Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-05-14
Dramatic Greeting
for City's Soldiers
Continued From Rage One

fOr Guys SOtdterS
Continued From PAGE One
through the little space left free at the
wings" of the curtain on the Market
street sidewalk.
Marched without Band
As though by prearrangemcut, to
heighten the dramatic effect, the troops
Of the Tooth came of the fcrryboats
without sound of drum or buglc. They
marched as silently as if they were
treading n camoufagcd road on their
way to the front. People standing near
the wings of the curtain could see n
bulky body of men in khaki forming on
Delaware avenue. SLOWLY moving up in
compact mass as more and more sol
diers filed out of the ferryhousc.
Mayor Smith ',ot his stand close to
where the two halves of the curtain
met. On the other side General Muir.
with his staff close bchind him. had
advanced to within touching distance
Of the curtain.
Behind him. in solid ranks, were
marshalcd the men of the 1Ogth.
Suddenly the two halves Of the cur
tain were drawn apart. and rhiladel-
phia and its hero sons stood face to
face.
Mayor Smith and General Muir each
advanced a pace and shook hands The
ranks of officers aud soldiers stood 81.
lent.
From tho thousands on the sidewalks
and in the windows Of buildings rose Il
burst of cheering. Flags were waved.
men pounded each other on the back.
women wiped their eyes and smiled.
The lO9th was home.
While the Poirc Band struck mp Il
lively air. Mayor Smith aud General
Muir shook hands. greeted each other
briefly, and stepped into n limousine
waiting nearby. With the Mayor and
General Muir rode Councilman IIctzrlI
and Major Edward IIoopcs tho gen
erals aide. They worc whirlcd NJ
Market street while the crowd rhccrcd
aud the troops stood at attention.
I09th Staf Led Way
Their" was another mighty rhccr
greeted the first troop that passed under
the welcome arch. The staff of the
109th led the way. the officers march
ing abreast and wearing their sidcarmS
Then came the Headquarters TrOop.
led by Captain Paul r. st. Clair. The
men Of the troop marched without arms.
wearing light marching equipment and
with their brown painted steel trench
helmcts-thc tin hats that guarded
their heads from shrapncl in many n
bloody fight-slung on their backS
The first troops under arms came
soon after. and again werc chccrcd from
sidewalks and windows. They were led
by Colonel W. r. Dunlap. commander
of the 109th. aud Lieutenant Colonel
Edward j. MCrhau. whose fighting roe %
ordS in the war came home ahead OF
them Both men fought out in the first
line with their soldiers both were tn,
heroes of notable exploits. The regi
mental chaplain. j. l.. y. Wolf. walkcd
abreast with them.
Then came tho boys in khaki. com
pany after company. rifles on should
crs, wearing almost as many wound
stripes as service stripes.
Wait for Comrades
The head of the line marched tC
Fourth street. where they waited for the
remaining sections of tho great trool
train bringing in tho 1O9th Infantry tc
arrive and form in line for the marcl
to their armorios.
The Old Guard of the State Fcnriblc
having greeted and for fcw blocks cs
cortcd tho 109th. gave place to th
Veteran Corps of the old First R"gi
ment
Under command of Colonel !. Camp
bell Gilmore and accompanied by it
own band the Veteran Corps of tn
famous organization met the veteran
of the 1O9th and took position in tn
lead.
. In an interval of waiting for follow
ing units to come up, Colonel Gilmore
of the Veteran Corps. left his com
mand and walked back to whore COlonC
! Dunlap and Lieutenant Colonel Mcchar
stood at the head of the column.
Though the significance of the actor
escaped the crowd. the meeting brtwscr
the commanders of the old regimen
and the new was second dramHti
moment in the Homecoming OF the lO9th
When word came up the line by mes
scngcr that the last of the 100th ha
taken its place in line Colonel Dunla
! Signalcd the buglcr. a sharp buglc not
rang down the line. and the colum
was in motion. while the cheering role
ahead of it.
The first units to arrive were the di
vision headquarters. headquarters troor
Fifty fifth Brigade Headquarters. 1O0t
Infantry Headquarters and the mcdicf
and ordnance dctachments and suppl
company of the Tooth Infantry, I3
men in all.
The second train came in twcnt
minutes after the first. On board wer
the Machine Gun Company of the 109t