The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1918-05-29
KEEP AMERICANS GRAVES
GREEN AS TRIBUTE TO ARMY'S VALOR
Palm Sunday Brings Out ThrOngs to Cemeteries and "Bus Is
Freely Scattered Over Resting Places of General PerSng
Heroes-CrOwds Bare Heads in Silent Honor
to Comrades in Arms.


them there was the name and Organi-
zaiion OF each of them and that was
enough.
Somehow seemed to have been ac-
'quanted with them for a long time
and | could almost picture how they
had looked when they landed over
here. So ! read the names OF them
all and placed my little piece of buis
upon the grave of one Arthur X. Peter
son of The -- Ambulance company.
Tribute to Americans.
Mile ThereSe decorated each OF the
others in the same silent way that l
had done For few moments no one
seemed to have anything TO say, and Il
deep silence prevailed until mademoi-
selle had decorated the last, saying as
she did So:
Les parvrcs gareons, lis sont venus
81 loins pour mourir." (rhe poor boys !;
they have come 50 far TO die).
"Mais lis ont finis de sounrier seux
la, cest leur pauvres meres que ie
pense, moi said Nine. Reveillon.
! (Their suIering-is over; it is of their
poor mothers tLat | am thinking).
When ! could trust myseIfato speak
! tried TO smile my appreciation OF
their generosity. and said:
But there are hundreds of your
PoiluS here"
"Ah, oui said monsieur, but we
are very fortunate in having them
here near us while these parents back
in America have not had the oppor-
itunity to even bid them goodby."
Their sorrow, their respect and their
sympathy We're profound and sincere
1t is beyond my capacity to describe it
further. Here were mothers mourning
the loss of other mothers whom they
had never seen, did not know, nor
would they eyef know. 1t was not so
much for the sons that lay buried
dherc but those that were left behind
to mourn All these women had
Inourucd the loss Of some kin since
1914 and their sympathy was genuine.
All Pause in Silence.
There We're otter persons in the
cemetery who had come to honor their
dead in the same way and as i looked
they all stopped and read "A nos
camarades les Americans" paused
nnd in silence gazed at the crosses and
passed on. !
This was Palm Sunday, but / had
forgotten that aud found myself be-
lieving 1t Memorial day back home |
We left the field and continued on to
the garden on the outskirts OF the
we sat in trout of the maisonnette
at one end Of the garden, mademoiSelle, !
through a sentence i'm Eng
fish, was suddenly interrupted by
volley of rifle fire. I
"Ecoutezl' Oisten) she said "Qu'est I
que e'est?' (what is thatD Another !
Volley and then another. No one I
stirred. A hugle note struck the air.
lie claron," said mademoiselle, and
again complete silence.
From far away it came, but in the
intense silence it was easily distin-
guishable, and when the last note had
died away mademoselle turned to me
and said; "Qu'est que cest?"
After a second found my voice and
was just about TO explain when
'Ecoutez :"
Another volley. followed by two
more. Again the cIairon. And again
said Quest que c'est?'
Final Sad Rites.
Well knew what it was, and before
could tell her in my mind | could
plainly see the open grave exposing
FOR the moment its contents tile FIR
ng squad with rifles pointed over the
opening: the corporal giving the words
Vt command. The final note of taps"
ldded The last touch of sadness TO the
picture and told mademoiselle as
)est could the meaning of it all. She
,as been working in a hospital since
he beginning OF the war, so she I'M
lerstood very readily.
Monsieur was at the other end of
he garden and had only stopped his
work just long enough to look up at
he firing. and, not understanding,
vent back TO his work Now he came
lp, declaring he was tired and did not
eel like doing any more work that
fternoon. Nine. Toliof insisted we
'isit her garden before we 90 home,
% we put up the chairs and left.