"The real height of the enthusiasm was reached when, after passing through 110th street and northward along Lenox Avenue, the heroes arrived in the real Black Belt of Harlem. This was the Home, Sweet Home for hundreds of them, the neighborhood they'd been born in and had grown up in, and from 129th Street north the windows and roofs and fireescapes of the five and six story apartment houses were filled to overflowing with their nearest and dearest. "The noise drowned the melody of Lieut. Europe's band. Flowers fell in showers from above. Men, women and children from the sidewalks overran the police and threw their arms about the paraders. There was a swirling maelstrom of dark humanity in the avenue. In the midst of all the racket there could be caught the personal salutations: 'Oh, honey!' 'Oh, Jim!' 'Oh, you Charlie!' 'There's my boy!' 'There's daddie!' 'How soon you coming home, son?' It took all the ability of scores of reserve policemen between 129th Street and 135th Street, where the uptown reviewing stand was, to pry those colored enthusiasts away from their soldiermen. "There was one particular cry which was taken up for blocks along this district: 'O-oh, you wick-ed Hen-nery Johnson! You wick-ed ma-an!' and Henry the Boche Killer still bowed and grinned more widely than ever, if possible. "'Looks like a funeral, Henry, them lilies!' called one admirer. "'Funeral for them bush Germans, boy! Sure a funeral for them bushes.' shouted Henry. "The official reviewing party, after the parade had passed 60th street, had hurried uptown, and so had the Police Band, and so there were some doings as the old 15th breezed past 135th Street. But no one up there cared for Governors or ex-Governors or dignitaries. Every eye was on the Black Buddies and every throat was opened wide for them. "At 145th Street the halt was called. Again there was a tremendous rush of men and women with outstretched arms; the military discipline had to prevail, and the soldiers were not allowed to break ranks, nor were the civilians (save the quickest of them) able to give the hugs and kisses they were overflowing with. "As rapidly as possible the fighters were sent down into the subway station and loaded aboard trains which took them down to the 71st Regiment Armory at 34th Street and Fourth Avenue. Here the galleries were filled with as many dusky citizens as could find places (maybe 2,500 or 3,000) and so great was the crowd in the neighborhood that the police had to block off 34th Street almost to Fifth Avenue on the west and Third on the east.