The Reconnaissance (Camp Bowie, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 43, Ed. 1 Monday, June 24, 1918 Page: 1 of 8
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1
The purpose of this little paper is to
purchase a print shop to take to the
trenches, that the soldiers may pub-
lish a paper of their own after the din
of battle has died away.
‘Nach Berlin: 2
der Kaiser
f
After you have read this copy of The
Reconnaissance put a two-cent stamp
here and let it be mailed to some sol-
dier in France. No address is needed.
Drop it in the mail box.
mm
RECONNAISSANCE
Pays No Individual Profits—Every Cent for the Collective Benefit of All Soldiers
f ' - -
j
First Edition Printed at Camp Blair, Aug. 15,1917; the last at Potsdam
■ ^ 'v;. ... < ; , .. -
Published Weekly
VOLUME L
CAMP BOWIE, TEXAS, MONDAY, JUNE 24, 1918. ^
PRICE FIVE CENTS. NO, 42
MORE SOLDIERS ARE
MEMBERS OF MASONS
THAN ANY OTHER LODGE
COMPUTATION OF FIGURES
THOUGH INCOMPLETE, SHOW
MASONIC LODGE MOST
POPULAR.
4*4*4*4,4*4,4*4,4*4*4,4*4*4*4J’4*4#4*
4*
v “THE YANKS WALK INTO *
* HELL, EYES AGLEAMING.” *
, An incomplete compilation of fig-
ures on the number of men who are
members of the various lodges show
the Masonic lodge far ahead of all
others at Camp Bowie-. The Wood-
man lodge holds second place. From
a total, of 13,223 soldiers who have
sent the Reconnaissance their names
and what lodge they belong to the
Masonic lodge has a total of 8,301,
while all other lodges combined have
a total of 4,922 members.
In presenting these figures, which
no doubt will be of considerable in-
terest to our readers, we desire to
point out that several lodges have
held special ceremonials for confer-
ring degrees to the soldiers. The
Masonic lodge has held two such
ceremonials and the Knights of Col-
umbus one. It is reported unoffieial-
M
ly that both lodges will hold addition-
al ceremonials within the near future.
The Reconnaissance is pleased to
notice that the various lodges are
taking advantage of being of some
service to the men in uniform. The
Knights of Columbus hall, on the car
line north of division headquarters, is
proving a popular rendezvous for
many soldiers, while the Temple Club,
at the Julian Feild Lodge, 908, A. F. &
A. M. is the recreation place for an
additional number.
- In,,a. future issue we hope to be
able toVsubmit a complete list of fig-
ures showing exactly how the mem-
bership qf each lodge stands at this
cantonment.
jsr: ta te
CAMP BOWIE WILL BE
MADE INFANTRY CAMP
4* In next week's .issue of the 4
4* Reconnaissancee we present 4*
4- to our readers an exclusive 4*
4- copyrighted article from the 4*
-c° American trenches. Photon 4-
4* graphs will accompany the. ar- 4*
4- tide. Robert T. Brown is the 4*
4* author. . 4*
4- “The yanks walk into hell, 4*
4- eyes agleaming,” he says, “and 4*
4= they always remember that 4*
4* many baseball games have 4*
4- been won in the ninth inning.” 4*
4° Mr. Brown’s article has 4*
4* punch in every paragraph. It 4-
4* is written so as to depict the 4*
4» sad and the glad side of life 4*
4- in the trenches. 4*
4* 4*
►i# »£• *£•
AMERICANS OVERSEA
PERSHING’S FORCES PUBLISH
BREEZY SHEET UNDER OF-
FICIAL AUSPICES.
General Inspection
Made of Camp Bowie
COL. WILLIAMS, FROM WASH-
INGTON, THOROUGHLY IN-
SPECTS EVERY Oi^ANA-
" IZATION. \
Every organization in -Camp Bowie
last week underwent a general in-
spection at the instigation ' of the.
War Department. Each unit passed
under the scrutiny of Gol. II. O. Wil-
liams and Lieutenant Colonel J. T.
Hunt, both from the inspector gener-
al’s office at Washington.
( The members of each organization
in camp was compelled to make a
showdown of every piece of equip-
ment that has. been issued them. Each
„ I17T, nrrtwT XT nAfiFI* soidier was required to be dressed
HAVE WeMIY lAlEK j strictly..aecording to regulations and
’ but three men from each outfit were
permitted to miss, the inspection.
Prisoners from regimental guard-
houses were taken from their “cells”
and marched in regular formation
with the organization to which they
belong.
The inspecting officers closely
question men from each company and
battery in order to ascertain whether
the men were hep to what must be
done in certain specific cases. Arid
The Reconnaissance is in receipt of
copies of the STARS & STRIPES, of-
ficial weekly paper of the American
Expeditionary Forces in France. The
paper is by far the brightest and
breeziest army publication in the
world. It is being published by form-
er American newspaper men, xMo are
now in the service and is issued under
official auspices of the government,
being propaganda of the war depart-
ment.
From a standpoint of brightness
the paper is simply great. It depicts
the bright side of army life in an en-
Blakely’s Brigade
‘ A'Ready for Oversea *
' . '.’.V--. -—— V
ARTILLERY REGIMENTS CQULD ,*
p TEACH ASSIMILATED DRILL . %
W-AND 'TECHNICAL' POINTS. : j*
A,;/ >A'V. A'- ■■■' A Wvy'yCw!,#
A If the " War Department wired, j £
ikUjepa^ Blakely a iis to . when,; 4«
»£• ».%
CLEVER STUFF!
his brigade wili.be ready to move
overseas, if, is highly probable that V
the general would say upe word in
answer—“now!” .4*
; Since coming . to; Camp Bowie. the ! 4*
three.',artillery, regiments., have learn- £
-ed assimilated drills,^ .details arici .t. ... <*, *% ... *?.
.technical work in such a manner; • ______,
that they could now teach it to oth-j
ers. .Colonels Birkhead, Sholars and
From every angle next
week’s paper will be the bree-
' ziest and brightest edition that
.'has ever been published. Num-
erous special features will ap-
pear in its columns.
Jack Ellis, our-staff artist,
contributes . the best thing he
has ever dope. It’s a peach of
a picture, laughable—yet con-
veying to our readers, a very
significant bit of Americanism.
The best talent in Camp
Bowie is entailed in the col-
lection of material for next
week's edition, which will be
dedicated to General Greble.
Logan have done some efficient
work in whipping the orgarfizations
of their respective regiments into
fightipg trim. Each ready to go into
action, the big gun boys are . now
awaiting orders to move.
In horsemanship the 131st .Field
Artillerjr possibly outclasses any reg-
iment in the camp. The men of Col.
Birkhead’s regiment handle the ani-
mals in a way that makes the horses
themselves realize that they are to
play a big part in winning the war.
Without a bobble the 131st swings for-
ward and back across the gun park
while no statement regarding the gf_ | that regiment each day. T hey work
ficiency of any organization was au-
thorized by the officers in charge, it
is certain that they were well pleased
with General Greble’s division, as
was shown by the expression on their
faces.
Several men, however, were un-
tertainingly realistic way. The con- lucky enough to let their musical tal-
tributors are writing material that'is tints' over-ride their military' judg-
being widely quoted by the big dail- ment and as a consequence had a hair
ies on this side. Elsewhere in this
issue of the Reconnaissance are a
number of bright pieces reproduced
from the columns of STARS &
STRIPES.
The office of publication is in Paris.
The paper is receiving support from
pulling. Beautiful locks, thereafter,
Jfell before the mighty clipper of the
regimental barber and today every
man in camp has a regulation hair
cut. It has been said that some of
the men allowed their hair to hang
down in their eyes in order to hide a
ANNOUNCEMENT SAYS WILL BE ad^-
USED AS REPLACEMENT
STATION WHEN 36TH
LEAVES.
That Camp Bowie is to be made a
permanent infantry replacement; Arrangements have been made with
camp has now been definitely an-;a news agency in Newark to cable
nounced from division headquarters. the big news of this nation to the
iThe announcement has been officially! & STRIPES
luthorized by the war department.
Approximately 50,000 soldiers will
"be in training at the camp virtually
all of the time after the camp is es-
tablished, which will not be until the
36th division has been moved over-
seas. Construction of barracks, at an
approximate expenditure of $3,000,-
000, is expected to begin within the
next two months. The erection of the
new buildings, however, has not yet
been officially authorized.
In connection with the announce-
ment of the establishment of Bowie
as a replacement camp for the infan-
try nothing is said regarding who
American, French and Brit\fii adver- hunted look, caused, perhaps, from a
guilty conscience—or at the request
of some girl who cares more for
looks than for regulations.
The artillery brigade underwent the
inspection Friday and Saturday of
last week. Colonels Birkhead, Sholars
and Logan were very much pleased
with the showing made by the men of
their regiments.
Sr || m
10 MORE MEN STUCK
BY COURTMARTIAL
tisers. It carries an excellent run of
"A
The editor of the paper is to be
complimented on the efficient and
straightforward manner in which the
issues of the army are handled. There
is never any doubt about stories that
appear in the columns of the paper.
Thus are the
men in the United States army in a
position to know what is going on on
this side of the ocean.
The Reconnaissance takes this op-
portunity to congraluate the publish-
ers of STARS & STRIPES. We will
be willing to co-operate, with a wor-
thy contemporary when the European
offices of the Reconnaissance are es-
tablished over there.
The highest compliment that, could
be paid a newspaper, we think, is to
say that it is complete in every de-
tail. STARS & STRIPES is just
that. v •'
■ w ss m
will be in command. While General .
Greble has declined to make a state- wf^SSCu. BfilMlS CllVC
ment as to whether he will be assign 1
ed here, it is not likely that he will
be retained as commander of the
camp. The General is an artillery-
man and it is probable that he will
be transferred to some artillery
camp.
The war department evolved the
plan some months ago of separating
the various branches of the service of
the National Army. Camp Bowie will-
quarter the drafted men in the future
and will furnish men to the regi-
ments overseas with soldiers to fill the
vacancies created by casualties.
The new troops to come here will
not be from Texas and Oklahoma
alone. The men will come from the
North and East as well. As replace-
ment troops they will be sent abroad
as needed to fill in gaps there. That
is to say, the next forces at the camp
will not be sent overseas as a divis-
ion.
(Continued on Page 4.)
Weekly Concert Now
CARL VENTH AND SAM LOSH TO
Direct mighty musical
CONCERTS ON EACH .
FRIDAY.
The massed regimental bands of
Camp Bowie will entertain the pub-
lic each Friday afternoon in the fu-
ture with a mighty musical ceremon-
ial in front of Division Headquar-
ters, according to an announcement
made by Colonel E. J. Williams, chief
of the staff. The hour of the con-
certs will be 7:45. The public is in-
vited to attend..
The musical concert will be under
the lirection of Carl Venth, band di-
rector for Camp Bowie and Sam S.
Losh, camp singing instructor. A
squad of choristers will lend vocal
(Continued bn Page 4.)
GENERAL COURT HASTENS THE
WORK OF TRYING VIOLATORS
OF REGULATIONS.
■ The General Court Martial is has-
tening the work of trying all cases on
docket in order to dispose of all men
against whom charges of violating
war regulations have been placed.
Ten cases were disposed of this week.
The sentences of each soldier follows:
Private Joseph C. Phillips of the
Headquarters Company of the 141st
Infantry was found guilty of breaking
confinement before his proper release
and was sentenced to a dishonorable
discharge, forfeiture of all pay and
allowances and confinement at hard
labor for ten years. The reviewing
authorities mitigated the confinement
sentence to five years in the United
States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort
Leavenworth, Kans.
Private David Barkley of the Head-
quarters Company of the 141st Infan-
try was found guilty of desertion and
was sentenced to a dishonorable dis-
charge, forfeiture of all pay and al-
lowances and confinement at hard la-
bor for ten years. The reviewing au-
thorities jnitigated the confinement
sentence to six months.
Private Richard H. Beier of Ambu-
lance Company No. 142 of the 111th
Sanitary Train was found guilty of
A. W. O. L. for two months and was
sentenced to a dishonorable discharge
from the service, forfeiture of all pay
(Continued on Page 4.)
under-
quiekly and with confident
standing of orders.:
The 132nd Field Artillery, under; meanjnc-
command of Colonel Arthur R. Shol-
ars, has had a varied career. Colonel
Sholars, reputed to be one of the best
all ’round soldiers in the camp, is
On the stage conducting the caurt,
besides Judge Meek, ' who presided,
were Major Clark C. Wren, judge ad-
vocate of the Thirty-sixth division;
Judge B. R. Cott, naturalisation of-
ficer; W. M. Odell, United.* States dis-
trict attorney; W. P. Stakes, chief
deputy marshal; George Parker^ court
reporter; George Mitchel, United
States commissioner; Captain War-
den, gailiff; R. C. Goodfdlow, deputy
marshal.
It was necessary for two officers
of each company or battery to be on
hand to vouch for each alien soldier
so the theater was filled almost to ca-
pacity by the time the judge and par-
ty arrived. Judge Meek los(t no time in
making the men citizens, /first advis-
ing them of their responsibility, the
of citizenship and declared
while the oath would be sworn in
groups he wanted each individual to
take it personally.
of Colonel and was assigned to com
mand of the First Texas Cavalry in
1917. The cavalry regiment was
transferred to the artillery and Sho-
lars retained his command. His reg-
iment, like the 131st, has been whip-
ped into shape with clock-work rapid-
ity. The 132nd has perfected itself
in the fine points of artillery in a lit-
tle less time than it takes an ordin-
ary regiment to learn the foot drills.
It is ready to,go over.
Under command of Colonel F. A.
(Field Artillery) Logan, the 133rd
regiment has made an enviable repu-
tation. As doughboys the 133rd would
rank high and as handlers of 6-inch
howitzers they’ll hold their own
(Continued on Page 4.)
Major Wren called out the names
from the Infantry, where he neld thejof the aliens and offieers accompany.
rark rif Major, He came.-twtee r r:- &{f(i soMier ne A
refused to surrender when he came to
any unpronounceable foreign name,
making a try at each. After the riien
had sworn that evidence as to their
loyalty was correct they were’ separ-
ated by nationalities. Each group
stood before the judge in a long, sin-
gle line across the theater and repeat-
ed the oath of allegiance as Maynard
read it slowly, each man holding up
his right hand until finished.
Great Britain was the first on the
roll, and twenty-five of King George’s
citizens became citizens of this coun-
try. When Holland was called only
one soldier responded and took the
oath. While many Mexicans are at
Camp Bowie, there were only four
jwho took citizenship, the rest likely
-:---;-; being citizens by birth. Two Rouman-
A 11 A liAr»e in A rrmr *ians took and there was only
xxIlLIlo 111 .rxiHiy : one soldier for Switzerland. Eight sol-
Will Be Naturalized Idiers renounced Greece. A surprise
<was-caused when Turkey was called,
for thirteen men came forward. One
of them was a tall blonde and looked
like a German. Norway gave us sev-
en citizens, Sweden nine, Denmark
NATURALIZATION PAPERS TO
Bp GRANTED MEN WHO FILL
RANKS IN ARMY, FOR
ABROAD.
Soldiers representing nineteen na-
tionalities, both friendly and enemy,
appeared before Judge E. R. Meek of
the United States Court- at a special
session of his court held . at Camp
Bowie Saturday morning and after
formalities were compiled with took
the oath of allegiance and became full
fledged American citizens. More than
200 took the oath which was adminis-
tered by L. B. Maynard, clerk of the
court.
The session was held in Liberty
Theater, its name adding to the im-
portarice of the event. It is the first
time Judge Meek ever held court in a
theater and probably the first time
members of the audience were the
principals in a play.
Belgium two, France four, Brazil one.
General Greble’s stable orderly was
one of those quitting the kaiser.
The oath of allegiance each soldier
took follows:
(Continued from Page 1). .
SOLDEIHS MAY TAKE
SHRINEAf REDUCED
RATE IS NEf1RULING
CEREMONIAL TO BE HELD AT
MOSLAH TEMPLE ON
JULY FOURTH
Moslsb. Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order, .Nobles of .the' Mystic Shrine,
announce that at a recent meeting of
the Imperial Council at Atlantic City
the. laws W£re so amended as to per-
mit the initiation of men in the naval
or military, forces of the ' United
States at a rate of one-third of the
usual fee. In other words, the fee
for a soldier or. sailor is now but $25,
as against $75 charged a civilian.
Moslah is going to take full ad-
vantage of this reduction. arid apply
it to its soldier novices at a big cere-
monial to be held in Fort Worth on
July 4th. This -will be an undoubted
boon to maty of the men in the 36th
division, for many have', wished to
join the Shrine, but have heretofore
been deterred by the high fees. The
reduction will assure the largest class
in the history of Moslah Temple and
Lake Worth will echo to the laughter
of the nobles as they escort their mil-
itary friends across the hot sands of
the famous desert.
Every regimerit in Camp Bowie has
its representative of Moslah who will
gladly take the applications for the
ceremonial of Independence Day. In
the 133rd Artillery Sergeant Robert
C. Diefenderfer, Battery D and Cap-
tain S. A. Stewart have the applica-
tion blanks arid either will be ready
to arrange for the forwarding of pe-
^1Rr
!,'gating of iW-.ricro
675 “Regulars” Now
Encamped at Bowie
QUARTERED AT DETENTION
CAMP FORMERLY OCCUPIED
BY CONSCRIPTED MEN.
Six hundred and seventy-five mem-
bers of the “regular” army arrived at
Camp Bowie late last week and are
now quartered in the detention camp
formerly occupied by the conscripted
men. They will be assigned to or-
ganizations needing men to make full
war strength within the next few-
days. The division will be at a full
complement by the end of this week,
it is thought. The men from the
“regular” army were sent here, it is
presumed, because the draft boards
lacked a sufficient number of men to
fill up the ranks of all oi’ganizations
with vacancies.
The issuance of the “regular” army
„ ^ ....... , . men to organizations here presages
seven, Gautelama one, Bulgaria one, .the division,s readiness to move over.
DRILLS CONTINUING
DURING HOT SPELLS
SOLDIERS DON’T MIND HEAT
SINCE RECALL IS EARLIER
—HAVE MORE TIME.
Despite the intense heat that now
prevails drilling continues unabated.
The sun is tanning the complex-
There was much speculation as to I ions of the veterans of ten months
which country would offer the most
candidates and oddly enough it was
an enemy country at that—Austria—
forty of her subjects renouncing their
former allegiance to Emperor
Charles.
Russia was second with thirty-two
and Italy third with twenty-eight.
When Germany was called out by
Clerk Maynard men caught their
breaths but there was no demonstra-
tion, not even applause when six of
the kaiser’s subjects said goodbye to
him forever.
and with a few more weeks of the
daily sun baths, the. men probably
will be so brown that Carranza
wouldn’t know them from his own
troops if he were to visit Camp Bow-
ie.
There have been no kicks about the
heat. With recall from drill now one
hour earlier than heretofore and with
a ruling that soldiers with a rank as
high as first class private may get a
pass and not be compelled to stand
retreat, it is obvious that the men are
(Continued on Page 4.)
seas in view of the fact that all of
the full quota have had training and
JvyiU not require special training. It
.can be seen, therefore, that the re-
moval of the division from Gamp
Bowie will not be held in abeyance for
lack of proper training.
The new contingent was not placed
in the detention camp under any lav.
that detains them from going.’int(i„j
the ranks of the organizations to
which they will be respectively as-
signed. Lack of quarters elsewhere
necessitated their being sent to the
detention camp.
fe Ht
HOT WEATHER IS MAKING
MANY SOLDIERS GET WETl
With the mercury hovering up iij
the 101 sector in the shade every da\
soldiers are getting wet—from pe]
spiration and water. Health office]
are smiling now. They aver that difs^l
ease will be stamped Hit of this ter in- j
tory by cleanliness. ( Some soldiers j
are bathing twice a week now for ifhe!
first time in their lives).
Camp Bowie is equipped with show-
er baths for every organization in j the
camp. Bath houses are the most pop-
ular rendezvous during the reigri of
Old King Sol and the cantonment is
brilliant—from sunlight.
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Watson, Kent. The Reconnaissance (Camp Bowie, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 43, Ed. 1 Monday, June 24, 1918, newspaper, June 24, 1918; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth846973/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed May 31, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarrant County Archives.