The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-04-07
ALL MEMPHIS
GREETS 115TH
WITH CHEERS
More Than One Hundred
Thousand Flank Line Of Pa
rade Over Down Town
Streets, All Decorated.
TOUCHING SCENES
AT UNION DEPOT
Relatives Greet Loved Ones
With Embraces and Tears.
Hope To BE Mustered Out |
in Week.


RETURN OF THE REGIMENT.
Rattle Of the kettle drums, thunder of
the bass,
Then the marching, measured thudding,
OF twelve hundred hob-nailed feet
Hurrah! the regiment is coming down
the street.
Full conscious Of the splendor of the
moment
The, starry banners stiffen in the
breeze.
The pulses of the waiting mothers
quicken,
There's a. trembling of the naughty
fathers knees.
A tumult rises !long the line of watch
erS,
The blaring horns are silenced by the
din,
With its noddng hats Of battered
Grim narratives of battles sternly writ
ten,
Are uttered by the flashing of their
eyes.
Their tanned cheeks tell of hard cam
paigning,
With nothing tween tam ana the
skies.
What wonder and glory is home
coming,
been done;
When the nations enemy is vanquished
And the records credit him with bat
ties won.
But the soldiers JOY is tinct with sad
ness,
For the comrades left in foreign lands.
And he thinks of rows of wooden
crosses,
And OF anguished mothers wringing
empty hands.
Never has any regiment reeslFea the
wealth Of attention that was heaped
aUpon the 1l5th fisld artillery by the
people Of Memphis and the adjacent
territory Sunday. More than 100000
people gave the home coming boys of
the old First Tennessee an ovation un-
eyampled in this city. Packed in a
solid concourse. the welcoming throngs
covered the sidewalks and the streets
from the Union depot on Calhoun ave-
nue. up Main sreet mile TO Poplar.
When the regiment, led by Col. Harry
S. Berry and his mounted staff, passed
along Main street in formation four
abreast 1t literally had to squeeze
through he crowd, which surged upon
the marchers from both sides in It's
eagerness to get the nearest possible
view.
Almost everybody in Memphis except
the mayor was in line to greet the
soldiers. Mr.. Monteverde is in Nash
vile on n poi zeal mission. The gen
eral assembH kadjourned last Friday
over to MondN Ii night, but the mayor
did not CONF ~ Memphis Sunday He
was SCHEDULED for the leading seat on
the reviewing stand as the official head
of the city, but did not appear.
Looked Every Inch Soldier.
The regiment made a gallant appear
ance as 1t passed along with rifle tips
cleaning in the sun and it's thousands
of feet thudding upon the pavement in
perfect time. The dust-colored steel
helmets and worn uniforms lent the
aggregation an exceedingly business
like appearances. suggesting the glory
1t won in the St Mlhiei sector. in the
Argonne forest and upon the plains Of
the Woevre
Men and women looked upon the
tanned, weather-beaten countenances
of those boys and knew that the d
months they had been away from home
under military discipline and in the
ordeal Of battle had added more thar
two to their years. Little children
waving tiny flags and looking on, won
dered at the grimness of those men
The turbulent sea of cheering spec.
tators the stalwart soldiery passing
through its tossing walls like the hosts
of Israel through the divided waters
Of the Red sea, the beating of tht
drums, the blaring of the horns, thI
flutter of million flags and the CLEAN
of endless bunting made a spectacle
grand and unforgettable.
But, after al, the meat Of the whole
affair, the ess, Nce, as it were, oc
Cured at the Union depot when thu
soldiers detrained and the Memphis
members of the unit were united viii
7 their loved ones.
Real Home Coming.
That was the real home coming a.
it always Is. The reunion with thei
home folks--their wives, their mothers
their fathers, their children, brothers
sisters and sweethearts-was to tn,
Memphians the really significant par
of the return. The remainder Of tn,
program was more or less in the day
work, a lot Of fuss, feathers and for
mality, to be good naturedly endured
Soldiers, good, husky soldiers, sucl
as make up the 115th field artil
lery, don't go in for heroics. The.
didn't feel when they arrived Sunda.
a bit like Richard the Lion Hearted
and Sir Galahad, but like good, depend
able workmen, who have just finishet
q dreary, drudging and dangerous job
Rfter two years of drills and order
.tnd reveilles at $50 am, 79 days o
ms, high explosive shells and fighting