the way he had to carry me through muddy, swampy soil with the water up to his hips, with the battle raging and being in extreme danger every minute of the time. While he was carrying me, he was hit by a bullet that had gone through his pack and mess kit and wounded his left shoulder, and in this condition he carried me back to our base where I could receive first aid. I was laid up in the hospital for months.
I know the heroic deed of Thomas F. Malloy saved my life, and I feel that the people of Milford should know this. I believe that Malloy's service to his country entitles him to consideration by the voters of this town. He was a soldier and a good one. For two years he was a patrolman on our streets and a good one. He has always lived in Milford and has always proven to be a good, clean cut, honest fellow, and I believe that if he was good enough to fight for his country, he ought to be good enough to be given a chance to sit as one of the members of our Board of Selectmen. I know that he has the right stuff in him. For what he has done in the past, I urge the people of Milford to support him.
Yours very truly,
THOMAS S. ECKLES
10 Thayer Street
Milford, Mass.
Tom won the election. Both Tom Malloy and Tommy Eckles later lived and worked in Hopedale. Eckles was a mailman and Malloy a police officer, and from 1943 to 1963, chief of police.
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