New-York tribune., 1921-05-08
Service ON Pier
Held for 1,255
Soldier Dead
Comrades and Gold Star
Relatives Hear Addresses
and Sounding of Taps for
Men Home ON Sognme
Maj. Gen. Bullard Present
Separate Memorials Con-
Quoted for Heroes o. LIST,
9th and I'd Divisions

Services for soldiers who died on
the battlefelds <of France were held
yesterday afternoon at Pier 4, Army
Piers, Hoboken, N. j. The United
States transport Somme arrived here
Thursday bearing 1885 soldier dead.
Former comrades, members of the
families and friends Of many of the
men attended the simple ceremonies.
Plain pine boxes were arranged row
Over each was laid an American flag
Here and there wreath or cross Of
flowers had been placed on the flag,
showing that friend or mother had
found the box bearing the name of a
loved one. The rafters of the pier
house were hung with flags; plain
military flags, not draped, but hung
according to military regulations.
1t was not we'll dressed crowd that
gathered at each of the three services
yesterday afternoon. Mothers in shabby
black were accompanied by youths too
young to have entered service in the
war; grayhaired men in dingy suits
sat with their shoulders squared as the
band played Onward Christian Sol
der" A little girl in cheap pink
bonnet tried to comfort her weeping
mother, while she held tightly in her
small hand little silk flag Boys in
uniform, rough tissue" suits, wearing
decorations which the best tailored Of
fcer might covet, were there paying
honor to their fallen comrades.
The first service was held at 1890
o'clock for the dead of the First Divi-
ton, @. M. c.; Colonel Hamilton A.
Smith, 26th Infantry; Lieutenant
Colonel John M. Craig, 18th Infantry,
and Major Edwin R Kimble, 1st En-
gineers, were among those to whom
this service paid tribute.
Major General Robert L. Bullsrd,
Major General Charles P. Summerall,
Brigadier General Grote Hutchison,
Colonel John J. Bradley and Colonel
George H. Penrose were present on the
platform. With them were four officers
who had been classmates of Colonel
Clayton in the class of 1884 at West
Point, and Mrs. w Walthauer, sister
of Colonel Clayton
The service opened with a. funeral
march by a band from Governors
Island. Addresses were made by Chap
lains F. j. Bergs and r. G. Deibert of
the 9th Division and Chaplain Levin
ger of the 1st Division. Two hundred
soldiers cf the 1st Division, with their
colors, stood behind the relatives and
friends who were present. Six Saliva
tion Army girls who had served with
the 1st Division overseas were also
among the mourners.
Guard Officers Make Addresses
The second service of the afternoon
was a memorial for the members Of
the 27th Division, National Guard and
National Army, whose bodies were
brought home by the Somme. Chaplain
Levinger and Chaplain Charles Hans
com, of the 23d Regiment. N. Y. N. c.,
Brooklyn, made the addresses. Chap
lain James Costello, 105th Infantry,
9th Division, pronounced the benedic-
ton.
A guard of honor of 2oS men from
many New York units, in command of
Captain George Hodgson of the list
Infantry, N. Y. N. G., and nearly five
hundred relatives attended this cere-
mony.
The third service was in honor of
the men of the I'd Division. 1t was
attended by representatives of the I'd
Division Post of the American Legion
and of the Belleau Wood Post of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Colonel Albert j. Bowling, formerly
major general in command of the I'd
Field Artillery Brigade in France and
now with the 5th Field Artillery Of the
9Th Division; the Rev Father Francis
McCafferty, chaplain of the 9th Infan-
try; Police Commissioner Rodman
Wanamaker, representing Mayor Hylan;
the Rev. DR.. Daniel Clifford, formerly
chaplain of the 9Th Marines, and Rabbi
Forezinger, the senior Jewish chaplain
in the A. E. F., were among those
taking part in the services.
Taps" Sounded for ALI
hn of
played "The Star Spangled Banner"
and Taps was sounded. Quietly, each
gathering disbanded. Little groups of
women and soldiers then scattered
among the rows of hag-draped boxes
Numbers on the floor tailed with those
in book which was kept at the in
formation desk. There they found out
which precious box belonged to them.
Under the flag over each coffin are
the name and division of the man
whose body it contains Silently the
little groups found their dead and
stood beside the coffins, most of them
dryeyed, saying nothing, paying the
tribute which the service did not in
clude.
From the piers the bodies of the
soldiers will start on their journeys
to different parts of the country, back
to the home places from which they
set out three, four and five years ago.
Chief, Killed in France,