The Alaska daily empire., 1921-12-07

d in The Empire this week in connec- tion with American Education Week. They are contributed by members of the American Legion to furtheraace of the local observance of American Education Week.-Editor)
 By COL. j. c. GOTWALs
 The soldier of a nation at war i' always expressive of nationality. From the inception of our nation, war always brought out certain traits of character in.our: soldiers that c ,n be safely said to be their dominant ones It is interesting and instruc- live to study the mentality and char acter of the American soldier as brought out both in the World War and the earlier wars in which our country has been engaged Doing this brings out a great deal of inn portance to the devoted people wor.I- ing upon both the education of our youth and the training of our foreign born population.
 Soldier Characteristics
 From the earliest times. including the Revolutionary War. one could ob serve in our soldiers the energy, the tenacious boldness. the generosity all with the stoicism of the pioneer With this was love for sports the : we, no doubt. inherited from tn |, dominant strain in our people the Anglo-Saxon. In Mexican history of the battle of San Jacinto, in which Sam Houston defeated and won the independence of Texas from tne Mexicans, the Mexican captive who wrote the history was amazed, the day after this fierce little battle, to observe, as he said, the American soldiers riding unbroken horses aid yelling, like the Comanches This interest and activity in sports in all later time, Civil War to World War, has been characteristic of our sol diers
 Keeps Up Home Ties
 In the War of Secession, the bit terness of the conflict and the te- nacious way the soldiers. North and South, fought on through the four long years their battle of principle, was most striking During this war the Count of Paris served with the Union Army through three years. His are very Illuminating He stated that in no case did he carry writing with him as every Union soldier carried in his knapsack ample writing equipment; and to him the entire army seemed to be, at every halt, engaged in writing letters to those at home. In the World War this continued, with welfare socie- ties happily relieving the puddle of the, necessity of carrying small of flee in his pack. sI
 Of lesser worth but still striking, was this Frenchman's comment upon the general profanity of the Ameri- can soldier This has, unfortunately, continued
 Expresses National Spirit T
 In the World War the various lit ale expressions grown up in and used along the front, express so poignant ly. the spirit of our country, finally the specialization of the nationality which we have now at tained. The top sergeant at Chateau Thierry shouting at his men as he led them into the fearful barrage. Come on, you guys, what do you want to do-live forever?" gives such a touch of stoicism. There are other expressions used in France such as he met one with his identification as to where the next one would fall used when a puddle passed away un der bursting shell and showing the bitter, yet dauntless, spirit with which our soldiers have always faced their doom in war. Along with al this has been a cheerfulness perhaps less. but something like that of the French soldier and yet when times became difficult and the future look ed black, a seriousness and a stern ness was always assumed by him, similar to that possessed by the Brit- lSll SOIultTS.
 The Dominant Feeling
 In reference to the patriotism which our soldier has always felt as his moving inspiration in war, 1t is believed that from our earliest War to the World War. the dominating one was his feeling of affection for his home land and people. It would be ridiculous for one to assume that any basic hatred existed between the Blue and the Gray, at least prec oding the Civil War. However, that war was fought out with unparalleled bitterness, on the principle that the soldier must protect and make pos sible the life of the country for which he fought. There was no element of hatred dominating that great strus- gle.
 Similarly, in the World War, the protection of the home land, the pro tection of the oppressed, rather than hatred of the enemy people. dominat- ed him. Bitterness toward the enemy government became strong enough with all with whom it came in con tact. But one can safely say that