Newspapers / Trench and Camp (Charlotte, … / July 9, 1918, edition 1 / Page 6
Part of Trench and Camp (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
f nr TRENCH Publlwhe?! weekly at tho National Cam Pnlted Statesi National H Room SM, IN | J New Y ICj JOHN STK1 I > Cbuirruan of Adviaory Boa, // Camp and Uration N M k Camp HMur? s?rd, Alexandria. la New MM Camp Howie. Hort WortW^Teans Fort M JBl 1 Carlxtrom Aviation F*i?-'?1. Ariadia, FlicTamp Jjf Ml ! Camp Cody. Ixminc. N Mex. Ki Po ? J ^'amp Coaler. H*lt!e Creek. Mn h Hattl m jr /# i Camp Pix. Wrigbtstown. N. J Tn-nt "Jm I-J& flu!) Camp l?oniphan. Fort SI!!. Okla ? >k!;if FtDw (.'amp Foircat, Chk-kamaufTa. Ga.."...-Chat t m.\ Eg/i' ftfif I Camp Fremont. Palo Alto, Cal ..San 1 n I nml uW Camp Funston. Kort Kiiey. Kan.. .. Tope! I E$J91 B Camp ??-,r?h?n. At'anta, Gu Atlas MB/*? , I i'amp Grant. Rorfcforri. III... The ( Ap/ // //fg j Camp lilifiii'. Charlotte. N ?' Churl I ^ami' *'*,jncoc*' a?Ku*,u- ('.a Augui !. i'amp Kejtrny. Linda Vista. Cal I^cs > 1 ff > Camp ! .< . Petersburg, Vn Hie he I Camp l.rwis. Tic?m?. Wash Tooor I * Agt Camp lrf)K?n. Huuitun. Texan tlbuxl I /m) I / Camp M. Arthur. Waco. T? xas Waco 1 4It\i* \ ( Camp M. Clellan. Annlalon, Ala Hlrmj TOm|L I \ Camp SlePhcrs >n. Atlanta. Ca Atlan * J Camp Meade. Admiral. Md Wash T? Camp Pike. Little Ris k. Ark Arkai KW^ j> Camp Sevier. Greenville. S. C Green ' l Camp Shelby. Hattimburf. Ml*' New tlltiv Cainp Sheridan. Montgomery. Ala. . Mont) |B Camp Zarhary Taylor. Louisville. Ky.-i^yia W Camp Travis. San Antonio. Texas ... f I Kelly Field an.l Camp Stanley I 'San I '"atnp I'pton. Y.iphunk. L. 1. N. Y....New Charleston Naval Stations* ChJtrl IlufTalo Military Pistrict. embracing | '' "}? i . Published under the auspices of the Nal ^?~uLi' I'nitfd States, with the co-operation of the WHY DO ' By LOtT,s J Publisher of the Fori A little more than a year ago the A * averagt young man who is now in the I American army had no idea he woi^d I \M^Bm M ever be a soldier. M He was just starting in me. dome /tgM, 3B had not yet found their level and had TZs / not discovered the line of work to which they would be willing to devote mgKgM'YMA their lives. Others had carefully preIf&SMo i Bm Pared f?r a profession and were just I WL embarking upon it. But all had their Kmp i M dreams. All saw visions of the life mKffJ " (TV ahead, and with hopeful gaze looked MVm jjjKjr out upon the world around. There is Wltn A I(if nothing so big to the average healthyI ^ Fminded young man as the things conI f M nected with his own life. And it is I Ym ^ safe to say that the average young I Mr American who is now in the army I #1^ thought mostly of himself and the life I M BL he expected to live. wM H w| Youthful dreams are the most splenW y did things in the world. It is sad, perJ haps, that so many are destined never L A to be realized. But even when they A ^^M M are not realized it is better to have had , % ^ ihem. The youth of America dreamt nWr ^ 3UC^ dreams when the stern voice of p-% 1? M?A national duty called to war. The young man was required by the na znrzm j .ion to aoanaon nis areams ana ic take up a task he never thought would be thrust upon him. Many, perhaps, j~iFf were bewildered over the sudden ' change in their lives. Some, no doubt, are still bewildered and look back at their dreams with a sigh. Why have the young men of the B& country been asked to give up every[LS| thing for the present and devote themselves to the nation's cause? Why tffea have they been asked to leave oil BY/vsm dreaming and toiling to realize their dreams, and go forth into a foreigr land to fight and to yield up theii young lives, if need be? "To make the world safe for democracy," is the ready reply. To be sure. Never was so much truth packed in a phrase as when President Wilson gave that slogan to the allied nations war ring against Germany. But, after all, it is a generalization. It does not al - - ways "connect up" with the mind of -?the youth who has been occupied with his own dreams and plans. What is ?t^le concrcte reason the ycung men the firs Soon after the Congress of the g\fUnited States had enacted the legisWsA\C*T v^l lation calling for the selective draft, \ W Premier Lloyd George asked the qucs? tjon- "When will America's first milAmerica has answered his cuestion n0t ^ wcrds hut in terms of flesh and 'k The first million has arrived. \Fur *^^2^ Ant* *kere are other millions to b< <0/ sT**drawn upon,two millions being already J> y,yj? A in training. The men that have gone have dem onstrated their fitness to take places by the side of the valiant little Belgiar army, the brave French and the bulli\A3 was fitting, the Regular Armj gSIS3j|2jj#3 was first represented. Units of th< Regular Army were despatched almosi 1 ... ?- immediately after the declaration ol war. There were not many to send? for we were not a militaristic nation But what we had we sent, as many si we could spare, retaining in this coun h try on*y a ?afficient number to forn PtPJffMM *^e'cton "nils and to train the nev Then units of the National Guart li^twil 11 lnTrTTtT'1 were sent over. These units wen gathered from all over the country J Jfc CAMP ps and Cantonments for the soldiers of'the Ifad^urtrn lUtxer Bui Id In* ork CKy I'AKT BRYAN rd of Co-operating; Publisher* i> wapaper Publisher Orleans Times Picayune D. P. Moore Worth Star Telegram Amon C. Carter a Times D. B. McKay iso Herald H. D. 8 ater e Creek E iqulrer-Nenrn A. Millyr n Olobe Charles H. Taylor, Jr. on Times James Kerney lonia City oklahoman E. K. Gay lord anoo*a (Tenn.) Times H. C. Adiar Vanclseo Bulletin R. A. Crothefs ca Slate Journal..' Frank P. MacLennan ta Constitution Clark Howe'! 'hicago Pally Nrws Victor F. J^aa-son otte Observer W. B. Sullivan <U Herald Bowdre Phinizy ?bla State ,W. W. Ball onvllle Times-Union W. A. Ktllott tngelcs Times Harry Chandler nond News Leader John Stewart Bryan iia Tribune P. R. Baker :on Pes; Cough J. Palmer Homing News Charles E. Marsh Victor H. Hanson "8'""" t? Journal J. S. Cohen .. 1?. t'.. Evening S(?r Firming Newbold !<?!? Dcmccrat. .. f Elmer E. Clarke iville Dally Nrf* B. II. Prarr Orleans Urir James M. Thomnon toraory Adverllner (. II. Allen vlllc Courier Journal Eruce Haldeman Inlonln Light Charl?-a S Dlchl York World lX>n C. Seitx r? Teh-graph W. T. Andernon esion News and Courier K. C. Siegllng lIo Evening News Edward H. Butler Ilonal War Work "Council, Y. M C A. of the above named publishers and papers. mu "fight? . UORTHAM , Worth Star-Telegram of the country have been asked to do this thing? Well, let's look into the matter. Robert W. Service has a poem which i depicts the bewilderment of the seasoned soldier when he realizes that some day the war will be over and he will have to go hack to his "sissy job" and "the bald-headed boss's call." That is the feeling that will come to the American soldier later. Today, for the most part, he is still wondering how his hfe as a soldier is going to turn out. But the seasoned soldier is beginning to wonder how it will be when' he goes back. "All of us wonder how it wfll be when we have to go back again," says Service. One thing is certain: It will make a great deal of difference in how it will be if the Germans win the war. Ana it will make a difference not only for the young men who went, but also for the young men who stayed at home. There you have a hint to the answer I to our question. Most of the young men who are now in the army are coming back to their jobs. They are , going to take up their dreams again. But how vain their dreams will be if , they are living in a world dominated t by the Hun! There is where the answer "connects upm with the young man's dreams and plans. Let the young soldier think of the things he dreamed of doing and of being before he was called to war. Let him think of the horfte he expected to establish and the life he expected to live. And then let him ' know this: It is for the right to labor : to bring those fine dreamt to realizaI tion, without interference from the II tyrannical power that seeks to rule the ' ' -? - ' f lL. [ woria, tnat nc gucs iunn iu ngm. He fights for the flag and for the. naI tional ideals which it represents. But , j he fights also for his own dreams, for i j those who are near and dear to him, : I and for the right to live his own .life in freedom. His fighting is to be part of the realization of his dreams, i And it will be well or ill with him r' when he comes back home again in i! accordance with how he conducts him, | self during this greatest struggle in ;1 all history. . T MILLION : and, coming from so many states, they! were picturesquely styled the "Rain-1 , bow Division.'* In the meantime great camps and; cantonments were erected for the training of the skeleton units of the| , new Regular Army divisions, of the | i remaining National Guard divisions j and of the new draft army. It was not lone beforfc the feats of 1 : Americans abroad b?gan to thrill the r people of the homeland. Regulars and National Guardsmen alike distinguished themselves. In due J t time the new National Army came ini to being and, as quickly as possible, units of that new army were sent to France. Now they, too, have been r beard from. i The record is always the same, t whether it concerns Regulars, Nationf al Guardsmen or men of the National - Army. The intrepidity, the native . skill in warfare, the adaptability to i new conditions?all these factors in - the fighting ability of American troops 1 stamped them no matter what the genf esis of their organizations. Not all of the first million are among ! the fighting troops. For the maini tenance of a transport system in , France, for the great problems of the l N J) C A M P commissary and oldnsmc departments thousands, yes hundreds of thousands of troops, must be kept far from the firing lines. .But even'the non-combatant forces have the genius for warfire that characterizes every body of American troops. An instance of this is already cited in official battle records, as ia the annals of General Carey's scratch army.* . Supplementing the work of the Army of the United States, in ail of the three co-ordinate branches, are the American Marines. And what 1 record they hare written I Then there is the record ot our navai accomplishments. When the report of the first year of naval activity was written it was proudly stated, and gratefully heard, that on the eastward voyage not a single American life had been lost due to enemy operations. It was a tremendous task that the "Navy undertook and it was a tremendous Confessions 0 (This is the seventh of a series of called from his civilian pursuits "by th is a frank, outspoken record of his < which, perhaps, have been shared by in training. ~ These diary entries an National Army as a truthful portrayal into soldiers of "the finest army ever The writer is Ted Wallace, a luxury-l has no settled convictions, except selfls purging process of war into a red-blow Sept. 8. There is something tremendously fascinating about this camp. Its hugeness overwhelms you at first. But since the first two days we have had little opportunity to think of anything but the tasks at hand. We get up at an unearthly hour? half-past five?and from then until after the flag eeremony, of which I have written, it is a case of work all me ume. At first my muscles were sore and I was very tired. But tonight I did not mind it so much. The soldier's day is a long and dif' We did some gardening an well as drilling today. flcult one. Of that I am convinced. A young Lieutenant told ns today that we were being "eased in" to real work. We did some gardening as well as j drilling today, for the Captain said he wanted our barracks and the ground nearby to look better than any other in camp. When we had finished,on; landscape gardening mess call sound- i ed. It was very welcome. The Captain said he wanted a word with the men, so we were all assembled. "Let me tell yqn something," be began. "I'm not asking yon to do this gardening becanse I am particularly fond of flowers or because I am a particular lover of landscape beauty, but I am concerned in company pride. You men don't know what that means yet. Those of you that have been to high school or college know something of what I am driving at. You wanted your athletic teams to beat anything going. You were proud of your school, proud of its traditions. "This company of which yon all are members has no traditions yet. Neither has any other company on this reservation. Thp record is absolutely blank and there are no handicaDs. Therefore, the thing to do is to get off to a good start and to make tine traditions. I want this company to be the best in camp." It was just like a school day. We were all boys again. You could not have checked the cheers. The (Captain looked very pleased. But he held up his hand and said: "I told you a minute ago that I wanted this company to be the finest in the camp. But I think you might just as well know that every other Captain is telling his company the name thing." The humor of the situation dawned upon, all of us. There was a loud laugh, which probably wasn't very military. But the Captain did not care. He told us to get in line for mess and to keep the company tradition in mind as we "polked" the meee rnrnmm accomplishment that the N achieved The record wottld not be comtfetjQ word were not spoken in bshalf of those great civilian agencies that have . contributed to largely to the' !' Inajrj of America's army overseas. The American army is high-spirite&i|9l Ministering to its morale is the Amer- ... E ican Red Crosh, the Yotmg Men's Christian Association, the JCnfabts of j Columbus, the Jewish Welfare Board, "sj the Salvation Army and other a gen- .gal cies too nnmerons to mention. The /| judgment of historians will give to ' *d| these agencies a large share of the. credit, which it is impossible to ap- ~<?| '** - : : Itm praise n uu uiut. As the first million takes its place ;^J| overseas, the one regret is that the *# American navy has not yet had an opportunity to demonstrate that its capital ships are the equal of any in the world and are manned by some of the finest sea fighters of all time. f A Conscript diary entries ftrkten by a young man e operation of the selective draft. H >*m feelings, thoughts and emotions, :,"?j other American men now overseas ,y| s commended to the soldiers of the; ;$B| of the process of converting civilians J 1 called to the colors by any nation." fc&aB oving young man, who, at the outset ~ J h ones, and who is transformed by the aJ led patriot.) ' hall. "Policing" means cleaning np. It is quite interesting in the early wag morning as the grounds are "policed." The men cover every inch of the /'%] ground and leave it scrupulously [-yi clean. | We went at the "policing" of the : ^ mess hall today with a new spirit. fs quite wonderful what the Captain's little talk did. 1 noticed men picking up cigarette stumps without being Or- 3SH dered to do it. The company is full now and we" have been told that non-commissioned >-a8B officers will be named from among I us. There are some men with mill- -.yy| tary experience and I suppose they :r,fl will get all the places. . The army organization becomes *: mnra ntflin tft fiVftn aftST M this short time. The saluting, which W at first seems so unnecessary, hM 71 taken on a new meaning. One of thfr / I young Lieutenants was explaining H r\7today. He said it had come to tlM 7AJ modern army from the knights of old.. ^j| They wore helmets that covered their faces completely. A junior knight'; 2] passing a senior?the Lieutenant 29 didn't put it quite that way, bnt that &l is what he meant?would raise the ''$01 visor of his helmet and speak a word of greeting. That salutation is the ; origin of the salute. The Lieutenant explained that so much stress is placed upon it because it was now considered more than a mere exchange of greetinng; in fact, is an j oath of allegiance of a soldier to his country and his commander. I like -'j I that idea. The army is different from any other kind of an organization. I can see that. The officers have power J i to send us to certain deaths?what a tremendous responsibility?and it in j important that we view them differI ently from mere employers. '*'$8 I feel already tnat l nave imDioeu ;5gr 4jBBl I noticed men picking up cigarette stumps without being ordered to do itf ^ many of the army ideas. I-suppose I~ Ayi shall soon become an enthusiast. Cer- 'J tainly I am beginning to lose my sentment. It does not seem possible that SO-, few hours could work such great^,' changes. Yet there are men here day who are upright in bearing and proud, men who, when they caiM.|j& only a day or two ago, were slouch?, and listless. It seems as if the atmosphere |# electrified. Officers -are consMAfly'^ speaking of it. They call it a miracle and are predicting a great future for the National Army. As 1 write there is the first note of . "Taps." What a^beaotifu^caH it is! * I
Trench and Camp (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 9, 1918, edition 1
6
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75