The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1918-12-21

l took my hat off, waved it frantically in the
air and danced around. The American sol
diers yelled and the French not knowing what
was taking place yelled along with them. 1t
was an intense moment and one of the biggest
moments that have lived, in a day which has
undoubtedly been one of the greatest expert
ences in all my life.
This incident reminds me of a very funny
episode. A number of American soldiers were
enthusiastically singing:
Hail, hail, the gangs all here;
What the hell do we care,
What the hell do we care,
Hail, hail, the gangs all here,
So what the hell do we care nowi"
The French, witnessing the wild enthusiasm
and spirit of the Americans and not under
standing the words, thought certainly that this
must be one of our patriotic songs. Some of
them came to attention, assuming the military
salute, others of them Joined in and the faces
of all wore an expression of admiration which
l am unable to describe. Finally, though ev-
erything was still in full swing, l decided to
go home, as I was wel1-nigh exhausted. I
could not sleep, but lay awake half the night
listening to the weird and jumbled sounds, to
the songs of the American and French soldiers
as they foated up from the streets.
have tried to tell you my Impressions of
the day, but l cannot convey a clear idea of
the real occasion. If l could live to an age old
er than that of the oldest man among us the
memories of the time could never be blotted
u L du oO happy liz dlClu tndI L nave
had the opportunity of entering the, service
and coming into this beautiful land among it's
wonderful people to share in the great work
being done here to redeem humanity from the
threatened rule of iron and blood. Thank Cod
the day has come when the world is free once
more and l hope for all times. My heart beats
fast with pride as | feel that the boys from all
over our country have done a full mans part
in the greatest fight for freedom that history
knows. To have participated in the work, to
have been present on French soil for the cele-
bration of this grand victory, is a blessing
vouchsafed to me for all times. To you all at
home who have been without me and have sac
rifced l turn with loving thoughts. My eyes
look across the seas and my heart beats fast
with the hope that soon will come the hour
when full speed ahead" will be sounded in
the engine room of one of our liners and that
l will be on deck where l shall stand shedding
tears because l love France, tears because l
am leaving, but joyous tears because l am
leaving her in her triumph, and above all JOY
Gus tears that l am soon again to be with those
so near and dear to me-. But | am some day
coming back to our beautiful France. I must
come back! I must see the little towns where
I lived in Alsace Lorraine again; I must see the
many friends who were so kind to me through
out that period in sympathy and attention. l
must return to the little hotel again in Mon
treux Chateau, where l slept, protected from
above, while eight of our brave soldiers were
blown to pieces by a shell from a long-range
gun. and 35 or 40 more seriously injured. They
WE'RE StttDlnS III q oAAiOoN
across the road. l want also to see the helds
which will be quite pretty then, but at that
time were torn to pieces by shells. l want 10
again stand under the same large tree where l
so often stood about the middle of the night,
watching the Boche ~aviators drop their bombs
on the half deserted small village and shoot
ing machine guns up and down the ROADS tne
terrible hum of the aeroplane motor beng the
only sound We could hear. | want to return
too, to Verdun; to walk leisurely through the
wonderful Citadel where we lived for a week
secure behind its protective walls; to see the
Cathedral and walk through the streets the
Roche shelled every day We were there. wish
also to visit the little dugout at P. c. GUYNE-
MER, lust about five miles north of ERDUN
which was our home for one month and where
we received our first taste of real war. Here
If was that shells first broke around me during
the dav, that so many German prisoners were
brought past each day. that we consumed SO
MANY cans of goldfish" and "corned willie.
that the Boche ~aviators tried their best TO
wreck our little home, but always falled. On
I must see this place again: the MANY hard-
ships. the terrible life-how perfectly it helps
round out a boys experience!
IA November IS.
Inst after writing what has preceded the
Colonel received a call from the Army anu
Navy officials and the Inter-Allied Maritime
Council. gathered in Paris, to come Immediately
to Paris to take part in a conference on the
new problems of sea transportation arising Out
of the signing of the Armistice. l was 10 ac-
| COMPANY MN 10 MAKE nOISS - anu w
and we had to hustle as it was necessary Tor
! me to get a good many papers together and we
had only two hours in which to catch our train:
We left at $50 P. NJ, our train being late, ana
reached Paris about $50 o'clock. We went I'M
mediately to the Hotel Meurice: the Colonel
met and talked with several friends, introduc-
ed me to them, including among others, Ao-
miral Benson, and after a few moment IN
view of the celebration taking place in PARIS
all matters were left for discussion until the
morning following. We then went into the
streets of Paris to become part of this Joyous
celebration. There was a marked difference IN
Paris, as compared to the time | saw 1t last.
On this night all lights were shining brightly,
all the blue covers having been lifted, and the
CITY was in full glory. The streets were liter
ally damned with people in frenzied eXultaton'
The celebration at Tours was marked with
some restraint, and although wildly enthusiast
tic. lacked the vivacity and magnitude of the
Partisan demonstration.
We first walked down the Rue de Rivoi to
the Place de la Concorde where thousands or
German large and small calibre guns were gain
cred on exhibition. There. thousands OF Amer
lean. French, English and other nationaltles'
soldiers and civilians, mixed in the excitement
&G18G