Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-13
PERSK|NG HONORED
+. ON 6BTH BIRTHDAY
Medals If Four Nations Pre-
sented in Simple
Ceremony.

Gen. John j. Pershing, on his sixty
eighth birthday anniversary today, re-
ceived the acclaim of Nation grateful
for the health and VICE. of the man who
led its legions to victory across the seas
in it's great war.
Still the clear-eyed dynamic mill
tary figure that planned and pushed the
forces CT the United States to victory
and everlasting glory in the great St.
Mihiel drive 10 years ago, it was, never
theless, hard to reconcile the soft
spoken, faultlessly mufti-clad man of
today with the BLACK Jack" of the
doughboy- in-the- trenches days only q
decade ago.
Hundreds of wires, cables from his
friends across many waters, and other
tokens of the esteem from his own
countrymen and those of other ma
tons who feel honored to call him their
friend poured into his Office today, in
the State, War and Navy Building.
Greeted From Afar.
Fluctuations came from the rulers
OF England, of France, of Italy and all
the rest of the allies of the World War.
And in the office of Secretary of War
Dwight F. Davis he was presented with
the medals of four nations-Poland.
Czechoslovakia, Peru and Venezuela
| In quiet, informal ceremony. The
decorations conferred today were:
Dec alton and diploma. the Order of
the White Lion, Class /, conferred by
the President of the Czechoslovakian
government, September IA, 1926.
the first centenary of the Battle of
Ayachucho. Conferred by the President
of Peru, December 2, 1925.
decoration and diploma, Knight Com
mander's cross of the Order of "Virtuti
Militari." Conferred by the President of
Poland. April 20. 1925.
Venezuelan decoration, "Bust of the
LiberatOr," two lapel buttons and al
bum of photographs. Conferred by the
President of Venezuela, July 2, 1925.
Only Secretary Davis and his aides
attended the simple ceremony that
marked the only official incident of the
/ birthday anniversary o. the commander
OF the American expeditionary forces
during the war.
Retired four years ago from active
Army service, Gen. Pershing still occu-
pies a handsome office in the State,
War and Navy Building.
Has Glorious Record.
Now, in retrospect of life rich In
the retrospection of deeds done and
seer on many battlefelds Gen. Pershine
| works for that ideal he voiced IL years
| ago in Paris when he said.
There can be no peace except last
ing peace" ...
On the occasion of his birthday 10
| years ago, amid the tumultuous days
| when his soldiers had just brought the
| st. Mihiel drive toesa successful close,
his friend, Woodrow Wilson, President
| of the United States. cabled the Ma
tons gratitude to the soldier whose
name was on every tongue.
| AS a captain in the United States
Army Pershing was raised to the rank
Of brigadier general after he had sub
dued Moro insurgents in the Philippines.
When the United States entered the
World War Pershing. who had fought
in the frontier campaigns, in the Span
| ish-American conflict with Theodore
| Roosevelt's Rough Riders, and with
| Gen. Nelson Miles in the war against
Chief Geronimo and his Apache braves,
! had seen war service in the iungles Of
the Philippines and had chased villa
| into the Businesses of the mountains %
Mexico, was chosen, to lead the Amer:-
can doughboys against the Germans
| and their allies. What he did in the
| United States last great conflict is his
tory that every schoo'boy in the Nation
knows.
After the war he was brought back
: to work out plans for the defense Of the
Nation and became chief of staff OF the
Army. Later he was assigned the diff
| ficult task of Strengthening out the diff
| ferences of Peru and Chile over the
| Tacna-Arica area.
It has been the custom of the United
States, from the time of Washington. to
bestow upon its victorious generals the
highest administrative Office of the
Nation. With the precedent of Wash
ington, Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Grant.
Harrison and Roosevelt before him, ne
,, stopped all moves to boom him for the
presidency after the war