Nov. 17, 1932
GEN. GUY MOLONY was back in the fighting today, leading Honduran federal forces into the same region where he once led the rebels.
The famous soldier of fortune, who was in El Paso during the Pancho Villa troubles of 1916, offered his services to the government of Honduras to quell a post election uprising.
Here in El Paso his friends are certain he is in the field where the fighting is thickest.
Tracy Richardson, a noted soldier of fortune himself, now in El Paso, heard with Interest today of the exploits of his former buddy and commanding officer.
"Molony is as Irish as he can be," mused Richardson. He. is an honest-to-goodness soldier of fortune and a square-shooter. I saw him last in New Orleans. There he gave his blood in an effort to
save the life of our general In Honduras, Lee Christmas."
Back in the states Molony is a "colonel." In El Paso in 1916 he was a major with the U.S. artillery. In Honduras and Nicaragua in 1910-12 he was a "general.'' Now he has deserted his brewery in San
Pedro Sula and is a general again.
Richardson recalled the famous, fighter's Honduran campaign many years ago, when he was the mainstay in the anny of Gen. Lee Christmas.
Christmas had been an engineer on a banana train in Spanish Honduras. He went to New Orleans and organized an expedition to capture the country. Molony, a veteran of half a dozen wars and
uprisings, was induced to accompany him as "commander of the machine gun regiment."
On landing at the Central America destination, Molony found he was the whole regiment. There was one machine gun and one burro at his disposal.
Nevertheless, the expedition carried on. It was decided to take the city of La Ceiba, original scene of the present uprising.
Molony, his burro and machine gun, stormed the place. Molony was wounded twice.
"We were about to take La Ceiba,'' Molony said, "and we asked Gdn. Christmas for something to eat before the battle. He told us we'd get a good meal in La Ceiba if we captured it, and if we failed,
we would go hungry."
The town was taken.
During the hectic Honduran fighting, Richardson was a machine gunner with Molony.
The present adventure is one of-a long series in the life of the 46-year-old fighter. When still in his teens Molony shipped out of New Orleans to Capetown, South Africa, taking mules to the
British forces fighting the Boers.
He enlisted in a British outfit and was wounded in the thigh by a Boer sharpshooter.
At the age of 18 he was in the thick of the fighting In the Philippines during the Spanish American war. He served as police chief in Guatamala City following his Honduran expedition and returned to the United States in 1912.
Shortly afterward he enlisted in the United States artillery. Promotions came quickly. By the time of the Villa expedition to the border he was a major. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel during
the World war and saw service in France.
After the war Molony returned to New Orleans, and was chief of police there for three years. When he retired that city presented him with a check for $5000.
With this money Molony bougbt a home for his wife and their two children. Molony visited them there in October.
"Molony was heavy set." observed Richardson today. "I'll bet the old boy is getting fat now."
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