Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-05-31
.HORNER FORD HAD
NUMEROUS THRILLS
Kent County Soldier, Broken in
Health, Praised by His
Commander.

Dover. May 3l.--This Is the season
| In which America pauses to pay
| homage TO its soldier dead and 10
those gallant men who gave their
strong young manhood TO the cause OF
| liberty, who, though not called upon
- pay the supreme sacrifice. yet laid
| on her altar their heritage of youth
and vigor. One of these soldiers who
gave unstintedly of hia youth and
strength and who has returned broken.
Is Homer Ford OF Kent county, son of
/ MIR. and Mrs. w. Il. Ford of Cheswold
That his services were distinguished
| by courage and unusual endurance of
| hardship. and contained privation, Is
| atteated by the following letter from
| his captain:
Homer Smith Ford, who enlisted
April %. 1917. has just arrived in the
States from the Army of Occupation
| in Germany. He was FIRST stationed
at Gettysburg. Pa. and sent from
| there to Camp Green. ". c.. from
which point he was sent oversees.
landing at Brest. France. lie was
| sent to machine gun school on
the 4th day of June, 1918. Ford went
into action with the Seventh Machine
Gun Battalion in the Battle of Cha
teau Thierry. ON the 1lth day Of
July he fought through the battle or
the Marine. near the end becoming the
daredevil dispatch rider. While taxi
ing dispatches across a pontoon bridge
under shell fire, shell disconnected
the bridge. causing Ford TO be swept
into the Marne river. along with his
motorcycle. However, he managed to
kbr AL -
sages Being picked by his officers
for special work as dispatch rider he
was constantly under heavy she'll IRE.
During the 81. Mihiel drive he was
slightly wounded by sharpnel Ford
served with the Third Division i'm Eve
battle fronts. The armistico being
signed. he was sent. with nine other
men. including blileting officer to
| Coblenz. They srrived in Coblenz one
week before the American forces were
able to reach there. having followed
closely on the heels OF the I16th
| German Division. This detail was for
the purpose Of finding billets for the
Americans who were to follow and
also for the purpose Of keeping ac-
count Of all enemy guns possible.
After the departure Of the Third
Division from Germany, this man
volunteered for service in Poland. Ar
irving in Poland he was rated an
aeroplane mcchanician and also in
strueted the Polish Army with which
he went TO fight the Red Army. While
on an observation trip over the bed
lines with Lieutenant Howard John
son. their plane was crippled by shell
IRE and forced down directly in front
Of the Polish forces. Both men were
slightly wounded. After n stay in
Poland OF nine months active ser
vice-Ford re-enlisted in the air SER
vice at Coblenz This strenuous
career was too much for man who
had fought continually, even some
times fighting on sheer viii power.
While testing an airplanc il sud
denly dropped several hundred feet 70
the ground. he narrowly escaping
death. This accident caused him to
have 81 nervous breakdown.
Reaching Walter Reed General
Hospital. after several months in a
Ccblenz hospital, many men have eX
pressed to him their sympathy and
appreciation Of the work he has done,
Ford has made many friends and was
liked wherever he went by enlisted