The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-02-16
Interesting Sidelights on New Workers.
Spirit Told by Corporal of
the Old 7lst. Regiment

Yanks had gone to their stations in an
orderly manner. The >charges were
throwing up great water spouts. The
transports were zig tagging. And the
Atlantic heard the warwhoop, with
death lurking there under the rolling
waves. Always in times Of excitement
or danger some one raised our battle
cry Of hope.
As the convoy was nearing Brest, a
couple Of seaplanes on patrol duty few
over-ah, oui, the battlecry! Tho
French heard It in Brest when first the
Twenty put foot on foreign
soil; II smo.e the walls OF the little
boxcars carrying the New Workers. up
into Belgium. The Tommies heard II
around Abbeville, where the division
went into training; and when Jerry
was dropping stun from the sky over
this town the Yanks in billets nearby
didn't omit their "Aiineola,"
Resounded on Hindenburg Line.
1t rang out, too. near Winnezeele,
where the Twenty first went
under fire, and Jerry's long range guns
were searching out billets far In the
rear Of KENNEL Hill. On the first
journey over the top, in broad DAY.
light, 1870 o'clock on an afternoon III
late August. Jerry heard it in his front
line As the New Workers. charged him.
II sounded over the wire entanSle-
ments and network Of trenches below
Cambria. the Hindenburg line, and in
every attack this battlecry brought u
smile TO the grim faces OF doughboys
ploughing through No Mans Land.
After being a prisoner a week in
Germany I was allowed to send a card
To my company notifying the Captain
that I was a prisoner at Dulmen. At
the bottom of the card printed Min
cola" In few days a big German
probably a camp censor. brought II
into the barracks and pointed out the
word to me, He raved in German for
a while, attracting a lot OF attention,
and then tore up the card. The only
thing he said which I understood was
'Wass list das. Mineola?"
When President Wilson was passing
near Hyde Park, London, riding with
the King, was standing just behind
couple of wounded Yanks, and during
the din OF cheering one Of them sang
out "Mineola,"
Ind SO "Mineola" became the
"bliRhty" OF the Twenty seventh, In
stead of word, hope.
The army official bulletins call them
Identification tags, but to the Twenty
seventh they are just dog tags"
They are little discs about the size OF
a half dollar. and each soldier wears
two suspended by a string around his
neck. On them is printed the wearer's
name. serial number and the letters U.
8. A. In case Of death one Is left sus-
pended around the neck. while the
other is nailed on the cross which
marks the grave. These little dog
tags" are a lot Of trouble to company
commanders, for the soldiers must be
inspected every week or two to see If
all have tags properly tied and let
tered. At Camp Wadsworth an officer
was placed under arrest because SOL
der Of his company was sent to the
base hospital without the official tags.
DOG Tag the Final Friend.
At one time they told us our rife
was our best friend; later, Just before
we sailed, our best pal was our gas
mask, and finally near the front the
! little dog tag came into its own, or had
its doggish day, II you want 1t that
way.
These little dog tags were never in
tended as armor. but they saved the
lives Of several members OF the Twen-
ty-seventh. Corporal Albert Hndfsth,
Company II, 10bth Infantry. who has
just returned wounded from England
and is now at General Hospital IS.
Eastview, y. Y, owes his life to his
dog tag, the little friend that he left In
a bathhouse both times he had bath
in Belgium.
on October IS. when the division
was driving the Germans back toward
the Sambre canal, a shell broke near
Hildreth and he stopped several pieces
OF II. One hit the little disc and drove
It an inch into his chest. When the
| tag was removed Hildreth was told it
had saved his life, so he no longer
leaves the little identifier merely in the
class with his gun and gas mask.
Because OF continuous change OF
station the Twenty-seventh had little
opportunity to play baseball in north
eastern France and western Belgium.
although few games were played. On
July 80 a team from the fo5th played
a Canadian hospital team at Doullens.
The contest was staged in a big natu-
raj amphitheatre. The backstop was
the wall OF an old fortress, built GEN.
turtles before by Spanish prisoners. A
big crowd OF nurses. French civilians
and soldiers OF the Allies watched the
game. Which the Yankees won With