Show rl UM ira of M f ol 01 t others A fj I 1 ell ZY t 4 chapel es gold atar mothers at tomb ad 3 bew NG of soldier by ELMO SCOTT WATSON day this year will rill be unique I 1 ln in the history of that day nere here ln in j T I 1 america it will be observed in the tm S manner familiar to all of us but over across the atlantic groups of american women will visit the places place where stand the crosses row on row and there pay reverent tribute to america americas s soldier dead who sleep in foreign soil but this tribute will not be just a formal gesture by a group to each one of these women it will be an intimate personal act 0 of f devotion for these women are america americas s gold star mothers and with loving bands hands they will lay flowers upon the graves of their sons so memorial day this year will be unique be cause of the pilgrimage of gold star mothers which has been arranged by the united states government the idea of this pilgrimage dates from march 2 1029 when hen congress passed a bill authorizing an appropriation of more than 5 to cover the expense of taking the mothers and wives of the service men who met their death in the world war as the guests of the gov eminent for a visit to the place where their sol dier dead are burled buried the war inar department was then directed to make the necessary preparations for the visits and invitations were sent out to of these women of that number 5 have ac accepted and they will be taken at various times this summer the remaining have been listed and may make the trip at convenient times between now and october 1933 the trip will be under the direction of the war war department with the quartermaster corps in direct charge and every detail will be handled by army officers the quartermaster corps has developed the american cemeteries in europe and Is re for their administration the graves of service men burled buried abroad are in its charge it Is 18 giving infinite care to the choice of the officers who are to be responsible tor for all the gold star mothers who cross the seas and its one idea Is that the women who go on this journey shall hate have ever thing to make them comfortable and happy it is an immense project this taking women to a foreign country most of the women are between sixty and sixty five bears ears old one Is i eighty eight some of them are in ill III health and only their tl desire to see the last resting place of I 1 their beloved dead spurs them to cross the sea and nd to adventure in foreign lands among people who are strangers the war department has tried to think of every possible contingency and provide for it all the experience in planning military expeditions from food to passage has been used to work out ar range ments to the smallest detail and leeway Is provided for those unexpected contingencies which they know always arise the difficult feature about this pilgrimage is that it Is unique there has never been anything like it so the war department part ment has no experience to build its plans on it must estimate on vision and imagination to L cover all possibilities they have figured on per person for each of the women who rho go and incidentally no woman who has already visited the grave of her son or husband may go on this pilgrimage its purpose Is to take those women R ho cannot go oti ott berwise than as guests of the government besides the actual expense of transportation J and care of the mothers which adda up to this apiece there will be the salaries of an office force in new york and paris the mothers will be looked after by army officers from the moment they arrive in new ew york until they are put on board the train in new york again after they return from europe every mother who R ho Is to go has received an engraved card inviting her in the name of the united states government to go on the pilgrim age so far only those hai have e been asked who hav have e actual graves to visit legislation Is pending which would permit those to go whose rhose sons or husbands were nere buried burled at sea or are among the missing abroad the women will ivill go to new york whence all sailings will be made arriving the day before sailing they will go in groups of sailing once a week from may to october their tare fare will be paid from their homes to new york but they must come to new lork without chaperon age from the government the war department has made the most careful arrangements with the various railroads however to see that the women get their tickets and the railroads are doing their bit by promising every aid even to delivering tickets personally to mothers who live t in the country each mother R will ill have a badge of red wl ite and blue ribbon with nith her name on a metal bar her number on the back for each woman will have a number on file in the natvar department and this badge will entitle her to special care on her w ray ay to new york ev every ery railroad employed A A 1 14 0 J N N et orial chapel at thi from conductor to switchman rill ill be instructed d to look after any woman wearing nearing that badge with the gold star and the great seal of the united states on it the pilgrims will be met tn in new york by army officers mostly captains and lieutenants who rho have been detailed to stay with nith the groups the pil grims will be housed in first class hotels nine dollars and fifty cents a day Is allowed per person in new york tl TI ey A will fit stay tay tn in new york over night and tl ti e gold star mothers organization will entertain each group the day after they arrhe arrive and before they embark they will sail on amer lean slips sl aps and go first class everything ev erv thing will be paid tor for them from stewards to steamer ru rugs s arrived in cherbourg the mothers will rill be met by officers who will rill conduct them to paris where they will stay two days the groups on the ships will be arranged by states and by cemeteries As they arrhe arrive they will be broken up into units of 25 each forming a busload from then on each unit will be in charge of an officer who will rill stay with them until they re embark the war mothers of fiance are preparing a warm welcome for them general bourand corn com manding the military militar district of paris will put himself at their disposal there will be visits by groups to the grave of the unknown soldier and to the suresnes Sur esnes cemetery the arlington of I 1 ranee rance which Is on the edge of paris parts a place of surpassing assing beauty priests rabbis and irot I 1 rot eastant ministers R will ill be available american americ in nurses will attend them and the doors of tie tl e american hospital will swing open to any who need treat ment not only will it be an immense project to take these mothers to europe but it was an almost equally stupendous task to search out the mothers of the american s idlers wio are buried in france belgium and england mostly in france there had been no occasion for locating these mothers until the present legislation was passed the quartermaster corps started with the name of the next of kin which was as given by each man when hen he went rent into the army it wrote letters to ta tie e addresses div given ell out of every sent forty came back unclaimed those thoe who had been set down as next of kin had died or moved away or oth otherwise ernise disappeared during the twelve or thirteen years that had passed since they were last heard from but 60 per cent of the next of kin hill letters brought answers of mothers of those wao had died abroad less than half were still alive of wives of those who had died abroad there were many who had married again and so became inell gible for the trip the number of widows who rho will make the trip Is small the mothers who responded to letters having been located the quarter quartermaster mister corps went ment further in its search for the relatives of those whose next of kin did not respond it operated through the veterans bureau because of insurance and corn com sensation pens pensa atlon tion that agency has been in touch with nith most of them I 1 et tl ere has been found only one mother or widow to about three men burled buried abroad 1160 11 buo cuo out of 30 92 tl TI e ships their days of sailing and the num ber her of war mothers each will carry arenas ardas fol lows tons america may 7 republic may 14 harding arding ti may 14 washington may 21 abt ometer at romagne SOO roosevelt may 28 america june 4 harding june 14 roosevelt june 21 SOO republic june 25 america july 2 II Hard arding july 9 washington july 23 republic july 26 america july 30 roosevelt august 9 washington august 19 america august 27 republic august 30 many knotty problems have been met at every enery stage of the arrangements IN with jtb more than 5 to go coming from every state in the union there was the question of where to begin it was thought that it would be a happy arrangement if the mothers aiom given localities could go together most would I 1 e likely to have friends or acquaint ances from the start they would at least feel more at home surrounded by other women nomen from their own state but what should be the order of their going from tl e different states in the end the matter was left to chance the n names mes of the states were put in a basket and drawn out at a time the women from the first state that came out of the basi basl et went first and so on mrs herbert hoover drew the names and the ceremony took place at the anh white ite house late last year here is a list in the order in which they came out of the basket and the number of women nomen from each state who rho will go over this summer nebraska 59 69 florida 37 delaware 5 6 kentucky 58 56 ohio arkansas 47 iowa montana 39 porto rico I 1 oklahoma 88 south dakota 31 washington 12 california rhode Is land 40 district of columbia 20 north dakota 54 59 MIc michigan bIgan W wisconsin iscon sin maryland 49 new york hawaii 1 nevada 4 wyoming 13 virginia 69 new mex ico 2 oregon 90 mississippi 30 illinois idaho 25 minnesota texas north carolina utah 31 new jersey renn alvania sl vania vanta west 43 georgia 1 83 louisiana 46 missouri vermont 20 ten bessee 71 kansas indiana Connect i cut 74 alabama 65 arizona 15 maine 38 south carolina 40 new hampshire 37 colorado 64 there are el eight ht cemeteries in europe which the gold star mothers will vi it one Is in england one in belgium and six are in france all eight of tl ti ese cemeteries have been laid out with skill gravel and cement walks which were planned from the standpoint of convenience and art wind tl belr way through each of them marble head bead stones mark every enery grave trees flowers and shrubs contribute bute to the beauty and peaceful at mo sphere at each of the american cemeteries there is a caretaker a world war veteran who by reabon reason of his own experience is able to meet with proper understanding those who come to visit the graves each cemetery has its chapel and in nearly all the hostess houses have been completed the meuse argonne cemetery at romagne near verdun which is the largest of all the american cemeteries in europe and wherein ameri amerl can soldier dead are buried Is approximately miles by bus from paris A hostess house Is main bained in this cemetery for the convenience of those visitors who desire to stay overnight or to remain several days in the st mihiel cemetery soldier dead lie ile buried it Is located near the small town of thiaucourt Thi aucourt whose population Is about 1200 in the department of the ainne st mihiel is ap proximately 70 miles from parts 25 miles from metz and 30 miles from nancy tl TI e oise algne cemetery where 5 american soldier dead are buried is in the department of the ainne approximately 65 miles from paris the ainne marne cemetery R valere I 1 ere 2 2268 service men are burled buried is located near the village of belleu department of the ainne about 6 miles from chauteau thierry and approximately go 60 miles nilles from paris the ll bl anders celd held cemetery in belgium where bere american sold er dead are burled Is about 25 miles from lille the brookwood Bro demeter ce meter where of our sol dier cher dead lie tie buried is at brookwood surrey england only about 28 miles from london each of these cemeteries has been so developed that it has become an area of great beauty and is so cared tor for as to constitute a continuing proof of the count country rys s appreciation of the services of those who lie ile burled buried there |