The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-12-23
AMERICANS NOT WELCOME
IN GERMAN LUXEMBOURG
Edmund Howe Writes Of the Advance
Of the United States Army
Toward the Rhine.

OF the United States Army
Toward the Rhine.
It. Edmund p. Howe, VINO is now in
Germany with the American army OF
occupation, has written The Banner
a letter which is printed below When
the 57th Pioneer regiment was broken
up. he was assibned to the 23d IT, S.
infantry
It took him several days to find his
way through the maze OF armies in
northern France TO his regiment and
he had many interesting experiences,
travelling along the front after the
regiment which was then in active
operation against the retreating
enemy
When be reached his assignment
he was among strangers but found
himself in one Of the regular army
regiments which has made a distin.
guished record in this war a few
days later. when the march toward the
Rhine started. III. Howe was made
battalion billettiag officer because he
could speak French and enough Ger
man to make himself understood.
When the army is on the march, 1t
is the duty of the bllletting officers to
go ahead to where the night is to be
spent and there arrange for quarters
for the men and horses. This was
easy in France and Belgium, but hard
er in Luxembourg and doubtless still
harder Ia Germany proper. Ii
Howes letter is as follows:
Somewhere in Luxembourg.
November 26, .l9lS
To the Evening Banner. "A have
been intending for long time 10 write
something for The paper, but we have
been on the move so much OF the time
thai it has been impossible have
slept in a different village for the past
twenty nights. but we are to stay in
this town for few days in order TO
rest up the men before entering Ger.
many
1t happens that this regiment Is in
one OF the divisions chosen to follow
the Germans back into their own
country and do occupation guard there
/ for a time We have marched
( through the northern part of France
across narrow strip of Belgium and
are now in Luxembourg, only about q
days march from the German border
/ Our anal destination is one OF the
German cities on the Rhine which VT
will occupy for time.
While marching through France and
Belgium we were met with the wild
est enthusiasm by the civilian popu
! latOn. We were close behind the re
firing Germans and entered many
towns only few hours after the Hun.
had gone The inhabitants Of thes,
towns were crazy with Joy as wei
they might be just after being re
leased from four years OF the crueles
sort OF domination
No matter TO whom the credit ma,
be given for winning the war; the peo
pie I'm the towns of northern France
and Belgium are all united in the be
lief that It was the Americans and the
! Americans alone. ] was billetted on,
night in little French town. Their
was an old man in the family who hat
fought in the war of 1870. All tn
evening he sat in his chair by the hr
and kept repeating in French, 9TH
| Americans drove' away the Germans
The Americans saved France. Tn
Americans are our liheratOrs." He re
peatcd those three sentences regular
ly every few minutes throughout IN
evening
In Belgium II was the same. W
marched into one Belgian city unde
big arch decorated with flowers an
an enormous sign which said In En-
llsh For our iibentors." Ever
house had flags in its windows Thes
fags We're mostly French Belgia
and American but here aud theI
was an English emblem The majo
ity of the L. S. flags We're made by th
people in the city, people who had III
7 proper spirit, but only a vague idea ,
l what the dag looked like. Many
the flags had about half a doze
n white circles instead of stars an
nearly an of them had the blue fe
g. only ON one side. Another commo
g error was to- have the stripes mpnit
vertically instead of horizontal
@ WVhave passed beyond the scen'
d Df amy such Joyous welcomes Luxei
k bourg Is a duohy with German spca
Is ing people. and. although it is su
e. posed to be neutral state. q appea
n. that the sympathios of the people "a
more than half German AS buttalii
hllettng officer. J have an excelle
Al opportunity To- come IN touch with 4
y people. and. as we approached q
. German border u Is much more d
D" ncult TO obtain hlllots for the men. aN
shelter for the horses For instan
's u This town the Germans had z
IL horses under cover and had gr,
TO difficulty In finding places for our
re horses The barns were locked
'y and I could not get i'm since this is
tc supposedly neutral country 1t Is d
n. permitted that we force an ontrar
in any building Il is very possil