The sun., 1919-09-06
"A. E. F.'S FIRST SHELL
FIRERS ARRIVE HERE
Artillerymen Proud Because a
German Bridge Was Shat
tered by Shot.
PERsHING's HORSE IN ALSO
Schnapps-Not Real Thing,
but a Dog-Is Among Mas.
cots on Troopships.

fired the first shell that American ar,Il.
the men Of Battery c. Sixth Field Ar.
tillery, who arrived yesterday on IN.
transport Zeppelin. but they are prouder
still of the fact that It was a direct blt
on their target, bridge behind the Ger.
man lines in Lorraine.
Sergeant Alexander L. Arch, ~ yeas
old, and VINO was q cabinetmaker for
the Singer Sewing Machine Company At
South Bend, Ind, before he became an
artilleryman, told the story YESTERDAY
after the transport docked at Hoboken
The battery spent a whole day and night
getting guns UP to the firing line, and
they were SO tired when the historic mo.
ment finally arrived that it meant little
or nothing to them, the sergeant said
| But finally, after struggling for twenty.
four hours through the mud they GOT
| the piece in position in a gun pit for.
merly occupied by a French field Gun,
the range was given and the sights were
adjusted.
"Then the French Major came over 70
where we WERE" Sergeant Arch SAD.
land told Capt I. r. McLendon to b.
gin firing and we fired the first shot al
| Ave minutes and ten seconds after
o'clock on the morning Of October a.
1917. We hit a bridge near Strasburg
in German territory and blew up tho
| German working party there, regular
bulls eye After that we fred contin.
uously for about two hours and then
we went to breakfast and 1t sure tasted
good"
Two Moro of Original Crew Arrive
Two other members Of the Original
| gun crew arrived on the Zeppelin with
Sergeant Arch They are Corporal Rob
ert F. Braley. 2S years old, Of 1915
Louis ]. Varady, 20 years old. Of IN
North Twenty-second street, East 81
Louis, Ill Braley was gunner and sst
| the sights for the first shot The rang
was $500 meters. Varady was No [
man, whose duty was to take the SHELF
from the caisson and hand them on 10
No. 3.
Capt. McLennon, who commanded Tn
battery when 1t fred the first shot, va.
invaded home after being wounded ID
the Argonne and the men returned undeI
command of Lieut.. Milton T. Noyea Q
Regular Army officer whose home Is h
| Washington. Fifty men of the origina
command got in yesterday as membsn
of the voyagers.
Other units on board the Zeppelin wer
headquarters of the First Field Artillerl
Brigade. headquarters and first battalloi
of the Fifth Field Artillery. headquarters
and first battalion Of the Sixth Field Az
tillery, First Division Headquarters
Troop and Second Field Hospital. Thir
A, Nal 90 alEO ram
on the transport TWO were the wiye
of army officers and two of naval OIL
GERS. Sixteen were English and kbt
one was Dutch and the others wen
French.
The mascots on board includst
Schnapps, a German police dog, N
property of Lieut.. A. ]. Verrault OF III
Sixth Field Artillery, and Bismarck
large tailless monkey with penohan
for throwing anything he finds lynn
about loose at whoever happens TO o
near. Mess kits were his favorlte mis-
sles and by the time the voyage wa
over he was on bad terms with most o
the soldiers on board except the men
bers of Battery c OF the Sixth, his own
ers. Two days out soldier at WHOM
no had thrown something hard ahI
heavy retaliated by throwing kniie
the monkey. which explains why bS
marck is minus tail.
, Gen. Mcintyre in Command.
Brig. Gen. August c. Mcintyre o
Chattanooga, commanding the First AT
til!ery Brigade, was troop commando q
board. He took the SiYty-third Arnl
lery overseas In 1918 and succeeded '
the command of the First Brigade wne
/, | that organization was on the alert wall
ing for the Germans to sign the peao
treaty.
A New York officer on the ship va
Lieut. J. Van B. Mitchell of ~ Yves
Tenth street, who served for yeiv an
half in the French army and FOR "
years under his own flag. He wears 81
French decorations.
The transport Freedom also docks
yesterday with the First Battalion OF -
Sixteenth Infantry, another First DIV
sion unit, under the command OF Cap
James Wheelin of Tuscon, Ariz, Wn
was with the men through their entr
service overseas, and TO whom wa
awarded the Croix de Guerre for con
: tinuing in action after he had bee
wounded in the Aisne-Marne engage
mont. Lieut.. Frederick T. Wilson 2
! Mamaroneck, n. Y, won the Croi1
Guerre and the d. 8. c. for gallanu
on the same occasion, also refusing
leave his men after he had beer wounds
+. w. Galley of Company A, Sixteen'
; Infantry, was taken prisoner by Ut
enemy on February s, 1918, when
patrol OF which he was member W.
overwhelmed by n larger German ps'rO
He was an inmate of twelve Geriha :.
military prisons and was finally sent .,
work on a farm near Darmstadt ~
guards there forgot" to tell him epou
the armistice and 1t was December %
, fore he finally escaped and MADE III
way back to his old command,
The Freedom brought also the usu.
quota of mascots, among them severa
police dogs. Some of the men on boar
said that the members of the A. f.
had taken so many police dogs out
Germany that the population was IL
clined 60 blame the prevalence OF crnn
there on the scarcity OF the animaA
Red Fox as n Mascot.
The battalion mascot was a red 10
! in charge Of Top Sergeant NJ. Hracken
Company b. The sergeant has the D,s
/, tinguished Service Cross the Medaiu
Mllitaire and the Crox de GuerIt
awarded TO him for tho capture oil H.
Germans in the Argonne and anoiHe
little incident connected with the ciea'
ing up of couple of German machlu
, nests. The sergeant was vague apo.
/, both matters, as he much preferred
talk about tho fox.
, The De Kalb brought the last unlu
/, of the First Division, with the eIcep
ton Of a few small organizations ON
had on board the Third Machine gu
Battalion complete and detachment
the First Sanitary Train, besides n.es ,
convalescent detachment. Private bgI
ley r. Chance OF Company - Inc
d. al If DuluR