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Show WAR HEROES RETURN ON BIG TRANSPORT NEW YORK, Dec. 23. The United States transport George Washington which took President Wilson to France and the steamship Cedric arrived homo today, bringing 6,025 men from overseas in time to celebrate Christmas Christ-mas In the United States. The Cedric from Liverpool with sixty-five officers and 2,168 enlisted men, docked first and was accorded a rousing rous-ing reception, but the welcome to the George Washington, which arrived an hour later, from Brest, was perhaps the most enthusiastic the city lias yet given a returning transport. The blC HriPr hnrl nn hnnrH 11 nffi. 'cers and 3,461 men, more than half them members of the "cyclone division" divi-sion" made up of Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia national guard troops. The George Washington's 968 sick and wounded, contrary to custom, were In possession of their honorable discharge papers when the transport landed. They received them last night with cigarets and candy at a novel Christmas celebration, arranged by Chaplain P. F. Bloomhardt of the George Washington. As the men -were dozing off for their last sleep aboard the transport, the ship's quartet entered the' bay and roused them by singing Christmas carols car-ols and "Home, Sweet Home." The lights then were flashed on and a mem-bere mem-bere of the crew, att,ired as Santa Claus, distributed the discharges which' had been approved by General Pershing before the. George Washington Washing-ton left Brest and by the war department depart-ment by wireless. According to Major W. H. Unversau, the Indiana men were "keenly disappointed" disap-pointed" in not getting into the fighting. fight-ing. They were at an American training train-ing camp for almost a year before they sailed but when the armistice was signed they were all ready for action and expecting daily orders to entrain for the front. Colonel Halstead Dorey of Washington, Washing-ton, wearing four wound stripes, was one of the officers , on the George Washington. After being gassed twice and wounded once in the leg, Colonel Doroy's hip was injured at Verdun by a high explosive shell. He is a veteran veter-an of Cuba and the Philippines and a former member of the staff of Major General Leonard Wood. Before sailing for France, he commanded the first Plattsburg training camp for business men. v Lieutenant George W. Buryear of Memphis, Tenn.. who escaped Germany Ger-many by swimming the Rhine, after being be-ing in five German camps, was another passenger Lieutenant Buryear was captured when ho descended behind the German lines. Lieutenant Edgar Boligney of New Orleans, aviator, who enlisted with tho foreign legion in August, 191-1. and later was transferred to the American service, was another passenger. Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Boligney's plane was shot down In Albania last July from a height of 7000 feet, he said, but he managed to land and escaped without a scratch. oo |
