Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-09-17
The Evening Star Newspaper Company
The Spearhead of American Might.


When the call to arms was sounded
in April, 1917, and the American man
power was summoned for the war,
Germc-.-. pretended. possibly felt, a
contemptuous Indifference to the new
menace. She put her trust in sub
marines to keep the American Army at
q distance. Yet when the troops began
to arrive, when the 1st Division landed,
she realized that America was in ear
nest and determined to overcome the
obstacles strewn in the path of trans
ports. She fastened her plans for a
grand offensive against the allied lines.
She concentrated all her force for one
smashing blow, to be delivered before
our >"lightning trained Army" could
be landed and modified and brought
into action.
The speed America showed in war
preparation astonished the world and
stunned the enemy. The LIST Division
was followed by others and others, I'M
til when the battle in France was at it's
height the masses of our men taken
from the ranks of citizenship, hastily
but efficiently trained and prOvisioned
as no other army in Europe, filled the
gaps in the allied lines and gave the
weight of man power sufficient to turn
the tide.
Today the 1st Division of the Amer
lean expeditionary force marches in
grand review through the streets of the
capital 1t is a symbol of that great
Army that went overseas in record
time, the largest, longest transport of
fighting men ever undertaken in the
history of the world. These men have
been appropriately chosen for this cere-
mony. They were the first to 60, the
first to fight and the last of the combat
divisions to return. Their Homecoming
marks the end of the war, though peace
has not yet been formally proclaimed.
At their head rides the commander
in-chief, a man who represents the best
spirit of the American Army. chosen
on his record as a soldier and held at
fhe head of our forces from the De-
ginning to the end. Gen. Pershing has
been granted the highest military hon
ors which the country can bestow, be-
coming general of the armies Of the
United States for life. His immediate
escort is regiment of troops selected
from all the units of the American
forces, splendid organization, typical
Of American manhood.
These men are veterans of the fight.
Many Of those who march today have
been wounded and restored to duty.
Their parade is viewed by comrades
who suffered more severely and were
unable to return to the ranks. In the
soil of France lie the bodies of 209
officers and 1890 men who fell in the
fight.
This force that the people today
cheer so proudly have scored glo
rious record of achievement. They look
part in the most important engage
ments of the last phases of the war.
They made good in every fight They
hold the shot corner" in the Argonne,
where they broke the hinge of the
German line.
No praise is too high for the spirit
these men displayed in going through
deadly sea into strange land against
an enemy that had demonstrated an al
most irresistible force and marvellous
capacity for endurance. In all their
works and deeds they justified the
American confidence in them. They
proudly maintained the American
standards of manhood and honor Soon
they will return, through the expira
ton of their enlistment periods and
the rehabilitation of their unit, to
civil life or to the ranks of the Regu-
lar Army. The red 81" on their
shoulders may be removed, but they
will always be remembered as the men
Of the LIST Division, the spearhead of
the great lance that brought the enemy
"a %ha ro;nt of ,urropdor