The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-01-15
THREE HUNDRED
SICK SOLDIERS
U. S. Cruiser St Louis Reaches Port
With Large Number Of
American Boys on
Board.

UNITED Press Leased Wire Service
NEW YORK, Jan. 15.-The United
States cruiser St. Louis arrived in
New York harbor today carrying
American troops.
On board were forty-fve officers and
.1,254 enlisted men. OF this number
300 were sick or wounded.
Twenty-Five cases of Influenza were
reported during the trip across.
The men OF the 34Gth field artillery
aboard were from California, Ore
gon. Washington. Montana and
Idaho.
They were. loaded down with tro-
plies from the battlefields, gathered
just after the armistice was signed.
The men, all of whom trained at
Camp Lewis, said they sailed for
France on July Is on the steamer
Baltic. and encamped near Bordeaux
after a trip via Liverpool Later
they were moved to Neufchateau.
near Nancy.
On November they were ordered
TO begin moving into battle. Novem-
Der II. as they were on the eve of
going into action, the armistice end
ed hostilities,
The 34sth artillery embarked at
Rrest for the return trip home on
January 2. The trip across was un-
eyentful except on the second day
out when the ship ran into a severe
storm. There was one death from
influenza.
The returning arti1lerymen were
given an enthusiastic reception upon
their arrival here. The mayors COM
mittee met them as they entered the
harbor, and put aboard cigarettes
and newspapers.
At the dock an army band played
patriotic selections as they passed
ashore. They were greeted by rep
resentatives OF the Salvation Army.
Red Cross and Y. M. C. A, who gave
them sandwiches and hot coffee.
Immediately upon debarkation the
artillerymen were taken to Camp
Merritt by special train. Later they
will go to Camp Lewis for demobili-
cation.
Battery A, with Captain Hamilton
Gardner, of Salt Lake City, was the
first unit to leave the transport
I'VE sure were disappointed
bunch when the armistice was signed
before we got crack at the Hun, .
declared Private L. r. Greenman, of
Portland, Ore. He said that the regi-
ment was about to move to the firing
line with it's motor batteries of
French 75's when the fighting was
stopped.
Captain Benjamin b. Foster, of
San Rafael. Calf, was in command
IF Battery B. He said that the artil-
lerymen had undergone a most in
tensive training program and were
about TO be rushed into the st. Mi
hleI sector when the armistice came.
Among the members of this bat
terry who landed were Priyates Lyle
Anderson, of Boise. Idaho: Paul w.
Clayton. Kingman, Ariz.
I'VE are surely glad to get home,
although our experience in France
was well worth the trip said Wal
ter Thompson, OF Spokane THE
French people treated us WELL
Captain Charles Fertig, Spokane.
was in command Of Battery C. 9th
CT members of the battery were Pri.
Yates Harry Jackson, OF Pocatello.
Idaho. and Bud Lewis. of Twin Falls.
Idaho
Others on board included Lieuten-
ant E. c. Thayer, Portland, Ore. !;
Privates H. G. Compton, San Fran
cisco: john l. Peradotto. Seattle,
and Peter Mcintyre, Pendleton, Ore.
The boys of the 346th artillery
were confident that their lucky mum
Der WAS in "13." From the time they
sailed from New York until they re-