Plattsburg Training Camp - Plattsburger Yearbook (Plattsburgh, NY)

Page 16 text:

THE PLATTSBURGER - Thus does Plattsburg meet the military emergency of the nation and thus does Plattsburg take rank as a military institution. Tremendous as is this emergency, however, and supremely important as is the Plattsburg military task there is yet another and perhaps deeper phase of Platts- burg that must be considered and understood if the camp is to be appraised to the full of its merits. This is the Plattsburg lesson in American citizenship. Bare of its possibilities Plattsburg stands for the purest conception of American democracyg in its intensified development it is a living and visible token of the spirit on which the United States was founded, it is proud proof that if this spirit has seemed to ,be lacking in the country at times it is only because it has been dormant and not lost. When the war is done it is the Plattsburg idea that, no matter what its military achievements, the camp's inception and maintenance will not have been fully justified if its work does not go' on and on, ever building up a more tangible national solidarity and a clearer realization of individ- ual obligation for serv- ice to the nation in war and in peace. Plattsburg in this sense is, of course, a generic term. Similar camps have been in- stituted throughout the country according to the same precepts and with the same ideals and aims. Still Plattsburg was the precursor of them all and it is neither self- ish nor provincial to presume that Platts- burg must and will continue to lead the way. We at Plattsburg are of all kinds and all poor. We came from great cities. We have for authority. We already knew that loyalty was a sovereign virtue, here we learned why. ,We knew our American history, most of us, here we learned it under a new light. The foreign born among us gathered much from the native born, the latter learned that there were foreign born so willing at heart that they could become thtprough Americans by the simple process of rubbing el ows. Man will find for himself an example in the flesh under any and all circumstances. He found his example at Plattsburg-also a new point of view. The bank account disappeared as a goal, comfort and ease were no longer to be sought. Of a sudden it seemed best of all things to be right living, right thinking, efficient, able physic- ally and mentally, capable of giving service, desirable to the man's country only if he could give service, not desirable for the legion of the Stars and Stripes if he could not give service. ' ' h Men in this manner desirable were the examples, the ones to emulate. Some three thousand additional men are thus adjudged fit by these same standards and they are going forth not , , Vi ' ,i f M,-Q. - A only to rid the world U' fig of its imperial ulcer ' 'f In f' but to disseminate . of gi, .f among their own kind , 'i w fyjj the gospel of being 6 ' f7:'3i. .- N fit and ready. - c 1' 0 ,. V-F ..... , ,- ., ' ' ' h aa . J 7. v ...faifisg ffff- A f ,.. ' 7j7f'4l7 'f.2'f 4:-' ing ghost of unpre- 'mfg iff-QQZJ H9 4' - l paredness, most dan- 1'.,7'f'a5f', ' f? ' gerous of all enemies. - Nj, 1' ff 1 ,I Unpreparedness is ff V j ' Q .l ,g V Q ,,f 7 ' ' usually due to ignor- x 42' . f , ,c p ' ' i ance of some sort or , i , .Q 1 - 'Q Rf, V H -I another. The citizen j?',1, j ' , - ' f v 'fl H ,M f .4,qf.-VY, - p , sf. ,, who opposed pre- 'ig +,s.l2.411ffuf2f 'm. w f - pafedness because of ', ' l,1l? f 'V '4 5. 4 5, ' - ' M 4 ' V' ' his own ostrich-like ' ?'zfwl9mv', ' - creeds. We are rich and we are the fashionable avenues of the come even from overseas. The four winds of the earth sent us together, practically every vocational pursuit has its candidate. Into the melting-pot we went. There were no formalities. Colo- nel Wolf immediately began the stirring of the ingredients. He stirred them with the motto of camp and commander. In the Colonel's words: At Plattsburg we have lost partisanship in patriot- ism. We brought with us prejudices, antipathies, miscon- ceptions. They went the way of the civilian garb. We have heard no more of them. We have not been troubled by traditions, it has been rather a task of moulding tradition than upholding tradition. The groups in which we came were scattered. Extremes met and worked together with mutual benent. Com- radeship grew where under no other conditions could a speaking acquaintance have been possible. The million- aire discovered that after all he stood for only one in the general scheme, the poor man discovered that he too was one and nobody counted more than one. The work was evenly distributed, the rewards went the way of merit. The only Blue Book on the reservation was the Infantry Drill Regulations. We were. being taught to command, therefore we had to learn to obey. We acquired a wholesome respect I security must have had his illusion dis- pelled by this time. The Kaiser did that. Many citizenswho were against preparedness because in an emergency preparedness was a status easily and quickly achieved, are still to have their awakening. The Plattsburger will do that. The Plattsburger has learned by dint of unceasing toil the folly of the creed that it is time enough to prepare when danger comes. He has learned that an un- trained man in battle is not worth as a fighting unit the cost of the army blanket in which, be he lucky, he is buried. The Plattsburger started the business of soldiering with a heart of purpose and little else. He grasped his gun or approached his field piece with about the same measure of deft familiarity as the hulking but inspired farmer lad when for the first time he spread his great calloused hands over the delicate keys of the piano upon which he ultimately was to win fame. For a week his shoulders ached from trying to stand erect. New move- ments brought pain to old and forgotten muscles. His mind, grooved in the civil pursuit of his choice, was with difficulty brought to concentrate on the mental require- ments of soldiering. The business of fighting after all was not a question of cocking your gun and giving it to them. It was exact. It was a profession for colleges to teach, for incisive minds to master. The bravery and courage were taken for granted, but that was the least part of it. 161

Page 15 text:

THE PLATTSBURGER If the task is hard for the men, it is not less exacting for the instructors. No man is spared in the calculations of Headquarters At Plattsburg Headquarters means Colonel Wolf, and his staff, the men upon whom rest more than upon any others the responsibility of training men competent to lead the way in the nation's battles, and to them more than any other must go the credit for what Plattsburg is achieving. The writer once heard Lord Kitchener say that five months was entirely too short a period for the training of a modern soldier, considering the fact that it took three months to teach him to keep his head below the top of a trench. If Plattsburgers encounter this difficulty, it will be because they have forgotten their lessons. It is the basic theory at Plattsburg Headquarters that the man who can not execute an about face with exactness could not be trusted on a battle front where exactness and precision constitute the quintessence of this theory which, when ignored, has invariably resulted in wanton and unnecessary sacrifices of men. No detail is too small to receive the attention of the Plattsburg commander. Frequent trips to the parade it is really possible to train a competent officer in three months has been dispelled by the fact that their own instructors are products of the same training as their own. The work of these reserve officers in the second camp has been a splendid tribute to the efficiency of the whole scheme. They have comported themselves in a manner heretofore believed possible only after much longer training and, what is more important, they have demonstrated that they Nknow their business? Whether or not this consideration was a factor in the assignment of these officers to the second camp as instruc- tors, their presence has had a marked effect on the attitude of the men toward their work. The task of the reserve instructors has been peculiarly difiicult, even with the most expert of regular army knowl- edge and experience to fall back upon in the persons of the higher in command. It is they who must gain the first- hand impressions of the men in their command, and it is upon their judgment that the higher officers must largely rely in the recommendations for commissions. Rating according to written tests has been relatively simple but rating according to military proficiency has been an en- tirely different matter. Each rating counts Hfty in the summary of a man's fitness, and it is not a light respon- ground by this ofiicial afford ample proof of his methods. If the pivot man of a squad sibility for the officer who must with justice estimate a man's military capabilities allows his feet to stray a ,E l.W,,,,,,, if ,I ,A . . j-- 4 from wha,t'he Shows in qbgadltch uqilltiiie this 61,1 4. I, pf V, H V- training. , - 3 ' ,v I i iw.,-5 wf. g . 4, N, ry, .. ' . These ofiicers keep the Estructpr nfay see it, but fl Auf El. if X72 I , hours of. their men, and Tlc cofone 15 stgre tgp. gg Ein. .. .pi f .. lXS,,iH,,3ill4y:yswift-v 7, if ',.,,. they subject their men to . , If V, 4' '12 ,.,.,,' ,A,3f,,' 1- .! . Y . N . caiiedidatbetislefevblaledi whaf t ' ' X T . Q -41 , 1 -52' iii glbiyszlgalsgsrtiligiqggfifiglg might be termed the key- ,,.f ix 'QQ Q-' . ' 'f m undergo, They too must note to Colonel Wolf's fs , is ' , 'T Q , J A -ff' ' i , ' :f be forever up and at it. SUCCESS, ln the 13-ttefis OWU , K. , im, ,llf!nll,:. . ' ,nw ,I X A Each man must be trained words: l . g-..p.-QlL,fLfJf Jzflnl ilflli U , -v in the duties of every po- Ulf you donlt do the V Q -' ' W . r'i- l sition in company or battery, small things right, you will ,. - T- -- ,- ' ' ,. ,M A W W . T Q33-Ch man must be tra-lnffd never master the big r',,,':?:wzit. .- .gg f- -:.,,mn-..f4-W-A- 't , , V: gn qvery tduty dof captain, things. j::f-3-gggggg -Q',,, Q , --M'-ri-'-1 ,V-gif? i n, 1eu enan s an non-com- I , , , ' -Ili A1 1, 7 ' missioned officers. The in- fhls POSIUOU of the reg' fffd s ' ' ' ,. ,Z 4 ,5,p3gg,Q,Q,, '1 -'ff structor can assign work to UI?-1' agmy 025063 111 cghe g 'f :'i 'r'., gfalj- if i W-. ' ' his assistants, but if he is . o o e n- , -N el- ff- 261, - - - - didlalfiisl Ilias undoubtedly l fwflxfff ' ' . gf fig-1yamg1l:1Stin1I1f1i?5rei2g3 been ai strong factor in- the l t Q mand, he must be on hand camp life. They have given ' . continually to see and an impetus to the work which is always imparted by the know what each man is doing. personality of an officer who has the unqualified respect and admiration of his men. To inculcate the habit of discipline in the candidates without sacrificing the spirit of democracy in which the camp was conceived has not been the least of the instruc- tors' work. judging from the attitude of both officers and candidates in the second camp, this combination of virtues is to become traditional in the new army. The effort seems to have been entirely successful and one of the finest lessons of Plattsburg will have been taught in vain if the newly commissioned men fail to carry this ideal into the cantonments. One of the few true of the many dubious stories emanat- ing from Germany early in the war told of the shooting of German officers by their own men and later the transfer of hundreds of ofiicers from the forces which they had trained in barracks to commands which did not know them and where they could start anew. This was the result of the Prussian demi-God system of officers-one of the many German miscalculations of human psychology. Any doubt in the minds of the candidates as to whether l 15 Thus from Colonel Wolf down to the most unlikely candidate in the camp, Plattsburg has meant work and work and still more work. An almost vicious concentration has been required to keep up with the procession. A physical hardihood far beyond the demands of the most vigorous civil life has been necessary to the man who would succeed. To most of the candidates, discouragement in the work has been but a passing cloud. There have been disagree- able doses to swallow-there always are, in any army-but few troubles of the day, if they do not succumb sooner, can withstand the enspiriting spectacle of retreat at night. Tired minds and aching limbs, all but spent perhaps in the final work of shining up for the event, are dragged to the parade ground and there revived and recharged for whatever tribulations are to come on the morrow. There is no elixir like the Stars and Stripes and no man can pay homage to his colors at a Plattsburg retreat with- out adding a feeling of reverence to his positions of parade rest and Hattentionf' and being glad down to the depths of his heart that he is there. l

Page 17 text:

THE PLATTSBURGER But the Plattsburger learned the way, step by step. In time his body straightened and hardened in the mould of the military. His hands learned the manual of the gun, his back to bear the pack, his feet to snap to place and his heart, the while, to sing. Days and weeks saw him carrying on takes of those who went before him and is therefore better steeled for the ordeal. The Germans will know of his coming. It will be a deeply secret venture, but the Germans will know. No doubt they will welcome him with a sign hoisted above their trenches bearing the in- , scription, 'fWelcome, First more easily the farther he , U 1 I, .- I , ,,,,f,,,s New Yorkf' as they have so went. Finally he emerged, Z, 5 often welcomed the Canadians. not a finished soldier, not a , l Q, Then they will try his soul, veteran of wars and West A ak f -1 2, fit W as a German staff oiiicer once Point, but an able man of Q 'irllaff 'U ' f liv, fl. told the writer it was their griiis caplabli of an Iintelligegt V ,nut W I ,JI f' f l af' fl 5 devilisli habit ofddoilng when- g t an a iving ie to t e - gg ,kg g '22 ever t ey oun t emse ves criminal fallacy of men spring- ' ggi f .-s.. ,V ,s-qgf' ' f 1,' N , ' facing a new and untried force. ing over night to the defense ' . F'-fix. 17 -4' .t 'f,-g,.,Qfi2,., Perhaps for a week they will of their country. 4 .. if I Jlilgliixl., daily practice their artillery . Illusions have had no place L' -'w iv ' h ' ---Q - qy.N upon nina, in a manner Sup.. in the Plattsburg scheme. l'he ,-'M,74,f,W5f7,s.,4..77,.,...,,,, - posed invariably to presage future officer with a laudable Q an attack. Then they will ., ,- ambition to wear his country's 1 uniform has by no means been spared a knowledge of what suffering may lie before him. Otherwise his training could not have been thorough or adequate. - As nearly as possible the grim realities of blood-soaked France have been simulated on the ranges and in the fields. The Plattsburger has dug trenches as the heroic French so successfully dug them to resist the foe that would devour them-and him. He has learned to live in the trenches of his making, to sleep in the rain, to subsist on cold and uncertain rations. He has learned what it means to crawl through the mud and mire of No Man's Land, to keep vigil during the long watches of the night when scurrying snow and pelting rain are the only music to quicken his pulse, when there is no retreat at sun down to stir his soul and the only fiag to lead him on through the sordidness of it all is- thefaith of his heart. The Plattsburger has not felt lead or steel' but it can be truthfully said that that is about all he has missed. His 'fsentry go has not always been a lonely occupation nor have. his snatches of sleep always been undisturbed. Colonel Wolf attended' to that. Signal bombs have cracked above him and high explosives have been hurtled sufficiently close to his muddy habitat to bring him to an instantaneous and palpitating stand to -all suiii- ciently realistic, by his own testimony, to set him jabbing with his bayonet at the first doubtful stranger. He has learned to keep his head down and his pluck up. Conditions will no doubt change before the Platts- burger reaches France but fundamentally he will find himself amazingly well equipped for his task. It is half the battle in this war to know what to expect and how to meet it and in that respect the Plattsburger has been fully and thoroughly trained. The initial dose of German frightfulness will have a degree of effect on the newcomer among the Kaiseris foes, but the newcomer will have profited by the mis- ' fail to attack. They will send over some gas but fail to follow it. They will shake the newcomer by day and startle him by night, keep him constantly jumping to be ready for the first combat. All thisis yet to come to the Plattsburger but he knows it is coming. Also he knows that probably he will expe- rience the same frightfulness which in the last analysis is his sole reason for becoming a soldier at all. Summed up, Plattsburg means national service and all that it entails. At Plattsburg men have learned the meaning of national service, they have made the sacrifices that must come with national service and they hope that in the end the entire citizenry of the land will be brought to an appreciation ofthe blessings of national service. Wives and children and fathers and mothers have come to Plattsburg to encourage this idea of service and their presence has often seemed to personify all that is best in the Plattsburg hopes and aims. Many a mother has stood retreat with her son at Plattsburg her tears paying tribute to the flag which he has sworn to defend. We who have striven to probe the heart of Plattsburg have often found mute revelations of it all in the barrack highways and byways, even more faithful perhaps than the blare of the band and the anthem itself. We have seen framed in the softening shades of twilight the silhouette of the man of affairs and family greet a smiling wife at the edge of the parade ground, his gun for the moment in a perilous but proud position on the shoulder of a khaki-clad baby son, and afterwards we have seen him jump to the evening mess formation with a snap and a smile that betokens a deeper justification of himself, of Plattsburg and of his country. If in the final reckoning Plattsburg has been a success, the son of this Plattsburger will likewise have become a Plattsburger, national service will have become synonymous with national existence and we shall be a hundredfold nearer our goal of lasting peace by reason thereof. N l 17 fl l