The Indianapolis times., 1931-11-17
BY CARLOS LANE

IRON Vera Cruz to Sitka,
l. through tropical bush in
Haiti, and on heels of Nicaraguan
bandits, this leatherneck has car
ried the globe and anchor of the
United States Marines.
And now that Uncle Sam is re-
ducing his martial expense, and
because twenty-five years in his
service book make him eligible for
retirement, First Sergeant How
ard P. Youngs, recruiting officer
here for seven years, will lay away
his blue and red uniform for civies:
AS part of Americas naval
cost reductions, virtually all ma
rine recruiting stations in the
central states, including the one
here, will close Dec. Is, for the
first time in the memory of the
current generation of our am
phibian warriors.
And when he locks the door of
the marine corps headquarters,
on the fourth floor of the federal
building, Sergeant Youngs will be
seeking civilian employment, after
more than two decades of military
life.
Their commanding officers in
variably refer retiring marines as
guards in banks, and to similar
positions requiring men with steel
nerves, integrity, and ability to
handle themselves in emergen-
cieS.
CERGEANT YOUNGS began
- learning how to be good
marine back in 1909, when he en-
listed at Brooklyn navy yard.
After primary training, he was
dispatched with an expeditionary
force to the Parama canal zone.
Then from the tropics his
command was shipped to Sitka,
in frozen Alaska, and then back
to Calebra, Puerto Rico, for
maneuvers.
In April of 1914 Mexican
president, Huerta, let his Latin
American temperament get the
better of his common sense, and
at Vera Cruz invited trouble with
insults to the Stars and Stripes.
He got more trouble than he
bid for. A detachment of marines
occupied that seaport, and among
the leathernecks was Sergeant
Youngs.
Eirht months saw the American
flag fluttering in the sea breezes
over Vera Cruz, and then Youngs
and his mates we're shipped to
Haiti, where natives under Amer
ican protectorate tried governing
one another with rifles and ma
chetes rather than votes.
NNE day thirty marines pushed
~ their way through the jungle
brush to attack a fort held by
more than two hundred natives.
They were armed with every
thing under the sum-" Sergeant
Youngs relates. Even down to
cannon, but they didn't have any
regular cannon shells. Mostly
they used tin cans filled with
nails"
Ten of the marines we're
wounded and one of the ten was
Youngs. A bullet clipped his leg.
The fort was taken after hearty
scrap. Again the same old mes
sage went back to headquarters
"the marines have landed, and
the situation is well in hand"
There his fighting duty ceased.
His outfit never got overseas in
the big tussle back in, II, and
after bitches at Annapolis, Nor
folk, Quantico, and recruiting
duty at Chicago, he was detailed
to the indianapolis recruiting de-
pot in 1924.
IRON 1917 to 1919, Sergeant
II Youngs served at Indian Head
(Md) naval proving grounds,
where the majority of the guns
that went overseas were tested.
Sergeant Youngs is husky
leatherneck, just beyond his
fortieth birthday. Here he has
lived at 3720 West Sixteenth
street.
In full uniform, his left breast
bears medals for good conduct,
with four bars; pistol sharpshooter
and expert rifieman badges, and
service medals for expeditions to
Mexico, Nicaragua, Alaska and
Panama.
Hourly Temperatures
s a. NJ. so 10 a. NJ. 66