The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-20
'19,O29 HEROES BACK
INCLUDE SOME BIRDS
Yankee Born Carriers Prove
Superior Skill, but German
Hawks Killed Many.
SIX SHIPS BRING TROOPS
Fifty-four Soldiers Return
With Foreign Brides,
Mostly French.
SIX SHIPS BRING TROOPS

Not counting Scared and gallant car
| rier pigeons moro thsn 10000 military
passengers arrived yesterday BY six DIG
transports that docked in Hoboken and
Brooklyn, including the Kaiserin Au-
| suste Victoria and the swift native
American liner Great Northern. There
were twsnty-nine Of the fsathered war
| fiiers, seven American and twenty-five
Americanixed birds captured on various
! fronts and utilized by Uncle Sam IN
behalf Of his own forces They came
| In the Great Northern in charge OF
Sergeant Frederick Hermann. in the
pigeon service OF the Third Army. The
casualties among the carriers, tho SER
Geant said. were about ninety-ons in
every 100. caused chiefly by German
hawks.
The Yankee born birds, the sergeant
proudly declared, were of much inner
stock and greater intelligence than the
German. The immortar seven are King
Cole, gassed while taking q message
to the Argonne; Irene NJ. Gen. Muir,
who delivered a message through twenty
miles Of shell strewn air in thirty-three
minutes with part of his breast torn
away; Biddy, said to be the fastest
'flier in the service; Black Dart, gassed
on October IS; Fairbanks, wounded by
shrapnel, and Lady Ethel. who won
glory by taking three important mes
sages to the Arsonne, returning I'M
harmed
1t has been the custom Of seagolng
surgeons to stop or slow down ships
pendicitis. Lieutenant Commander y.
A. Lee OF the Great Northern decided
this was not only not necessary but
unhelpful. He removed appendices Of
Corporal James Burke and Private
Richard L. Belmar so effectively that
they were in good shape when the trans
port locked. The skipper asked the
surgeon II II would not be we'll to slow
down and the latter answered: Hell.
no. give her all the speed you cam
The skipper. being In q hurry. said.
Thank you," and jingled the ship to
full speed. This helped the Great
Northern to complete her round trip in
thirteen days and seven hours. her best
performance.
The most interesting unit aboard the
Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm was the RE
serve Mallet," named for tho French Of
ficer who was its first commander. The
reserve was typically French. although
filled with Americans, and did not come
after the signing of the armistice. The
Mallet, now commanded by Major Philip
s. Potter Of the Harvard Club originally
consisted of Americans who enlisted
with the French In the early part Of the
war They took part In eight different
ofYenslves and were the nrst Americans
to see active service at the front.
doing much in transportation. The Of
ficers say the organisation was the first
to plant the American nag on the battle
field at Chemin des Danes in May, 1917.
Fifty-four soldiers arriving by the
Kaiserin Auguste Victoria brought for
eign brides, mostly French. and three
had with them French born children.
The whole military outfit of more than
5000. except three Brigadier Generals.
Edward A. Millar. Lincoln C. Andrews
and George 8. Gibbs, was in charge of
Col. willard d. Nevill of the Third Field
Artillery. William 8. Rogers OF the
Committee on Public Information, and
Loren s. Dow of the Food Administra-
ton were among the civilian passengers.
BY the Panaman came the Fifteenth
Cavalry, Gen. Pershings old command
that he took into Mexico, and which Is
not averse to going down TO the border
again. The command has spent only
two months in the United States in
the last four years.
The 217th Military Police Company.
back by the South Bend, In command
Of Lieut.. Robert Miller. brought two
Alsatian police dogs that once belonged
to German officers and were decorated
with the Iron Cross.