Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1919-04-08
turned to New England.

| transport Agamemnon increased to
: $4,000 the number of Twenty sixth di-
vision troops returned to New Eng
land.
Enough welcome here for the entire
division exclaimed Colonel Douglas
Potts. commanding the 102d infantry
regiment To greet this unit, the l01st
machine gun battalion, a score of
delegations had come from Connecti-
cut.
The field and staff officers of the
101st field artillery regiment head
quarters of its first battalion and the
I headquarters company, Batteries A
and B were given a hearty greeting
from the other boats of the fleet which
went out TO meet the transport. Re
turn of the 103d infantry regiment was
completed with the arrival of Com
panies l. and NJ, members of which
claimed to have been in every scrap
worth while where there were Ameri-
can troops
Major General Clement \. +. F'lagler,
commanding the Forty second CRain-
bow division. said he was disappOint-
ed at the announcement that a parade
of the Rainbow division intact could
not be held.
Casual companies on the Agamem-
non brought her total to 5.Sf3 The
AgamemnOn, formerly the North Ger
man Lloyd liner Kaiser Wilhelm Ii,
finished her fourteenth trip as a trans
port
1t was tumultuous welcome which
she received as she came into the in
ner harbor, under escort of ten sub
marine chasers. Excursion boats car
rying folks from home swarmed about
her and the men in khaki focked to
the rails for a word and a look.
Governor Marcus f. Holcomb came
lfnnnGpffHt1f Nc hnnI IF q
state delegation. and practically every
city and many towns in that state sent
their mayors or leading citizens. with
wives, daughters and sweethearts of
the boys. President Arthur Y. Hadley
of Yale was there as q member of New
Haven's body Of greeters
Colegians from Yale and from
Trinity. With National guardsmen of
Connecticut, composed much of the
original personnel of the 101st machine
gun battalion, which came back ia
nous for it's feat in closing the gap in
the center of the St Mihiel salient.
Most of these boys expressed the wish
TO leave the service as soon as possible
TO resume their studies. while many
of their fellows were left behind as
students at French and British uni
versities.
Men who had won especial distinc-
tion were the rule, rather than the ex-
cepton, among the AGamemnon's pas
sengers. Major Charles w. Comfort a
medical officer of the 1920, returned as
one of the most decorated men in the
service. His honors wre gained in
four citations. which took the form OF
the Croix de Guerre, with palm, and
the Distinguished Service cross with
a bronze oak leaf At Seicheprey, af-
ter the battalion dressing station had
been put out of action, ajor Comfort
went up through the barrage and re-
established it. staying until the last
troops were evacuated In the famous
feint attack of the 1O2d at Marcheville
he continued to care for the wounded
after the Germans had surrounded the
battalion, and supervised the DISPOSE
tion of the wounded when a hole was
made in the Boche line.
A chaplain who went over the tor
with his men was recognized in tht
double decoration of the Distinguished
Service cross and the Croix de Guerre
with palm. awarded to Chaplain
Thomas G. Spears of Montclair y. j.
who was assigned to the 102d. From
other officers it was learned that, un-
through his own barrage, the doughty
parson carried TO safety Lieutenan
Boyd, who had been wounded in tht
first wave.
Rev. James H. Sherry of Boston, an
other chaplain of the 1929, returned
with record of having gone into ac
tion with his men every time the!
went over the top. For putting a Ger
man pillbox out of commission, Whicl
involved the killing of six Boch
grenadiers with one of their owl
grenades, Sergeant Earl Martin 0
Lowell, of l company, 1920, returne
with the Distinguished Service cross
The Yankee division troops VIII
came on the Agamemnon brought n
war brides. To date, out of aproxi
mately $4,000 Yankee division men ar
riving here, only one has brought bac
a wife, although several men fror
OUTSIDE New England have come hom
with wives.
Colonel Douglas Potts. a regula
army officer in command of the 102
infantry, of Connecticut, reported a
excellent trip without incident, excer
for a slight furry of influenza. II
expressed himself as favorable to
regimental parade in Connecticu
city, but said that almost to a man tn
non-New England members of tn
regiment did not care to delay thei
discharge for that purpose. A poll, h
said, showed only so Of these men i
his regiment and 120 on the ship VIII
wanted to stay in New England for
parade About 700 men in the regi
ment are from New England, princi
pally Connecticut, he said, out Of tn
present strength of 3,7S7 men and
officers.
Colonel Potts took command Of tn
regiment four months ago. succeedin
Hiking Hiram" Bearss of the marine
Machine Gun" Parker, however, com
manded the regiment for the create
part of it's active service. succeedin
Colonel E. L. Isbell, a Connecticut Na
tionsl guard officer, who took the OF
Ganization to France.
Colonel Potts would give no casualt
figures in the absence of exact DAT
on this point and would say litt
about the regiments war record be
cause his connection with it was so re
cent From officers and men, howeve
came stories Of the bitter fighting
Eyear ago at Seicheprey, where Il
Eregiment held up a German attack
horce after heavy losses. although Il
lGermans were made to suffer equal
EThey also told of the night pluns
Through the St. Mihiel salient to i
livery center at Vigneules, where the
Established connection with for"'
from the other side, SEWN; Un 4
ppcket. and captured the Gc ma. +
hundreds This manoeuvcr was rE'
cuted with surprisingly feW casualti'