Evening star., 1922-04-03
LAST SOLDIER DEAD
LANDED ON US. SOIL
Thousands Pay Tribute at
Impressive Services for
Heroes in Brooklyn.
" the Associated Pros

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, April Carnival of
the last of Americas 10000 war dead
was commemorated in Brooklyn |
yesterday.
One body. that of Private Charles
W. Graves of Rome, Ga, symbol
ized for the time the bodies of the
1866 soldiers which were returned
from France last week on the United
States troopship Cambria. \
Amid the hushed vastness of an
army pier his 1864 silent comrades
in long, unbroken ranks OF flag
draped caskets, maintained the
bivouac of the dead. while sorrowlnS
thousands. of high and low desree;
paid the last respects of a grateful
nation.
His body, enthroned on gun
caisSon and drawn by six horses, had |
been borne through the ranks OF
silent multitudes. Stern generals had
saluted the flag which wrapped him:
Hundreds of his comrades had |
marched beside him Guns had
doomed in his honor, statesmen had
eulogized his deeds, mothers had wept
over him, and taps the soldiers |
farewell. had given him Godspeed-
The body of Private Graves had
been chosen to receive the honors or
the day because he. OF the l.ooo
be taken from the hold AND placed on
his native soil.
Thus it was that he was the center
of a profoundly solemn demonstra-
tion while his comrades waited in the
echoing silence of the big terminal
Private Graves body. in gray
steel casket, was mounted upon
Eorse-drawn gun .cdisson at the
Army base. Before the calSSon RODE
d detachment of mounted police
Honorary PaIIbearers.
A squad OF privates of the saith In
fantry formed a Gordon of honor.
Behind them marched the honorary
pallbearers. Commodore Robert F.
Forshew. Brig. Gems. Charles l. Debe-
voise, Frank W. Ward, Palmer f.
Pierce, James w. Lester, De Witt
Weld, William Weigel and Capt
James Fogelsang.
Hundreds of hagbearers followed
holding aloft the any-colored en-
blems of $50 organizations that had
seen service at the front With
them, in platoon formation, marched
regiment after regiment of soldiers,
sailors and marines, each with its
reGimental band or drum corps, and,
swelling the procession, were other
thousands of the American Legion.
Veterans of Foreign Wars, the civil
war. the SpanishAmerican war, and
uniformed woman veterans of the
Red Cross and other welfare services.
AS the funeral Cortege neared Fort
Hamilton Parkway, Army and Navy
bombing planes Swooped low over the
caisson, releasing cargoeS of flowers
over the bier of Private Graves and
nearly hiding the huge wreath of
roses which President Harding had
presented in behalf of the nation.
Presidents Message.
With the flowers the President sent
this message to Col. f.. 4. Simmons,
master of the ceremonies:
You and your associates are going
TO voice the last testimony of love
and affection from living comrades
sure that the whole nation will echo
your sentiments and feel with you
the thrill of a common pride and a
common sorrow-pride in the glori-
Gus services and historic achieve
ment of these. our brothers who
freely gave all eXacted of them.
They have set for all of us the
perfect example of service and sacri-
fee and it is well that their associates
should. through this tribute. refnirea
the nation of its eternal obligation I,
prove worthy Of the devotion it's son
have shown for it.
ALREADY, in the light of the morn
ing of hope after the storm. we de-
scry very real justification for trust
that sadder and a wiser world VIII
find means to save the future from
repetition Of the tragedy wherein
they played SO noble a part. Let us
unite in faith and work for such
consummation, that would be the sin
cerest testimony that we fully ap-
praise their sufferings, and sacrifices"
Formal services over the body were
held in the gray-walled inclosure of
the Army base where chairs had been
placed for 5000 gold star mothers and
their escorts.
High Omcials Present.
Notables of the Army. the Navy and
the Marine Corps, with governors,
senators, representatives and bishops
occupied the speakers stand. These
included Assistant Secretary of War
J. Mayhem Wainwright, Vice Admiral
Hilary T. Jones, commander of the
Atlantic fleet, and Maj. Gen. John a.
Lejeune, representing the Marine
Corps: Gov. Harry l.. Davis of Ohio.
Gov. Everett J. Lake of Connecticut,
Gov. Edward I. Edwards of New Jer-
sey, Senator's Calder of New York,
Fernald of Maine, Harris of Georgia.
Spencer of Missouri and Broussard of
Louisiana, several representatives
Archbishop Hayes, Bishop Z. S. Gailor
and Rev. Dr. Joseph Silverman.
Directly before the speakers stand
was the funeral caisson, now nearly
obscured by the flowers and wreathS
heaped upon it from all sides.
Only the occa caSional sobs Of bereaved
mothers. widows and fathers broke
the stiffness which enfolded the
throng while the program was in
progress. And when, at the close of
IIo duui eSSs ASSISTANT SecTetdry OF
War Wainwright bowed toward the
flower-decked caisson and said,
Heroic dead, we salute you. Sweet
be your deathless sleep. You live with
the immortals. Hail and farewellr' a
score of women tainted and were car
rfed from the scene by soldiers.
At the conclusion of the ceremonies
tho body of Private Graves was re-
turned to the shed, where it waited
with those of his 1,064 comrades
Tomorrow will begin the
rent of the bodies overland to the
twenty states whence the men whose
names the caskets bear enlisted
The smaller devilfiSh swim in
shoals. and as they move they change