The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-02-28
WHEN THE BOYS COME HOME
BY Harold Norman Denny, Infantry
Sergeant, u. S. A, in Golfers
Weekly.

Sergeant, u. S. A, in Golfers
Weekly.
Our glorious adventure oversee has
ended with the winning of the war
Transports are streaming back across
the Atlantic carrying the first lucky
Mpnits of the American Expeditionary
Forces to return home. Many of the
combat troops are still here in Eu-
rope, and many of us must stay for
months yet. But. after all, it will not
be SO very long until we will be on
the beloved streets of our own home
towns.
We are thinking of little these days
but of that longed-for westward jour-
ney and our Homecoming. At night
we lie in our blankets and try to pic
ture the old town and our mothers
and fathers and all those others we
are so eager to be with again. We
wonder how much our parents hair
has grayed; whether anxiety has put
new lines in their faces; how much
our brothers and sisters have grown
since we saw them last; how voices
we have not heard for so long will
oOuAAO--~OH1 line
these are In our minds.
And just as intensely, / fancy, must
those whom we left be wondering
Row we shall look and act and talk,
and whether war has brought about
fundamental changes-for better or
for worse-in our minds and charac-
ters.
Yes it has changed u.s.
You in the states will not see it the
first day or the first month; perhaps
You will never be made aware of the
deeper effects of the indescribable
events in which we have had part The
changes are not on the surface. Per-
haps you will see lines in our faces;
perhaps there will be different ex-
preston in our eyes; you may find a
few gray hairs over our ears But
you will be surprised. | think, at how
much we are specifically the same
aen and boys you watched march
away.
This article would almost write it
self If the changes stood out boldly
and could be catalogued in one-two-
three order. But they are elusive and
subtle-and vital. But of two things
| am sure: The Americans who fought
IN France have learned how to live as
well as how to die They are coming
back much better men.
K offend with too frequent en-
spIoyment of the first personal pro-
noun. accept as explanation the fact
that | am writing only the things I
have felt and observed in myself and
my comrades on five great battle
fronts.
American Patriots
We shall never by cynical again, we
survivors of the combatant forces. If
we gained nothing else from our ad-
venture, we gained faith in human
ity we never knew before. We have
seen men whom we never had believ,
ed capable of anything noble or brave
go forward unfiinchingly and die
with laugh. We saw suffering men
refuse aid until men worse wounded
than they were attended. 1t was not
the exceptional man who did these
things. There were few men who did
not show themselves capable of deeds
we had thought could be performed
cnly by exceptional heroes: indeed
the exceptional man was the man who
failed. Sometimes it seemed to us
cowardice did not exist and all mer
were brave.
- One of the greatest changes in MS
will be- am about to say something
that sounds both astonishing and alb.
surd-that we have become patriotic
Americans. For great numbers of u:
did not come-even those who yolun
teered to come-through motives q
patriotism / know that l believed
passionately in the cause of the AL
lies long before America entered tn,
war; felt that l could have Tough
with as good spirit under the Tricolo1
or the Union Jack as under the Star,
and Stripes. Very many of US saw
the failings of America too clearly an,
her greatness and beauty too obscure
". confess ] did. Very many of u