Evening star., 1939-08-12
Troops
Continued From First Page.)

OF sizzling bacon and steaming coffee
laced the morning air of the fields
and meadows. The sun was still
low when the infantrymen began
climbing into trucks and the tanks
and artillery. washed and polished,
began rumbling into the roadWayS
on the way to review grounds, on
the historic Beauregard estate. lust
north of Manassas on route 234.
Regiment by regiment the combat
troops of the 18th Division arrived.
de-trucked, assembled and marched
into the review grounds before the
distinguished reviewing party ar
rived and the command Pass in
Review" finally rang out at about
8:3O am, more than 10000 Penn
sylvanlans began passing before
their commander, Maj. Gen Edward
Martin, Gov. James of PENNSYLVANIA
and other guests of honor.
In the meantime the troops of the
29th Division, camped in the area
along the Lee highway, near Grove
ton, had begun assembling in a re-
view field 4 miles north of Manassas
on schedule two hours later than
that of the Pennsylvanians. Mai.
Gen. James K. Parsons, commanding
the Sd Corps, was the official re-
viewing officer for both divisions.
Tours Follow Reviews.
A public address system had been
set up at both reviewing grounds
and, for the benefit of thousands of
spectators from Washington and the
home areas of the Guard troops, an
nouucers identified the various units
and recounted their war histories.
Tours of the Manassas battlefield
area were arranged for these visitors
following the division reviews.
In the 29th Division line of march
were the 91st Brigade, Infantry,
Virginia National Guard; 58th
Brigade, Infantry, Maryland Guard:
the 121st Engineers and the special
troops, District Guard 1O4th Medi-
cal Regiment, Maryland; 54th Field
Artillery Brigade, regiments from
Maryland, Virginia and Pennsyl-
vania, and the 104th Quartermaster
Regiment, District and Maryland,
with its field train.
The only District unit not in the
march was the 260th Coast Artillery,
commanded by Col Walter w.
Burns, which is attached to Sd
Corps Area headquarters at Manas-
sas instead of the division. Its anti
aircraft batteries are spread and
hidden throughout the entire area
OF Gainesville, where the 29th Divi-
sion railhead is located.
Commissioners Hazen and Nc
Coach arrived in the camp area late
yesterday to spend the night as
guests of Col. John w. Oehmann,
commander of the 121st Engineers.
They dined at the engineer officers
mess and later slept in the colonels'
trailer on the hill overlooking the
engineer camp area on Lee highway.
The Commissioners agreed the
battle" with the biggest part yet
to come, was progressing very well
on all fronts"
From what I have seen of the
District troops, they are tiptop,"
said Col. McCoach, who is Regular
Army engineer assigned to the Dis
trlct Government. Coming to camp
as civilian, he rated the honors
due Governor. rather than shar-
ing the status of military observers
here in uniform.
Commissioner Hazen felt the
Manassas encampment, of which
the first week ended today, would
stimulate plans for construction of
the armory in the District. We must
have an armory for this equip
ment," he said. THE first peg has
been driven, and the armory is on
the way"
The Commissioners arrived just a
short time after the District En-
gineer Regiment had paired with
the 103d Engineers, Pennsylvania
Guard, under Col. Oehmann's COM
mand, to throw a 11O~foot bridge
across Cedar Run This was a
major bridge operation that was
conducted as military exercise and
as subject for newsreel men who
came to the area particularly for
the occasion.
Overseas Heroes HOnOred.
Last night the Pennsylvania di-
vision, led by their Governor and
commanding general, held memorial
exercises in a natural amphitheater
near division headquarters for the
2,874 officers and men of the 18th
Division who were killed overseas
during the World War.
Gov. James, after congratulating
the officers and men of the division
upon the excellent showing they
have made during the first week Of
training exercises here, told them
that it is obvious that "for purposes
of our national defense, citizenry
must assume the responsibility of
soldering in order that an ade-
quate defense may be maintained"
With war and rumblings of war
about u.s." he said, "it behooves us
as citizens not to shirk our RESPONSE
biities in the protection of our de-
mocracy-to learn as much as we
possibly can, in harmony with the
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