New-York tribune., 1919-05-22
Sergea1nts Say
They Iele1ntiiff fii iieel
Phillips's Body
Three Mothers Anxiously
Wait to Learn if Home
coming Soldier of That
Name Is the Missing Son

Upon the speedy transmission of
cablegram to Europe depends the i'm
mediate solution of whether a certain
American soldier, suffering from am
nesia and heinz invalided home by Gen
eral Pershing, is the son of the Rev.
DR.. Malcolm James Macleod, pastcr Of
the Collegiate Reformed Church of St.
Nicholas; of Major and Mrs. Roland
E. Phillips, of Flushing, l.. L. or of
Mrs. Emma Phillips, of Evanston, III.
If Major Phillips, with the Red Gross
in Paris, receives the cablegram before
q boy bearing his sons name, but who
he believes was killed in action last
July, embarks for America, three
women who expect to meet the boat
here should be relieved at once from
their suspense.
Mrs. Macleod has some reason to
hope that her son is coming home but
Mrs Roland Phillips refuses to let
herself believe her son still lives. Mrs
Emma Phillips fears that her son,
whom she is expecting any day. is the
soldier in question because General
Pershing's message did not describe
the boy.
When General Pershing last week
briefly cabled the Rev. DR.. Macleod
that he was sending home the soldier
Roland Phillips DR.. Macleod was at a
loss to understand the message. He
had spent months searching for his
son, Henry Blakely Macleod, last
heard of from Camp Merritt more than
year ago, just as the boys unit was
about to sail for France
A friend saw the message "Roland
Phillips ," she said. 81 knew Roland
Phillips in Flushing. "He is supposed
to be dead"
The two families on Tuesday com
pared notes. Pictures of the two boys
were laid side by side. and it was seen
that soldier in a Paris hospital, who
friend of DR.. MacLeod's had thought
resembled young Macleod, might have
been either boy Both were nineteen
years old, slightly over six feet tall,
with blue eyes, fair complexion.
and with small scar over the right
eye. There was also marked SINH
iarity in the ears. in the shape Of the
mead, and, according to Mrs Macleod.
striking similarity in facial appear
ance, particularly from the forehead
down.
On this latter point, Mrs Roland
Philips disagreed. She does not dare
10 let herself hope. Nevertheless.
great difference Of opinion existed ves-
terday whether or not the boy coming
home is not her son.
She told Tribune reporter last
night that the death Of her son ap
pears undoubted His platoon was
decimated by hidden German machine
gun on the top Of small knoll in the
battle of the Ourcq on July 2s.
Young Phillips and the sergeant Of
the company were together The SER
geant says he heard Phillips say "Tm
hit" and saw him fall. Then the com
pany dug in.
five days later the sergeant says he
found Phillips's body in No Mans Land
stripped by machine gun fire and the
clothes rified- He came back later and
found it already buried, with Phillips's
Identification tag hanging on a bayonet.
he pat cross on the grave and tackled
the disk to It,
1ct another member Of Philiips's
company, Sergeant G.. H. Bezold, Of
Company l., Is5tn Infantry, says that
on July 90, the day after Phillips was
supposed TO have fallen, he positively
identified Phillips body without diff
1iculty,
Il saw Bezold last night" n comrade
Of Eezold's told a Tribune reporter
yesterday, "and he wrote this on a slip
OIL paper for me: Regarding Philips,