The Alaska daily empire., 1921-12-10

CNote.-The following is the third and last of several articles appear ing in The Empire this week in con nection with American Education Week. They are contributed by members of the American Legion to furtherance of the local observance of American Education Week -Edi- tor)
 By MAJOR J. c. GOTWALS
 Nbsn the war ended, the sAmeri can tibops in France, who had cat ried o.l so deyotedly during hostili ties. at once entered into a petulant comp reLtion as to who should be the first ta. go home. Each soldier seeme1 to be moved by the most ex tYavag9nt conclusidhs proving that he atd his organizatio should be sen, homo to ne Urted States forth with.
 This vas brought to a sudden halt by q touching sketch in the Stars and Stripes" the newspaper of the < E. F.. showing soldier lying on the field, and entitled "The First to Go Home" This great desire to leave it all and get back to their c1untry was. of course, suppressed by each individual during the time when stern calls to duty existed, but ie very beautifully expressed in the phrase so commonly used by the roldiers in France, Gone West"
 IT
 Feelings Of ooidicr
 Aroiind this expression aud the en- ire expression of soldier n-Hohology whichsit concisety was, Dne tah ina zine, ;withoiit being ills}ardnt. all Of the feelings; of the AUsrlean sol dier. There could be, seaq near the front, in the pressing q aJs of June and July, 1918. Quentin Roosevelt, the admirable son .bf great Ameri- can, busy. cheerfuily ycarrying on, who, ,during the operations at that time. Twas killed fighting within the eaemy's lines. This young man seemed to typify the very best of our young men at war and his life in France and the gallant way he went tp HID Cih, ioo iClt o uCSp anu up lifting impression with all he came in contact. Similarly a. memory has been left of many other men who in the sense of the Stars and Stripes, . were the first to go home"
 Feelings of Our People
 Recently, with the most inspiring ceremony and with the highest for. nal honors which, it is possible to give ian unidentified American sol dier was buried at Arlington. Gene tory. in Washington. This strikingly illustrated the feeling of our people towafd the great body of men who simply vanished overseas and appar- entlysIwere lost. It was an expres- sion bOf what Gone West" meant. But Ahe reviving of the memory Of such lmen in this manner is a token of our constant reverence, not only for him whose time of death is defi nitely known. but also for those gal lant ones who utterly disappeared in the battle With consideration of this phrase. of course, comes all of those dreams which our soldiers DOS sessed under the most distracting and horrible circumstances, in refer encer to their own country. They were given in a practical way an in. tense and practical, if not compre hensive, knowledge of international affairs They dealt with realities They may have dreamed of planting all that they saw that was beautiful and fine in the land of France upon the soil of our democratic, generous America.
 Handicaps Seen
 While they saw that men with the most meager academic training often possessed sterling qualities of cour age and truth, and devotion to duty, they4also saw the. handicap which illiteracy brings. They dreamed of a real democracy with it's enIighten- ing Influence opening to all the great truths found in books and also equaly emphasizing he character and Spiritual training. without which 1T high degree. all other knowledge