Boy saved San Benito’s founder

By LEO RODRIGUEZ
San Benito Historian

In the American National Cemetery at Romange, France, lies the body of Solomon Lerma, a Mexican boy, a native of the state of Zacatecas, Mexico, a derelict from the Villista army which attacked Matamoros, a hero who risked his life to save that of an American friend, Col. Sam Robertson, and who died in February, 1918, in a hospital in France after being twice wounded and gassed.

He was 15 years of age at the time of his death.

In March 27 of 1915, Solomon was one of Pancho Villa’s boy soldiers serving in General Pedro Lopez’s Calvary. They charged the earthworks at Matamoros, Mexico, which were defended by machine guns in the hands of foreign gunners, for the most part. German, English and Italian defenders of foreign interest, under the Carrancista flag, stood against the Villistas. General Lopez (at the time about 19 years of age himself) charged the earthworks with his boy Calvary and was repulsed.

The gunners were merciful as they aimed for the horses, only wounding the boy soldiers in the lower body and legs. Young Solomon, severely wounded, was found among the dead and wounded and taken across the Rio Grande River to Brownsville, Texas where locals were taxiing the wounded from the river to two makeshift hospitals. One was located in the Bestiero Building, the other in the Washington Theater. Little Solomon was treated by Dr. Renfro of the Red Cross.

Also treated was Lerma’s compadre, 12-year-old Juan Pernales, AKA the “Rabbit Soldier”. His story was told on the front page of the Brownsville Herald on April 5, 1915 in a story entitled, “Wounded Child Soldier Cries for A Rabbit.” It was Easter Day. Juan died later in the week.

Twelve-year-old Lerma was cared for, then discharged, to wander out into the brush country east of San Benito where he found work as a goat herder on a small goat “ranchito”.

In the summer of 1915, Lerma made the acquaintance of Col. Sam Robertson, famed founder of San Benito, who, at that time, was building an “automobile road” from San Benito to the Laguna Madre. Col. Robertson, and little Lerma became fast friends and soon, Robertson gained the little Mexican soldier’s affection as a father figure of sorts.

One afternoon, while driving through the brush county in his old Ford Model T, five bandits attacked Robertson. He took refuge in a clump of ebony bushes, and held his attackers at bay with his pistol and rifle fire. Little Solomon, herding goats nearby, heard the gunfire and crawled through the dense brush to investigate. He saw his friend’s “vieja”, Sam’s old Ford, and took in the situation, realizing the Colonel greatest need would be water and bullets. Crawling out of the brush, Lerma went to his employer’s “jacal”, retrieved a canteen of water, 40-50 cartridges, and gliding like a snake thru the jungle-like brush, ultimately returning to his friend. With plenty of water and ammunition, they were able to hold off the bandits until dark.

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