The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-07-11
"CAP'N WINK" COMES
BACK, ROTUND AS EVER
MEETS NUMBER OF CHAT.
TANooGANs ON BOARD.
Capt. Vincent Milligan, With
His M. P. Company, Helped
Make Army Democratic.

After an absence overseas OF nearly
a year and a half. Capt. Vincent Mil
ligan, better known to his friends as
"Cap'n Wink" returned home last
evening. stir round and jovial and
'dosgoned glad TO be back to the best
town In the u. s. A."
Capt. Wink reached America a few
days ago on the Leviathan. which did
its best to clean up all the remaining
troops overseas. other than those In
the army of occupation. The big ship
carried 1000 casual officers and 5000
men.
The officers were grouped in COM
pany formation. there being fifty-one
companies. one OF which Capt. Milf
gan commanded. On the Leviathan he
saw more Chattanoogans than he had
seen at one time overseas. With him
returning to the states were: Lieut..
Dunbar Newell who until recently was
the head OF base hospital on the ISL
son of Gen. Whitaker; Maj. Barnett. a
Chattanooga physician; Lieut.. Putnam,
formerly connected with the Mountain
City club; Lieut.. Harris, a Chattanooga
lawyer; Lieut.. Pope, who won fame a
few years ago as the sprightly quarter
back of the Chattanooga football team.
While the army was making the
world safe for democracy. Capt. Mill
gan was helping a bit to make the
army democratic. He had his own in
dividual way OF handling the men OF
his company at Chateau-Thierry.
through the Argonne and on the long
hike from France up to Andernach,
Germany. the destination of his M. p.
company of the Third division.
Capt. Milligan knew 1t was easier to
hike twenty miles with music thar ten
without, so on the long marches he
pulled out the inevitable mouth organ
and TO his leadership the soldiers
whistled the. marching strains. with
the result that they covered the long
distances easily, and Capt. Milligan
had a company OF soldiers that would
do anything for him. even though
they were "a bunch of regulars" and
supposed to be "hard-boiled."
Another matter of democracy with
his company was the matter of refus-
ing to take advantage of a mount on
the long hikes. AS an M. P. captain
he was a mounted officer, but he fig-
ured. what was good enough for his
men was good enough for him and he
invariably led the horse or turned II
over to a lame or distressed soldier
This earned the undying devotion OF
every man in the outflt.
Capt. Milligan went through the Sec
ond training camp at Fort Oglethorpe
and is one of the best known officers
in the service from Chattanooga. He
saw plenty of hard and rough serv-
ice. but, like most OF the soldiers, re-
fuses to discuss that. 1t is recalled.
however. that The News published a
dispatch from overseas some months
ago relating how Capt. Milligan opened
the roads leading to Montfaucon under
rather dramatic circumstances.
The cry of gas" had come down the
line. Drivers had taken to the dug
outs, the roads were blocked and traf-
f1c was in a jam. The drivers didn't
want to abandon the dugouts, fearing
the gas.
"1here is no, gas" yelled Milligan,
throwing away his gas mask.
The example was effective The
drivers opened up the traffic. but there
was some gas and Capt. Milligan
talked in whispers for some weeks,
the result of burns in the throat
Wink" Milligan is one of the four
sons of ]. r. Milligan who served in
the war-Maj. Con Milligan and Dana
Milligan, chief pharmacist mate, both
of whom are home, and Sherrod Mil
ligan, who has not yet been discharged
from the navy. Capt. Milligan Is vice
president of the Fidelity Abstract com
nnnV