The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1918-12-26
aNERi1 ass MOI WELCOME
n GERMAN LUXEMBOURG

fsiNAia tsDAN4Nn y tN@NEs = Flu sF ts~N
gn Germany vith The American ARM
~ Occupation. ha4 written The Banner
a letter which Is printed below whcr
the 5Tih Pioncer Regiment vas broker
zap. he Mas assigned 10 the 23d L $
Infantry
II took him several days 70 find bis
way through the mare 81 armies u
northern France 10 has regiment and
be had many interesting experiences
travelling along the front after the
regiment which was then in active
operation against the retrcaiing en-.
emy.
When he reached his assignment he
~as among strangers but found him
scif in one OF the Regular Army Reg.
inents which has made distinguished
record In this war. A few days later,
when the march toward the Rhine
started, Lieut. Howe was made battal-
zion billetting officer because he could
speak French and enough German TO
make himself understood
When the army is on the march. il
h. the duty Of the billeting officers TO
20 ahead 10 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
err in Luxembourg and doubtless still
harded in Germany proper, Lieut..
Howe's letters Is as follows:
Somewhere in Luxembourg.
November &c, 1918.
To the Evening Banner
have been intending for long
time to write something for the paper,
but we have been on the move so much
Of the time that it has been impossible.
! have slept in a different village for
che past twenty nights, but we are to
stay in this town for a few days in
order 10 rest up the men before enter
ing Germany.
II 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 time. We have marched through
che northern part Of France, across a
narrow strip of Belgium and are now
in Luxembourg, only about days
march from the German border Our
final destination is one Of the German
cities on the Rhine which we will oc-
cupy for time.
While marching through France and
Belgium we were met with the widest
enthusiasm by the civilian population.
We were close behind the retiring
Germans and entered many towns only
a few hours after the Huns had gone.
The inhabitants of these towns were
crazy with JOY as well they might be
just after being released from four
years Of the cruelest sort Of domina-
ton.
No matter to whom the credit may
be given for winning the war, the peo-
pie in the town of northern France
and Belgium are all united in the be
lief that ii was the Americans and the
Americans alone. | was billetted one
night in little French town. There
was an old man in the family who had
fought in the war of 1870. All tn
evening he sat in his chair by the fire
and kept repeating in French, "The
Americans drove away the Germans.
The Americans saved France The
Americans are our liberators" He re-
peated those three sentences regularly
every few minutes throughout the
evening.
In Belgium il was the same. We
marched into one Belgian city under /
dig arch decorated with flowers and an
enormous sign which said in English,
~For our liberators." Every house
had flags in its windows. These flags 1
we're mostly French, Belgian and
American, but here and there was an .
English emblem. The majority Of the .
". s. flags were made by the people .
in the city. people who had the proper
spirit bat only vague idea of what
the flag locked like Many Of the flags
had about half dozen white circles
instead Of stars and nearly all Of them
had the blue field only ON one side,
Another common error was to have
the stripes running vertically instead Of
We have passed beyond the scenes
of any such joyous welcomes. Luxem
borg is duchy with German speaking
people, and, although il is supposed TO
be q neutral state, ii appears that the
of the people are more
sha half German. As battalion bill
letting officer, have an excellent OPP
portnnity to come in touch with the
people. and. as we approached the
German border il is much more diff
iicult TO obtain billets for the men, and