New-York tribune., 1918-12-10
Cheers and Sirens Chorus
Greetings to the Comfort
as 1t Reaches the Bav
1000 ON the Sierra
Returning Heroes Thrill
With Stories of Exploits
of Comrades, Not Selves


Comfort steamed slowly up the river
last night to dock with her cargo of
All wounded soldiers. The waiting
throngs at Pier 4, Hoboken, we're sill mt.
Suddenly the band stopped, there was q
unanimous sigh from the crowds and
the men on crutches. who lined the
decks of the ship, looked out on the
pier, gay with lights, girls and color.
Then the band played another piece and
from the top of his lungs every man
on the ship within hearing distance
sang "Hail, Hail. the Gangs All Here,
What the He'll Do We Care?"
And from what those wounded mon
had to say after the Comfort was tied
to her pier, the song typified just what
they felt. They had been there-some
of them had helped make ounces out
of the Kaiser's pet Prussian Guard
they had been wounded--lost a leg or
an arm, or maybe both-but they were
all back home again and they were
happy.
Talk With Home Folk
It was near to dusk when the Com
fort got to the Battery but river craft
spied her and started the welcome.
Humanity seemed to pour out of office
buildings, and the Battery wall was
mass of men and women cheering them
selves hoarse, though they could
scarcely get even the faintest glimpse
at the ship. Ferryboats stopped on their
course. The captains seemed to sense
the feelings of their passengers, for a
good many trains were missed. The
soldiers and commuters talked back and
forth across the waves.
The army band and a civilian band
on the army pier in Hoboken tried to
outrival each other in the welcome.
When the big boat was only speck in
the darkness down the river they
played piece after piece. But it was
Home, Sweet Home" that first struck
the ears of the returning heroes. Then,
as the big boat was warped into her
berth the livelier pieces came, and
there was a continuous clicking of
crutches waved over the deck rails.
"Where're you from?" shouted a Red
Cross girl to yelling, cheering, red
faced boy on the second deck.
"The 69th," he yelled, and there was
a cheer from the pier that echoed over
the river into Manhattan, it seemed
Dozen From "Old 69th"
He was one of twelve of the famous
New York "Fighting Irish" who came
back on the Comfort. 1t was hard to
get them to tell what they did, but
/ they were unanimous in explaining
that the Prussian Guards were Jokes
and that Father Duffy IS the greatest
man in the world outside of President
! Wilson. There were others from the
! 77th, 18th and 44th divisions.
Harry Sang, mere boy, whose home
! is at SO Bristol Street, Brooklyn, a pri-
vate in machine gun company of the
old Goth, swan the River OurcQ. That
in itself wasn't so much, but Sang had
just been wounded and swan more
than half mile with a fracture of the
skull and broken right leg. Then
when he got on the other side he
crawled another half a mile to the first
dressing station.
Simple Tale of Heroism
Sitting on the edge of his cot, he
told a story that he had promised him
self not to tell. But, as he said, he was
so glad to see somebody from dear old
New York that he was ready to die
with joy.
IL was trying TO tie q bandage
around my pals lead when we were
in the Chateau Thierry fighting, of
July 20, when | got command to go
ahead 1t seemed about a minute
later that there was an explosion and
| was down on the ground. Three ma
chine gun bullets were in my right leg
and there was great big shrapnel
hole in my head. But l wasn't urcon-
scious. l was too keyed up for that.
rolled down hill to the bank of the
River Ourcq, where I saw Sergeant
Sheppard, of Brewster, N. Y. Incident
ally he was the only man in our bat
TALON who wasn't either dead or
wounded. The only means of escape
was by swimming the river, and the
sergeant and | did it. With his helr
| got ashore ana reached the first
dressing station.
~ was having my wounds dressed
when the Germans began to throw gas
all around us. got some of it and
| was aiken to a duEout. Things got
hot here and | was shifted again, and
then was out all night in the rain
Finally | got to the Chateau Thierry
hospital, where | was operated on ant
| came out Q. K.
What Father Duffy Did
But now that I've started this story
Pm going to have something to say
, about Father Duffy. 'Frst-Line' Fathe,
Duffy they called him. He was always
encouraging everybody. and many the
cigarette he rolled. We didn't have
!, ready-made ones all the time.
ole was always active and he knew
10 fear. He carried stretchers ant
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