World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American
I have been told of a leave train sent to Italy with American soldiers
born in Italy on it in order that they might see their people. Doubt was
expressed in the minds of the higher command as to whether it was an
advisable move, inasmuch as it was thought probable that many of the men
would overstay their leave or possibly try to desert and stay there. Not
one man out of the 1200 did either. An officer who talked with these men
on their return said that conversations ran much like this: "Cipiloni,
have a fine time on your leave?" "Yes, sir." "See your family?" "Yes,
sir." "Get back in time all right?" "Yes, sir, got back to the train
fourteen hours before it left, sir. I was afraid, sir, if I missed this
train, I might get left behind when the division started for home."
When replacements came to us, some of them could not even speak
English. After they had been with the troops two or three months the
same men would not only be speaking English, but would speak it by
preference. I have seen two Italians, born in the same district in
Italy, laboriously conversing with one another in English rather than
use the tongue to which they were born, with which they were naturally
much more familiar.
From these and many other reasons, the army is the least of this
country's fears as far as Bolshevism and its kindred anarchies are
concerned. All over the country you will find the service men keen to
put down demonstrations of this sort. They are keen of their own accord,
not prompted by anyone. The other day I was in a city where a Bolshevist
meeting had been broken up by some service men. I knew one of the men
who was concerned in this. I asked him how it occurred. He said. "Why,
sir, it was this way. I was talking to some of the fellows down at the
W. C. C. S. and a guy says to us, 'They've got a red-flag meeting on
for to-night.' I said to some of the men, 'That ain't the flag we know
anything about, or fought for. Let's go down and bust them birds up.'"
The service man feels that this is his country. His first and foremost
concern is for the United States. He wants the institutions of this
country to stand. He has given himself, and where one has given of one's
self the interest is deepest. He has bought a share of stock of the
United States. As a stockholder he intends to do what he can to see that
the concern is run properly.
In order to keep alive and active this spirit of sturdy loyalty, a
vested interest of some type obtained by his own labor should be aimed
at for every one of as many citizens as possible. This country will have
to move forward with a program of sane, constructive, carefully
thought-out liberalism.
It may be necessary in doing this to modify or change certain things in
this community in the future, but the service man, I believe, intends,
as far as he is able, to see that those changes and modifications are
carried out in such a way as will not destroy or injure the national
fabric and institutions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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