The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-12-12
1874 TROOPS
WELCOMED BACK
In FOG AND RAIN
Fleet of Five Transports
Deposit Fighters and Other
Returning Units.
ONE HAS ONLY WOUNDED
Harold Vanderbilt and Joseph
Medill Patterson Among
Returning Heroes.

All that America means was Demon
strated in human, concrete fashion
throughout yesterday as the troop
ships crept through the sleety logs
during the morning and afternoon and
unloaded the lads who were bringing
home the bacon. Down the gang
planks amid much welcoming noise
carae commonplace American immor-
taiS such as Private julius Mandell OF
The Bronx, who was all smashed up
In the Argonne Forest on October 4.
followed by a lad In uniform named
Harold Vanderbilt of Manhattan, who
was followed in turn by High Private
Charlie Roeslin OF Jamaica with Lieut..
John ]. Schieffel.n, u. s. ", who sank
a U-boat all by himself on the night
of August 9. kicking the heels of the
man Just ahead OF him-somehody in
American olive drab whose last name
was Schmidt.
Private Schmidts first name prob
ably was Otto or Fritz or August
There was so much noise all over the
bay and rivers at the moment or his
arrival that nobody ever did get Private
Schmidts first name. But everybody
among the cheering crowds who waved
big and little flags while the rain
poured into the silver bells OF the loot
ing brass band instruments certainly
did hope that the tremendously Ameri-
can Schmidt boys front name was
something Ike Otto. .f.
Relatives Not at the Pier.
Private Schmidt had done a lot on a
July day in and near the wheat fields
surrounding Chateau Thierry. Per-
sistent efforts to find the names OF
Private Schmidt's parents in the Social
REGISTER last night were fruitless. But
on the same page OF SIS one came
across the name of William j. Schiefe-
lin, which happened to be the monaker
of the father Of the Johnny Schief1e-
lin who disembarked at pier OF the
White Star Line late yesterday after
noon almost arm in arm with Private
Schmidt
No relatives were out at the end OF
the pier to greet Private Schmidt. His
relatives couldn't get passes. Be that
as II may, neither was any relative
on the pier to greet Lieut.. Harold
Vanderbilt. The Vanderbilts couldn't
get pier passes when the Adriatic
came in. Reports from the rainy
outdoors said that far to the eastward,
on a damp corner OF West Twentieth
street and West street, the eminent
william j. Schieffelin, proud father OF
the Johnny Schieffelin. who as naval
aviator had sunk U-boat all by him
self by dropping a depth bomb onto
the undersea cootie, was dividing his
time between getting rain soaked and
peering ecstatically toward the tips Of
the masts and smokestacks of the
ship which he knew had brought his
boy back home again.
Could See Only the Masts.
None of the Schmidts or Vanderbilts
or Hoopers or O'Rourkes or Schief-
felins or Swensens or Cohens or Me-
ill-McCormick- Pattersons of Chicago
or Smiths Of America at large could
get onto the piers. And none of them.
wet as they were IN the driving rain
outside, kicked about it-so long as
they could see, Just above the roofs
of the Hoboken or the Chelsea piers
the foretoqs and stacks of the troop
ships aboard which they had been as
All OF which brings one back to the
elemental fact that America is Amer
lea still, despite the Bolsheviks and
Sim Feiners and other disgruntled
folk who were planning ''demonstra-
tons Of some sort or other against
something or other at the very mo-
ment that the Schmidt and Wander
bilt and Cohen and O'Rourke relatives
OF the boys who die real things in the
great war were standing in the rain
and mud beyond the barbed wire
fencsssof West street, with no rancor
in their hearts, said hearts being sc
overwhelmed with happiness that nc
room was left for a crouch.
Five big ships In all doomed out oi
the misty storm of the lower bay dur
Ing the daylight hours of yesterday
and were warped into Manhattan, Ho-
boken or Brooklyn piers amid the
shrieks OF sirens, the footing OF bras
bands stationed on pier heads, the
shrill young yells of the soldier boys
crowding the rails of the incomIne
ships, and the songs and nag waving,
OF the Red Cross girls, who scornet
the protecting roofs of the pier sheds
while they lined the stringpieces al
tho uncovered tips OF the piers so tina,
they might be rain soaked and very
happy.
Girls Join in the Song.
Hail, hail! The gangs all here" sans
the returning troops across the short
stretch of gray waters that separated
them from the dripping lines of Red
Cross girls awaiting them And the
brass bands took up the twentieth
century version OF the pirate choru.
music OF "Penzance." with the result
that excited Red Cross girls forgettinc