Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-27

4
where selected troops from six divi-
sions were waiting to be reviewed
They were gathered In a field, which
might be likened geographically to
the battle field of Gettysburg. II
lies on gentle slope between two
elevations. with q range of hills or
either side and a road running along
the top of one of them.
Just as the caravan came up or
the crest overlooking the troops
a very old French woman standing
at the roadside waved frantically al
the passing cars to take in bouquet
OF MOWERS she wanted to give to Mrs
! wilson. The long line of cars hat
swept on, showering the dismayeo
old woman with mud, when the
President caught the situation and
stopping the line, sent a colonel back
through the mud to get the OLD
lady's flowers. Having taken them
in, the cars proceeded.
A temporary boardwalk had beer
built over the quagmire of the re-
viewing field to the stand and there
the President took his place, sur
rounded by General Pershing. Mrs
| Wilson, Rear Admiral Grayson
General Liggett, General Alexander
and General Hale, commanding the
26th Division.
General Pershing opened the
ceremony with a brief speech in
which he presented the victorious
army to the President.
Wilson Speaks Earnestly
The President addressed the
troops as MY fellow countrymen," "
and silence, which he characterized
as the quiet of peace, settled down
over the spot as every man of the
10000 stood at attention and strain
ed to catch the Presidents words
He spoke for about five minutes
earnestly and as loudly as he could
Probably half the troops heard him
They all seemed to recognize the his
toric significance of the occasion
There stood before them an Amer
ican President, the first in history
to review an American army on for
| eign soil.
Every man taking part in the re-
view had seen action. War crosses
were plentiful; the men had been
| through all and were veterans in
every sense of the word. There was
an unmistakable flash of wholesome
pride in the Presidents eye and a
catch in his throat as he looked at
them and remarked what a privi-
lege it would be to have been one
of them.
Plays American Melodies
The moment the President finish
ed speaking, the review was on
men, guns, horses, dogs, of the latter
a select assortment. The headquar-
ters' band began with q French air,
then switched to THE Stars and
Stripes Forever" The Suwanee
River" Maryland" and Dixie"
The notes of the American airs
were waited over the bleak fields
to the blue hills in the background
as the men began to move, march
ing in company front formation,
wheeling past the reviewing stand,
eyes right.
First came the men of the 9Th
Division, veterans of the Meuse and
Argonne offensives; then infantry
and machine guns of the 26th, vet
erans of the Chemin Des Danes,
Chateau Thierry and the Argonne.
The men of the 29th, also in the
Argonne offensive, were next. and a
composite battalion Of the 77th. De-
tachments of the S0th, who were in
the fighting at Verdun last Octo-
Der and detachmeints of the 82nd
followed. The review was brought
to an end by a long train of am
munition wagons, dragged through
the mire by the inevitable army
mule, who seemed to be the least in
terested of all, and a company of
fifteen whippet tanks.
Presents Division Emblem
At the close of the review GEN.
eral Alexander stepped up to the
stand and presented Mr.. Wilson with
one of the little silken statues of Lib
erty which the men of the 77th wear
on their shoulders to denote their
division.
The President and party then re-
entered the motorcars, going to
Christmas dinner with the officers
of the 26th Division, composed en-
tirely of New England troops. Din
ner was served in one of the empty
wards of an old French hospital
several miles away. 1t had been the
Presidents wish and plan to dine
with the troops themselves, but in
the crush of arrangements some
thing went wrong and the plan was
not carried out.
Dinner In Simple Fashion
The President seemed to enjoy the
dinner none the less. 1t consisted
of army bread without butter, roast
turkey with dressing, boiled onions,
French lettuce and coffee with
cream. All was served in the SIM
plest style and with the Httlest cere-
From dinner, the President went
on q tour of billets in the nearby
all of them on the |
road returning to Chaumont, and |
inspected personally several of the |
places where the men live with old |
French families, some of them in !
thatched huts.
Greatest Day of His Life
The resident told those about him |
that he had pared through the |
greatest day of his life.
The French though it was a great |
day for them, and the Americans
were sure 1t was not less great for
them. All the American troops in |
the vicinity who were not concerned |
in the review. were somewhere to !
see what was going on.
WARsHIPs GOING TO DENMARK
Copenhagen. Dec. 27.--The Ameri- |
can legation here was informed that |