Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-04
AWARD Of MEDALS
TO D. c. HEROES
Of THE WORLD WAR
Secretary Baker Makes Ad-
dress at Presentation Exer-
CiSeS on Monument Lot.

With the Monument as a back
| ground, the great human flag" COM
posed of 5000 persons in the stand.
! the soldier recipients of medals and
thousands of spectators grouped on
the slope leading up TO the great
shaft, the spectacle of the medal pres
entation this morning was one of the
most thrilling ever seen in Washing
| ton.
| In presenting the medals to the
| company commanders for their men
| Secretary Baker said that, while the
| forefatherS of this country. whose eff
| forts and devotion made this great
| republic possible. could not be present
| in the body to greet the heroes of the
world war, he felt sure these found
ers OF America were there in spirit to
| see them honored.
Commanders Lineup for Medals.
Battalion commanders lined I'D in
front of the Secretary of Wars stand
to receive the medals in behalf OF
their men. The first battalion COM
| mander to receive medal was Brig
Gen. William E. Harvey. former com
mander of the District of Columbia
| National Guard.
| Others in the line ofo commanders
who received medals personally from
secretary Baker were Brig. Gen. Rich
ard ID. Simms, present commanding
officer of the District of Columbia ma
tional Guard. and Maj Leroy Heron,
who commanded one of the District
batteries of the 10th Field Artillery.
Vice President Marshall. represent
in b..
stand. with Commissioner Brownlow
and Gardner. members of the diplo-
| matte corps. judges of the District
lSupreme Court. senators and repre-
Isentatives.
Secretary Baker and officials of the
War Department occupied the stand
at the right of the Vice President.
Rear Admiral William S. Benson. rep
Presenting the Secretary of the Navy in
the left stand. presenting medals to
the sailors and marines.
Commissioner Brownlow Speaks.
From the center stand Commissioner
Brownlow addressed the entire group
of men.
1T is a great pleasure for me-" he
said. ito tell you on behalf of the
| 100000 Americans of the District OF
| Columbia how proud the city is of you
I men who answered your country's call.
| The medals which you are to receive
| today are intended as an expression
of their appreciation. and as long
you and your children have them they
will be a reminder of that apprecia-
/, ton"
/ The District of Columbia. as repre-
scented by her officials and people.
paid tribute to the soldiers. sailors
and marines who represented her in
the world war. The world war serv-
ice medals were presented to approx
mately 5000 men and women who had
registered for the medals.
] Practically all those who received
| the medals today were dressed in
their uniforms Marinettes and yeo-
men CD wore their distinctive uni
| forms.
| Presentation of the medals was ini-
tiated by Secretary Baker CT the War
Department. who did not. however.
personally pin the medals on the
breasts of the heroes. The men hon
ored were lined up in companies of
| hundred each. and the medals for
| each company were presented to des-
| ignated captains. These captains in
| turn pinned the medals on the men
and women.
A great crowd gathered early today
| on the north slope of the Monument
| grounds. where the exercises were
! held. Brig. Gen. Richard ID. Simms
1 commander of the u. c. y. c., was AT
the Ellipse with corps of lnarshals
! at $50 o'clock to form the men ir;o
| companies and battalions as they ar
| rived.
| AS soon as the units were formed
| they were marched. with the Marine
Band at their head. 20 the roped-on
| Enclosure at the foot OF the hill
which slopes down from the Monu-
| ment.
A., Human Flag Beautiful.
The spectacle of the human flag"
| Wed with the sight of the soldiers in
the eyes of the thousands of per-
| sons who witnessed the spectacle this
morning. Each person who entere.;
the stand wore a paper cap and
cape, red. white or blue, according &c
the portion of the stand in which
seated.
The result was vast America
flag. which was visible to all who
| attended the exercises. The who.e
was an animated, breathing Star
and surge in the American emblem
During the course of the exercises =
certain portion of those in the stand
removed, at a given signal. their red
caps and capes. revealing yellow
caps and capes in their stead. These
yellow clad ones were SO arranged
as to spell the word Peace" Hun
dreds of public school children took
part in the formation of the human
flag"
Following a concert by the Marin
. Band at 10 O'Clock. VOW CT scrvice
and citizenship was registered by
more than 100 young men ana women.
representing the states and terri
tories, one woman and enc man for
each. The idea was that of Secre-
tary Lane of the Interior, to encour-
age native-born Americans to be good
citizens by administering an oath OF
allegiance when they attain the az"
of twenty-oDe years. The pledge
taken follows:
II enter into American CITIZENSHIP
with this pledge. made before my Fellow
citizens. that the rights and power
given me By this country shall b.
so used that the people of Amc-is.,
shall the more perfectly enjoy th-
benefits of free institutions and in
creasingly present to the world The
strength and security which come
from a high regard for the rights OF
others"
Robert N. Harper was chairman o
the medal com nlittec. Ee and mem
beers OF the committee. with District
government officials, wee prominent
in the conduct OF the exercises TO-DAY.
which represented the cui;ni.,atior o
weeks of work on the part of tho
committee and of tho citizenship OF
the city generally.
:. p, -. 900