Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-02-01
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PHILADELPHIA
\. SOLDIERS HOME
Major James G. Ridder
4 Among the Returning
Fighters
LIEUT.. BALDI ARRIVES
Captain Godfrey and Lieut..
Pearce Here After Valiant
Service in France
LIEUT.. BALDI ARRIVES

Thirteen more Pennsylvanians, in
cluding eleven from Philadelphia. have
arrived home from overseas service. All
but two of these reached New York
on the White star liner Adriatic, which
doolSed last night They came to this
city today.
The returning soldiers are:
Major James q. Rider. banker, 115
:. South Fourth street
Captain william $. Godfrey. 2iS
Bourse Building.
Lieutenant Davis y. Pearce, Ardmore.
Lieutenant G. r. Westing, 1915 Wal
nut street.
Lieutenant Robert Mcdowell Lukens.
Lieutenant Frederick &. Bald.
Corporal James VI. Boyle, 24l4 Bolton
street.
Corporal Paul Chopper. 1891 Chestnut
street.
Private william Schumacher, "a West
Stella street.
Private Biagio Bsrtholmei. 7o3 Mont
rose street
Private william Siivermau, 1910
North Thirty second street.
Lieutenant &. B. Dowd, Reading, Pa.
Corporal Earl II. Common, Carlisle.
Pa.
All the men except Lieutenant Baldi
and Lieutenant Lukens returned on the
Adriatic.
Stirring Experiences
The returning soldiers are in good
health Many of them have been through
stirring experiences during their service
with the armies of the Allies,
Lieutenant Bsldi, who is a son of
Chevalier G. c. A. Bald. returns after
service with the British medical forces
in Belgium. He frequently was under
fire in the regions about Ypres. but
escaped wounds. Two brothers of Lieu
tenant Baldi still are in France All
enlisted upon the declaration of war.
Lieutenant Lukens. who returns after
eighteen months service, was first posted
in the trenches as reglmental surgeon
IN the British army. Later he was
assigned to service with the Fortysev-
enth British Field Artillery Corps at
Cambria Then he was transferred to
the Red Cross hospital in Paris with
the American forces.
Lieutenant Lukens was graduated
from jefferson Medical College, class of
1912. lie comes home bringing high
praise for the manner in which Phila-
delphia soldiers conducted themselves
through the war. Regarding the Ameri-
can soldier in general, Lieutenant Lu-
kens said: "No soldier at the front
could equal them when 1t came to fight
ing"
Major Rider, who is associated in the
bond business with A. B. Leach & Co.
at the South Fourth street address, has
been In France for fourteen months.
Part of this time he served as an aide
Oh the staff of General Pershing. + He
had unstinted praise for the work done
by Major DOlier, OF this city. Major
D'Olier Is associated with Franklin
DOlier & Co., cotton yarns, Chestnut at
Third street. He organized the salvage
plan of the American army in 1917.
To-day" said Major Rider, "it is one
of the most important branches of the
American service"
Served in Argonne
Captain Godfrey and Lieutenant
Pearce were attached to the Chemical
Warfare Service. The former was as
sociated with the Thirty-second and the
latter with the Fiftieth Corps of this
branch. After seven weeks instruction
at Chaumont these officers saw service
in the Arsonne region. The corps was
formed year ago
Captain Westng fought with the
Fifty-ffth Royal Flying Squad of the
=,
took part in the first reprisal raid Or
ganized by the British. At an altitude
of $4,000 feet his squadron flew over
Mannheim. This was a distance of 162
miles, I" he said. half dozen of our
men were attacked by twenty-four Ger
man Albatrosses. Another Brtisher
and myself were brought down and /
was hit by an antiaircraft gun bullet.
volplaned and on the waE down nut
a boche out of business. was in a
prison camp where food and conditions
were terrible. When the armistice was
signed ! was sent home with other
Britishers.
Corporals Boyle and Common taught
rifle shooting and coached 1000 men a
week In the use of firearms
Corporal Clopper was shot in the lungs
at Fismes. He recovered and later was
In the thick of fighting In the Argonne
sector.
Private Bartholmel's right arm was
shattered by a machine-gun bullet in
the Ypres district. This was on Octo-
ber Fl. He was at the time connected
with Company III. l45th Infantry