Evening journal., 1919-01-28
Christmas Day Wi h SCH Pioneers
Written by L. J. r. ShuItz. Sd Bat, 5sth Pioneers.

tho regiment present According 20 the
papers back home the 59th Pioneer In
fautry was completely annlhllated.
'Some OF the presents which will be
given have been secured through our
own efforts. Part Of the committee and
myself went TO get them We went 10
Metz 10 get these presents. We beat
the NJ. P's by lve seconds before they
put q ban on entering the city. We
had arrived and when the ban was put
on we were In.
"The work that you boys have been
doing has been very,very efficient, and
has been trying. You have made good
You had the nerve TO. do what you were
told to do. IL does not take as much
courage TO go over the top in the in
spirat.on OF the light as IL does TO
build a railroad a road or lay pipe un-
der shell fire with no means OF fight
/ ing back. We all have our part 10 do
in the fight snd we did our part we'll
We are all part Of II. The lighting
branch OF the army could not fight II
they could not obtain the necessary
ammunition and supplies.
There are a number Of men present
who have been soldiers with me for
a good while. This Is the third Xmas
we have been away from home. We
have answered duty's call. In 1915 we
were In Deming: in 1917 in the sunny
South where it never got cold: in 1918
we are in Sunny France where the sun
never shines. ! can promise you that
you will be home by next Christmas
But now is the trying time. We aye
thinking about going home, and our
minds are far from work, but we have
great reception coming, don't forget
Major LeFevre, commander Of the
battalion, was reviewed with cheers. lie
spoke as follows:
II want to wish all you men Merry,
Merry Christmas. And I thank all you
men Of this battalion for the work you
have done and the way you did it.
You did what you were ordered TO |
do and did IL we'll No higher praise |
can be given 10 a soldier II was hard |
10 do this work. and, as the colonel has |
told you, without the inspiration OF go |
ing over the top under fire OF shot and |
shell. am proud Of you, the colonel Is
proud Of you, and the people back
AAWNlf NAf NWu VI a.. as coI ~
cause want TO be in It tool.
Most OF the presents we have here
today are due 10 the people back home,
ana came from the 4. s. A. They came
through the organizations that the ?
home folks have supported; the Red
Cross. Y. NJ. C.. A., X. Of G. and Saliva
tlon Army. We-can feel deeply thankful
for the hearty sympathy and support
that the folks back home have given
us.
we must now be prepared for the
happy time when we go home. 60
home clesni Do nothing that will be a
dscredt TO you, TO the regiment or,
above all, TO the folks back home.
Go home clean. so that you can march
up the streets back home with your
heads up In the air.
"There is one man whom / wish to
especially mention for the work he has
done. It Is difilcult to make special
mention Of any one as there are so
many deserving mention, but the one
man ] wish 10 speak OF has been with
this battalion through the most dis
couraging difficulties and has labored
necessarily for us. Boys, three cheers
for Chaplain. Kelly. (Cheers).
ALSO ] wish TO say that we love
France. She has always been our ally
and friend. She helped save US In times
past and made it possible for us to
help save her In this war. Three cheers
for France. Cheers).
And now once again, and above all,
three cheers for the u. S. A. and the
folks back home. Cheers, big cheers).
Hearty cheers greeted the majors
reference to Chaplain Kelly. Father
Kelly is a Hoboken, N. j., product, and
Oined the regiment a few days before
{ lef1 Camp Dix, N. ]. AS the boys
ay, Hes little, but he's all man."
NTH true Irish spirit he meets ad-
'enture more than half way. He was
With the 3rd Battalion all the time It
vas working near the front travelling
rom company 10 company. II trans
was lacking, with his pack
n his back, he hiked. Father Kelly
vas chairman Of the entertainment
ommittee, and the smooth manner In
which the program moved was a re-
lection OF the spirit displayed IN all
Iis work.
Chaplain Harold Davis also addressed
o the men few words Of Christmas
erecting and an appreciation Of the
work Of Chaplain Kelly.
The entertainment committee was as
Chaplain Jos. NJ. Kelly chairman; Ii.
'yron R. Foster, 1t. Alexander J. Con-
on, It. Robert D. Simmons. 1t. D. Gal
agher, It. Jas. p. Brown, 1t. Augustus
\. Wick, 1t. Allan a. Lowe, 1t. John r.
ihultz, sgt. 2. T. w. Ersalle, SGT. S.
". Jackson, CPL Alfred Knight Set. S.
Ableman, Mus. A. A. Stille, pvt. Albert