A WARM WELCOME

LARGE CROWD GATHERS TO MEET RETURNING SOLDIERS

MEMBERS OF RAINBOW DIVISION

Six Thousand People Turn Out to Meet Some of the Men Who Helped Make
History on the Battle Fields of France
 

Soldiers of the Rainbow Division whose homes are in LeMars and vicinity were greeted by about 6,000 people when the noon train pulled in on Sunday. The streets were decorated with flags of the national colors and bunting and the Rainbow hues were displayed in nearly every business place in LeMars.

The crowd surged up onto the platform eager to welcome the men and cheers, tears, and laughter were freely intermingled. It was a scene of conflicting emotions. Mothers, sisters and sweethearts were there to welcome their boys, while others in the crowd, though joining in the universal hearty home coming greetings, thought with a pang of the heroes who lie to Flanders fields and will never come home.

The returning soldiers escorted by other soldiers who have previously returned from service headed by the band and bevy of young women who carried a Rainbow banner and formed aisles of ribbons through which the soldiers marched, followed by the crowd formed a parade which progressed up Seventh street. Crowds of spectators lined the sidewalks and cheered the men as they walked past and hundred of people in automobiles from the surrounding country raised their voices in cheers and greetings. The crowd gathered on the square at the corner of Main and Sixth streets where Rev. J.K. Hawkins, pastor of the First Methodist church, made a five minute talk.

Mr. Hawkins said: "Men of the 168th Infantry, Iowa's famous regiment in the 42nd Division, we take special pride in welcoming you on your return from the fields of glory and honor.

We welcome you because you are our very own, our sons, our brothers, and our sweethearts of LeMars and Plymouth county.

We welcome you because you love our national flag, the red, the white, the blue colors that never run. The flag that wherever it waves on land or on the sea, at home or on foreign soil, always stands for liberty and humanity.

We welcome you because you carried the banner of American bravery and daring through burning hells of death on a half hundred battle fields, fighting in the greatest battles of the war along the entire front, from the North Sea to Switzerland.

We welcome you because you met and sanguinely defeated in battle at one time six of the picked divisions of the German army including three divisions of the vaunted Prussian guards, and not once were your backs over to the foe. The staff of Luden-rff kept a big book at Spa. In this book they wrote down their impressions of the American army. One of the staff in answer to a question asked by the foreign news correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, as to a best American division said, THE DIVISION YOU CALL THE RAINBOW IN THE SKY.

We welcome you not only because you are America's RAINBOW IN THE SKY, do also because you were the world's RAINBOW IN THE SKY made black and appalling by the configuration of the most terrible war in history. When Germany was in the full flush of victory and full of confidence that the dwindling force of Great Britain and France could not break through her walls of concrete, steel and guns, you entered the fight and changed the tide of battle.

We welcome you because you saved Paris, the channel cities, Great Britain, America and the civilization of the world against farther ravages of the Hun hordes.

Again we welcome you. Thrice welcome you. Eternally welcome you."

The home coming greeting was made brief as it was realized that the families of the soldiers were anxious to have their boys to themselves and the men were anxious to their homes as quickly as possible.

A number of the boys who belonged to the division and joined up in Plymouth county left the contingent at Sioux City and from there went to their homes at Kingsley, Ireton and other points.

The men returning are:

The boys of the old Company K serving in the famous division, who returned some time ago are:

The names of those who have give their lives for their county either in battle or by disease incurred in service are:

-source: LeMars Sentinel Newspaper, LeMars, Plymouth Co., Iowa; Tuesday, 20  May 1919