Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-12-10
"HOME, SWEET HOME"
GREETS FIRST WOUNDED
Comforts Passengers Reached Port
Propped Up On Clutches;
Greeted by Red Cross

Greeted by Red Cross.
New York, Dec. io.--H sn honor pa
rade up Fifth Avenue Of al Pershlng
men were to be staged, perhaps no bcttc1
selection Of unit in the van could be
made than that Of 394 soldiers and IL
marines who arrived nero last night ON
the hospital ship Comfort.
She was the first real hospital ship to
bring back wounded men. Every one
who stood propped up on crutchcs on her
decks or Law on cot in her improvised ward
had lost a leg or an arm or been Otherwise
crippled. Most Of them had been drop
ped" by German shot or shell mofe than
once; many Of them three times.
HAD WON THEIR HOMECOMING.
They were remnants of American shock
trpops-boys who had been in the thick ot
Il many times, had hsd hospital care and
had gone back to square accounts with
the enemy.
When the Comfort was sent to France
70 take on wounded, Gen. Pershing per-
eonally sent word to the base hospital to
send to her the men who had won their
Christmas home reward without question
and who could be moved. OF the All
selected, 166 were nmbulatory cases
those who could move around on erutches
or canes-and 245 weFe elrctcher c2scs.
There were twenty mon from the RAIN
bow Division, several New York t.vs
among them. Some came from n 4. "
and some from Arizona, but Just \. ,
mattered not TO the army officers sNs' al
Cross nurses who went to the HCt SIN
pier Of the army to get them.
1t was not public reception they had,
but the very military part Of Il, IN which
officers so far forgot themselves ~ 10 take
off their hats and wave them At these
boys, made it more impressive than any
that mad gone before
NET MUCH RAD WEATHER
For days the arrival of the ship hsd
been awaited m Hoboken. She left St.
Nasaire November q, and 50 Was seva,-
teen days on her paesage. She put into
Ponta Deigada, Azores, for two dAys on
account Of bad weather After she left
there she plougned through SECS that were
higher than her bridge
The Comfort was formerly the Ward
liner Havana, and Was fitted out by the
navy as floating hospital for The Amer
can warships in European waters. After
The armistice was signed she WAS sent to
France to bring home wounded, She
can make more than twenty knots, but
weather and the nature Of her load
Ambulance had been lined up on the
Government pier TO transf CT the wounded
to hospitals The military band from
Camp Merritt had been brought down
for the greeting. Red Cross workers
with their white flags and red crosses,
lined up with army officers on the end of
the pier at twilight. when out Of the misty
darkness the masthead lights Of the Com
fort were seen coming up the North Rivu.
Then the red port light of the ship
cleaned and the band struck up Home,
Sweet Home"
suCB "R.rLBTRDs," THESE
Hardly had the music started when
FAINT cheers could be distinguished from
the ship'e de<k1. The Red Cross band
which vzs Also On hand, PLAYED 'Over
There" and the blue and white canou-
f'aged hun Of the Comfort was made out.
It Wa weirdly storm streaked. Then
the green deck lights that hospital ships
carry were turned on and men on crutches
could be seen leaning sll along the deck
rails. Some who had crawied ont OF their
bunks were in bathrobs. Others were
coatiess A fun uniform was seen only
occasionally
The Red Cross women workers plainly
showed emotion al sight OF these men in
such a dramatic homecoming. Several
of the women threw flowers on the deck.
But there were no teAr among these
heroes. They gave forth Whist sounded
like cowboy whoops. When the military
band played Smile, Smile, Smiler' they
shouted back, That's usr' One youth
on the promenade deck led the band by
swinging his crutch out in front Of him IS
he leaned on his one remaining leg against
8 stanchion.
'Are we downhesrtedY' one shouted
and there came choru. Of 'Nop'
KEPT ABOARD, so THEY WROTE.
There were cheers from the bows until
the last link Of their journey back to Amer
can soil was put IN place. That wa. the
gangplank. Then they learned that they
were not to be taken ashore last night
but were TO be kept on board and sent to
St. Mary's Hospital 10 Hobolen this
morning Ihst dampened their spirits
somewhat, and they SET about writing
kilograms and postal cards TO inform loved
ones that they were home again. Fo.
even Hoboken seemed ike home-and
this even to the boy from Montana.
Sergt. Ole Olsen of Montana, 23j In |
fantry, ID Division, Regulars, Who wae on |
the Comfort, said:
i have been soldier SIX years was
wounded three times. First they got me |
IN the left ann. ! got over that Then |
they picked me IN the right leg. ! board |
ed at hospital while and got over that. |
And I'm darned If they didn't 20 and |
get me In the left arm. It'e off. YOU see.
He sure did have designs % me, that Hun. -
Corporal Harry Perum Of the 18th |
Company of the Trenton IN J.) contin-
gent, whose left hand was shot away, said |
ms regiment relieved the famous Losi |
Battalion OF the Argonne.
GLORY" WEARS OF QUICKLY.
IF any soldiers come back and tell you |
they Ike TO be in the war, tel them they re |
talking through their hat" he said 1T |
sounds glorious al first TO be a soldier |
But sar II ,uears ~ When uoIr' re IN q 1