Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-29

rected small guard Of some Is or
40 territorial orderlies, under the COM
mand of q sergeant, to be formed IN
the yard In rear Of his quarters. with
two trllmpeters to furnish the music.
Standing In front Of this command
and facing him, made q short speech
In French and pinned on his blouse
the token Of our eountry's esteem and
appreciation Of his distinguished serv-
tees. Ny aide handed one Of his aides
The marshal spoke somewhat at
length on how he valued the honor
and how brilliantly the Americans had
fought beside the allies, and he was
so moved that he could hardly finish
what he had to say. He shook hands
with me very cordially and stood hold
ing my hand with both Of his IS he
ordered the flourish Of trumpets to
close the ceremony.
Paris i'm Pendemonium.
After luncheon we drove back TO
Paris and everybody was still cele-
brating. It looked as though The whole
population had all gone entirely out
Of their minds. The city was turned
boulevards were packed with people
singing and dancing and wearing all
sorts of odd costumes. The crowds
were doing the most clownish things.
One could not hear himself think, 1t
was such q bedlam.
1t was next to impossible for our
automobile to make any Roadway
through the mass of humanity. We
were two hours in crossing the Place
and so riotous. 1t happened that
was recognized before we had gone
very far, and French men and women
boarded the car, climbed on top Of It
and got inside, and no amount Of per-
suasion would prevail upon them to let
me pass.
Finally o group Of American soldiers,
who were enjoying the hilarity, came
along and, seeing our helpless condi-
making an opening sufficiently large 70
permit the car to be moved q yard or
~ at time until We got free.
II all the ridiculous things done dur
ing those two or three days by digni-
fed American and French men and
women were recorded, the reader would
scarcely believe them. But they were
in Paris, and the war was over.
On November Is I went to the Ecole
de Guerre, where Marshal Joffre had
his quarters, and in q very simple cefe-
mony that took place in his ONCE
pinned our Distinguished Service Medal
on his breast. Only q few staff officers
were present, among them the marshal's
faithful chief Of staff, Col. Fabre, while
the Officers who accompanied me were
Harbord, Boyd and Quekemeyer. The
grand old French commander in chief
was very proud of this recognition by
our Government, but expressed himself
In few words. 1t gave me the great
est pleasure to make this presentation.
DecOrates Petain.
we next motored to Provins to con-
fer the same decoration on Gen. Petain.
After luncheon, together with several of
Gen. Petain's generals and staff officers,
guard Of about 20 soldiers was already
formed. Facing Gen. Petain. who stood
in front of the command, spoke a few
words regarding his exceptional service
to his country, thanked him for his
uniform consideration and great assist
ance to our Armies and pinned on the
medal
1t was especially gratifying to me to
decorate Petain, as my relations with
him were always closer than with any
of the other allied officers. and we had
become fast friends. He made some
complimentary remarks about our Army
and seemed much pleased and deeply
appreciative of the recognition shown
by cur Government Of his great abil-
tiles.
At Cambria, where I went the next
day to decorate Field Marshal Sir
Douglas Haig. u brigade of Highlanders,
which included some OF the most dis
tinguished units of the British Army,
vas assembled for the occasion. The
ceremony was very impressive.
Marshal Haig stood opposite the CEN
ter OF the line, the very picture of the
ideal soldier that he was. The band Of
Scottish bagpipes swung down the line
playing medley of Scotch airs in
thrilling fashion. AS the command
stood at present arms" I approached
the field marshal and after a few words
pinned our decoration on him The
march-past Of the troops completed a
memorable event
Upon my arrival in Paris that after
noon fastened over to call on M.
Clemenceau To my mind, he was the
greatest of French civic oficisls.
Though some rs years of age, he had
the vigor, the fire and the determine
ton OF a man of so. He will live long
in history.
had not seen him since the cessa :
ton of hostilities, and when we met he
was much affected. and indeed demon
strative. We fell into each others
arms, checked UP and had to wine our
ewes. We had no differences to discuss
that day.
The End.
:, tCopyright 1891. in all countries by the
North American Newspaper Alliance. World
rights reserved. including the Seandina via n .
reproduction in whole or in part prohibited)