Evening star., 1941-04-05
Army Day
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shall, Army chief of staff, along
with District officials, members OF
Congress and ranking service Of
ficers.
Immediately after the parade
Secretary Stimson and Gen Mar
shall broadcast plea to the country
for united front in backing the
military services at a time of ma
tional emergency
Gen. Marshall declared to the Ma
ton that the Army must have COM
plete support" and that means the
support of the mechanic who builds
the planes, the machinist who forges
the guns or the farmer who raises
the crops as we'll as the general
public.
Secretary Stimson said in his radio
address that this country is re-
garded as the sheet anchor of de-
mocracy,' by overthrown, peace
loving peoples who take hope in
our defense Of freedom"
Message From President.
Secretary StimSon read the fol-
lowing message from President
Roosevelt:
Army Day provides an occasion
for me as commander IN chief to
extend a welcome to hundreds of
thousands of you young men who
have recently joined the Army of the
United States. You have entered
the ranks OF our armed defenders
with singleness of purpose and
enthusiasm that are an inspiration
for all Americans.
Your transition from civil life to
military service has been accom-
pllshed in a manner that is a credit
to our democracy. You have quickly
adapted yourselves to your new life
and you have already become good
soldiers. I am sure that you will
find your service highly beneficial
to you as individuals as we'll as to
your country.
To the officers and men of the
Regular Army, the National Guard
and the Reserve Corps, I want to ex-
press my grateful appreciation and
that of the people of America for
the patience, the consideration and
the skill shown in receiving and
training the new men entering the
military service, You have devoted
yourselves whole -heartedly to this
important duty and you have accom-
pllshed marvellous results While
you merit and will receive the sim
cere gratitude of your countrymen,
your greatest satisfaction will doubt
less come with your own knowledge
of a difficult duty we'll performed.
To all Of you who wear the uni
form of the United States Army, !
extend an affectionate greeting"
Task is Significant.
In his GREETINGS to the soldiers OF
the Army and "the millions of citi-
zens who are assisting in the great
program for national defense" Gen
Marshall declared that Army Day
this year finds us engaged in a task
vastly more significant than a mere
military demonstration.
Gen Marshall reminded the Amer
ican people that we are, soldiers
and citizens alike. in the midst of
a huge enterprise. a military and
industrial partnership-we are all
participants"
President Roosevelt also used the
occasion to emphasize the need for
the people to focus their attention
on national defense. Although pre-
vented from reviewing the parade
by the press Of national affairs, the
President designated Secretary Slim
son to act in his stead and issued
statement declaring that:
In a world wherein domination
by armed might prevails in so many
unhappy lands. it is highly deSir-
able that the American people focus
their attention for at least one
24-hour period in a year on those
| military forces which constitute the
land defense of our republic"
Reviews "Momentous Change"
Gen. Marshall reviewed the mo
mentous change which has taken
place in our Army" during the last
six months-the calling to active
service of the National Guards. the
appropriation of billions for defense
and the passage of the Selective
Service Act. He added:
These undertakings in time OF
peace. however serious the emer-
gency. constitute great experiment
in democracy. They are, in effect
test of the ability of our form OF
government to meet an interna-
tional crisis in a practical manner
Remarkable progress has been
made toward the establishment OF
large and vigorous Army. During
the past winter months our men
have drilled and worked through all
kinds of weather and under all
sorts of conditions. The Army now
emerges as an organized force
unique in the peace-tine history OF
the Nation
Largest Parade in History.
The parade today was the largest
| and most impressive in the history
of the event sponsored annually for
the past decade by the Military
Order of the World War.
The crowd applauded Washing
tons 121st Engineers, the National
Guard unit now on active duty at
Fort George Meade, Md The En-
gineers marched in khaki-colored
trench helmets. raincoats and half
leggings. They carried arms and
field equipment. The 5th Engineers
from Fort Belvoir, Va. with their
motor equipment, mobile pontoon
unit, tractors and ambulances, also
received much applause. In the
line of march were cavalry troops
from Fort Myer and the Army and
Navy Bands, brought up by COM
panies of Bluejackets and Coast
Guar0smen.