Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-05-29
27,500 j. S. TROOPS
LAND IN NEW YORK
Largest Number of Doughboys
to Debark on Any One Day
Virtually All States Repre-
scented in New Arrivals
COME ON s TRANSPORTS
One Ship, Imperator. Formerly
German Owned. Makes It's First An
penrnnce on This Side Since Before
the Wnr-Mnde Trip with Lcviathnn

New York. May 22.-Twenty-seven thou
sand troops of the American Exendition-
airy Force stepped ashore here to-day
from eight transports which had brought
them home from France. This Is the
greatest number Of d%oughboys to debark
at this port on any one day. Virtually all
states were represented among the per-
sonnet of these arrivals. Aside from the
%casuals units comprised parts of the 2Sth.
10Th, S2nd, 33rd. 41st, 18th. SIND. S3rd and
S9th divisions, the first five made up Of
former state National Guard organiza-
tions and the other four comprising draft
troops.
Chief interest attached to the Leviathan
and Imperator-the former because it
carried nearly one-half of all the troops ar
irving to-day, and the latter for the rea-
son that her appearance here was the first
since prior to the war. Both vessels, the
two largest steamships In the world, were
once Germany's crack merchant marine
liners, and they made the present voyage
almost side by side from Brest to New
York. The other troop carriers docking
were the cruisers Seattle and Charleston
and the steamships Yale, Manchuria.
Ohioan and Mexican.
The two great transports came up the
hay with the Leviathan leading by less
than a half mile and then locked at
the same pier they used when under the
German flag. The ships left Brest Thurs
day, May Is, the Imperator at 100 a. m.
and the Leviathan at $50 p. M. There
then developed what officers of the
Leviathan described as a race. with the
result that the latter vessel overlook and
passed the Imperator early Tuesday morn
ing. Their courses then diverged and
the faster ship took the longer route.
but they reached their destination at
almost the same hour.
On the bridge of the Imperator, as
she noscd her way into the pier which
she last left in early August of 1914, was
her former commander. Commodore
Thomas Kier. With him was Capt. Fritz
Frederick Kruse. who formerly COM
manded the Cleveland. The second Off
GERS, with Chief Engineer Ludwig M.
Christleib, Chief tewar William Vulk-
ner and II under officers. were sent
along to assist the Americans in the
handling of the ship. The vessel was
under command of Capt. John X. Robin
son of the United States navy.
Both Commodore Kier and Captain
Kruse appeared to be delighted to again
come into an American port even though
II was not DIS III II uuyo-li oupiCiiiS
command of the finest ships of their
country.
at is certainly good to see my Ameri-
cans home again. remarked Captain
kruse.
During the war, Captain Kruse was
attached to the German naval reserve
and put in most of his time mine
sweeping in the North sea. His boat
was blown up by n mine on one occa-
sion and he spent 20 minutes in the
water before he was picked up by a
German cruiser.
Kruse spoke of Captain Koenig, the
German officer who brought the un-
dersea merchantmen Deutschland to
America on two trips. He said koenig
left the submarine shortly after Amer
lea entered the war and she was taken
over by the navy department..
The Deutschland renamed, made two
additional trips to American waters
and scattered mines off Virginia coast.
After the Imperator had left Brest
it developed that there was one Ger
man on board besides the 20 men as
signed to it. One of the sailors who
helped take the vessel from Hamburg,
has relatives in America and he made
the attempt to reach here by slowing
away. He will be returned with the
ship.
While here the Imperator will be
altered so that a larger number of troops
can be accommodated on board while she
is in the American service.
TIL Leviathan came into port flying the
flag of Vice-Admiral Albert Gleaves,
commander of the cruiser and transport
force of the Atlantic fleet, returning from
a trip to France, Belgium and England.
IIn aoi1 his trim WaS ono of inSneCtiOn.
The admiral expressed great salts
faction with the conditions he found in
the ports he inspected and he said he
felt very much g~ratified with the sup
port and cooperation which he received
from the vessels under his command.
The arrival of the two largest ships
In the world on one day. together with
several others of lesser tonnage, made the
busiest day the debarkation officers here
have been called upon to face. Approx
mately $1,000 men were landed and started
on their way to debarkation camps.
Virtually all the men returning on the
I1eviathan were members of the S9th
Division. Major-Gen. Leonard Wood,
who trained the division, Governor Allen
of Kansas and officials of the Rocky
Mountain club were present to welcome
them.
II am proud of that division" General
Wood declared. st is an organization,
not an aggregation"
The S9th's official war record starts
with the divisions entry into the
trenches along the Toul sector on
August 7, 1918. and Is filled with a series
Of achievements running up to "armis-
tice morning" November II, when the
seth captured the town of Stenay after
forcing the Meuse river during the night.
The s9th participated in the st. Mihiel
offensive, the Argonne offensive in
October and the Meuse-Argonne offensive
in November.
Rated by the German military intelli-
gence department as a 'strong combat
DIVISION" the 89th took many prisoners
and lost but two.