Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1919-03-28
WHEN THE BIG
SHIPS COME in
Many Touching Incidents at De.
barkation Port of Newport
News AS American Victors
Get Back Home.

The following is part of letter
from j. A. Leslie, ir., to his moth
er. 1t gives an idea of happenings
where the big transports land:
Newport News, Va, March 10.
| Dearest Ma:
ms has been an exceptionally busy
week, for the lest two mornings get
ting me up ut q. M, with Il Chance
TO go to sleep again around two or
three u. M. the following morning.
l have Just come from the piers where
the first contingent of the Old Hick-
ory, or Thirticth division, which brokc
/ the lilndcnburg line, and, in my opin-
ion, won the war, arrived. Thev arc
all from North Carolina. 1t is an in
spiration to talk to these men who
have the scars Of dozen big bat
ties on them-in the words of the
| typesettcr who made the headline,
Battle Scared Heroes" read Battle
Scared Heroes" Thousands of these
| fellows arc coming in now, and | am
trying to make hay while the sun
| shines, because there will be Il time
when martial music and cheering will
be things of the past.
Among other passengers this NOR
nlng were several hundred sick and
wounded mon, among them a number
| OF officers and men who have had
their minds effected in various wavs
over there. This is the most horri-
BILE part of war. There was II major.
who surely must have had some high
place in the world to wear two gold
stripes and three black ones. He was
insane-just hopclessly and helpless
~ "off his nut" and there were many
others equally rs pathetic. We have
seen SO many musual people and
things down here, though, we hardly
notice any ordinary hero any more.
Just the supormen" figure to any
extent with us!
what interests me more thun any
thing else are the little scenes that
take place just outside of the picr
gates when the troops come down into
the street, No one is allowed OH the
piers except on pass, and passos are
issued to II very limited number of
people, including newspaper men. So
the little groups stand outside the
gate and wait. Every time sec some
fellows mother pressing against tho
crowd of other follows mothera
down there, and straining her eyes
away to catch tho long runway TINT
comes off the docks, know what she
is waiting for And then pretty soon
the first batch of soldiers come down
and people applaud. They pass thru
the gate, swinging along, never in
step, nor caring. One fellow is al
ways looking out through the crowd
and never hearing all the cheers and
welcoming things that are said. Sud
denly he spies her! And she spies
him And she doesn't seem to know
That there arc hundreds of other SOL
diers and other people i'm the world
besides this one. There's no one else
IN sight so far as she is concerned.
She pushes through the crowd, rath-
er she walks through. because the
crowd is the same old bunch, pret-
ty much, and they have seen il all
before, and understand. She sobs n
little sort of choking cry, with her
twisted handkerchief smot hered
against her mouth. He forgets the
rank he's in and breaks away. They
meet there in little cleared space,
and she cries as he holds her i'm his
arms, and | feel like crying. too.
And then, there's always the little
war bride, very self-conscious with
little baby i'll arms and her best
bib and tucker" on-waiting. U.s.
ually she is there an hour before the
first ,doughboy blasphemcs his hila-
riousiy free way down the gang
plank. She stands on first one foot
and then the other a thousands times,
shifts the little brat from ono arm
to the other, and keeps on waiting.
When the first khaki line starts tow
ard them In the distance, she begins
TO blush more. She has come all the
way from some place or other to
meet her husband, and she thought it |
would all be very simple until she
got here, and now she doesn't know
what is going to happen when he sees
her: He'll be marching, and it might !
be improper for her to go up to him. |
while he might not be able to come
out OF the column TO greet her And |
all this keeps her excited, until final !
~ she spots him. She didn't tell him
anything about sbeing there to meet
him, for how could she? When he |
comes little nearer she calls some
sort OF pet name to him-Jack, Bob
or something of the sort-in kind |
OF timid, inquiring sort of way And
big doughboy looks around. His |
eyes, grow big, and he turns all red
IN the face, his feet seem to cease
1unctionlng for a second, and sud-
NS'i'J dSIQc every SOrC oil |
restraint, military and otherwise. and
dashes over to her, while the crowd |
approves and everybody's happy.
These little scenes are as FREQUENT
as the ticks of clock, almost, and
while they really don't concern anv-
one at all except the particular par
ties concerned, some good writer
could make lot Of stock out OF them.
One good thing about my getting
up so early these last few days is |
| get four meals now instead of three
day. eat breakfast, which has
not been the case, and then eat the
other three meals rs usual. My ap-
petite has never waned, and can
DO as much justice to four meals as
to three. Tonight MIR. Copeland has
arranged for me to attend the BIZ
monthly dinner of the Rotary Club.
which is a very elaborate affair. NV
boarding house is just as nice as any
in town, and we have good crowd
of young men there most nP ,,,hon,