The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-01

been shown into a luxurious suite at
the Waldorf. There came an eager
Tennesseean with a handsome pair
OF tan cordovan shoes to replace the
heavy. hobnailed mixers which York
wore when he got off the boat. He
gave them to York, and York put them
on. But the toes of these shoes were
exceedingly narrow. whereas the toes
Of the mixers are extremely broad.
| The shoes pinched the sergeant's feet
and hurt him terribly. because for more
than year he had been wearing the
mixers, and his feet had spread tremen-
dously. But he wouldn't say anything
about 1t. To look at him one would
never have known that he was being
tortured. and he probably would have
worn them to the end Of his visit had
not newspaper man who had been
in the army noticed them. He spoke
to the Tennesseeans about II, and York
was asked if he didn't want to aban-
don the new shoes and put on his
heavy mixers.
These new shoes do pinch q right
smart" grinned the sergeant, but
they're real pretty shoes"
hc Setu inc 0hBpeFFy."
About the only time that Sergeant
York came near showing any emotion
| in the presence OF his .adorers was on
the afternoon of the last day Of his
| stay in New York, when he came out
OF the subway station at the Pennsyl-
vanla Terminal and came face to face
with bus load of wounded soldiers.
Now the doughboy has a great deal of
respect and pride for the soldier who
has distinguished himself overseas, but
he shows 1t in his own peculiar way.
II isn't at all unlikely that every man
in the bus would have fought had a
civilian cast any doubt on Sergeant
York's heroism. but as soon as they
saw him they felt 1t incumbent upon
them to give him what Is termed in
military circles as the razberry,"
which means. plainly. kidding the life
cut of him. So they began chanting
a little primer lesson of their own
composition:
"Oh, see the soldier"
us the soldier a hero?"
Yes. the soldier Is a hero
oh. see the nice heroi"
There isn't a soldier in the world
who likes to get the "razberry," and
least OF all does a sergeant like Il, be-
cause in an Infantry platoon the SER
geant amounts to something, and he
has dignity to maintain. And York
had always felt a great deal more
like a sergeant than a hero, and
1t made him mad clear through TO
have this. bunch OF buck privates rag
I'm I'D L.
giving him "the gate and the raz." He
forgot that he was entirely surrounded
by distinguished subway officials and
distinguished Tennesseeans; for the
moment he was standing before his
men at formation and he was about to
tell them something for the good OF
their immortal souls. And when a real
infantry sergeant starts talking to his
men like a father it's no place Cor
statesmen or distinguished Tonnes
seeans unless the wish to learn some
new wrinkles in language.
So the education OF the group ac-
companying York, so far as linguistic
pyrotechnics are concerned. probably
would have been greatly enlarged had
1t not been for the fact that just as the
sergeant was about to select the most
forcible adjectives from his vocabulary
he caught sight of one of his comrades
OF the S28th strolling down the street.
And this soldier had on his sleeve the
red chevron which Is the emblem Of
the discharged fighting man. Sergeant
York saw the chevron and forgot all
about everything else. He grabbed the
passing infantryman.
Say, Buddy" he exclaimed, ARE
they lettin' you-all out?"
Sure" said the soldier. Lots of
the boys are out. I got out myself
this morning"
I'm going right back to camp"
said Sergeant York, "and get myself
one of them red chevrons. I reckon
that's what I want"
And It took the Tennesseeans twol
hours and all the language they had to
persuade Sergeant York that he would
not be doing his duty to the nation and
to Tennessee II he did not stay In town
long enough to attend a dinner in his
honor at the Waldorf, and then go to
the Winter Garden. He did finally.
but only ON condition that he be dis
charged from his duties as an ex-
hibiting hero about midnight and sent
down to Camp Merritt, SO he could be