ROTC Training Center - Sand Yearbook (Camp Custer, MI)

Page 51 text:

g'mn.,m1um.' 4. lzllllvr--EXC. 7. NYC lluvv l:CL'!l4,l'll 2. NV:llux' Only. 5. Shot in ilu- .Xrm 'hy llocltrrr. N. Hut for :nn .Xu'1nX- 3- fglmni' ' 0. I'rom' l,USiIi0ll Rlilc lsiflllg. 47

Page 50 text:

Keep Faith f'Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch-be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die, XVe shall not sleep, though poppies grow ln Flanders' fields. The great privilege of going Overseas was denied us. To others was given the glorious opportunity to grapple with the forces of llvil, to others was granted the right to battle for the sacred principles to which we dedicated our minds, our bodies, and our souls. It was not ours to traverse shell plowed fields, to brave the perils of combat in the cruel light of star shell, amid the peltinug hail of shrapnel. Nor was it vouchsafed us to fall on gory field, our only dirge the roar of artillery and the shriek of projectileg not ours to lie beneath the lilies with the heroic dead long' after the kindly years have healed the scars of today. H All this was for those who went before us. lt was their appointed work and they did it well. XVe revere our warrior kindred who rest beneath the sward in Flanders Field. VVe glory in their deeds and hallow their memory. As long as man shall live, the epic of the Marne, Verdun, and the Argonne will inspire the quill of poet and the brush of painter. To sing their praise were not enough. A greater task awaits us. We must carry on. Not in the tumult and carnage of battle as did our brave brothers, but in the furrowed fields and busy marts of a land blessed by peace. Ours to hold aloft the brand which fell fromtheir dying graspg we must keep aglow the altar Fires of Freedom and Democracyg we must guard well that heritage rendered thrice sacred by the blood ransom paid on Flanders Field. A solemn trust, a stern obligation ours, to keep the faith with those who wrote in their own blood the most glorious anthem in the llsalter of Humanity. 46

Page 52 text:

Our Ofhcers .luly 26, 1919. 'l'he east end of Camp Custer witnessed quite a bit of hubbub and excite- ment on the eve of l riday, june Z0 when about SOO College and lrligh School men arrived for the six weeks training in the Reserve Utiicers' Training Corps. Companies were formed almost immediately and the men were assigned to their respective barracks. By Monday june 23 Company Z had their full quota and were ready for business. liven at this early date it was apparent that they were to be the leaders of the camp as was proven beyond a doubt as the days passed and we clinched all the honors. Hut had it not been for the able otiicers assigned to our Company, our course would have indeed been a rugged one. As Company Commander Major Young holds a place in the hearts of all of us, and he will always be remembered as a kind, fatherly man looking after the best interests of everyone, very anxious to see us all succeed, and ever doing' his best to keep from awarding demerits, resembling the parent who dislikes to punish his child. But when it came to a question of duty or discipline he was as untlinchable as the rock of Gibraltar, being a soldier through and through. It is to him that we owe much for what we have imbibed during our short stay here, and we hope he may be justified in thinking of us as we think of him. As the First Platoon leader Captain Miller was an able assistant to Major Young. lf anyone doubts our word let him inquire as to which Platoon was the best drilled fNo we're not looking for an argument, merely stating factsj. He was ever on the alert, and the essence of snap and pep,'l which inspired the men with the desire to live up to his standard no matter what the effort required. VVith his straight carriage, quick, snappy step and his distinctive salute he was easily recognized at any distance. First Lieutenant Smith, known by all as the man with a big heart beneath a stern exterior, had the task of guiding the footsteps of the Second Platoon over the hardships falling to those who must bring up the rear of the column. And if at times he appeared gruff and out of humor we can only sympathize with him, for we realize the enormity of the task incumbent upon him. But when work was finished he was always ready for play, and if it was to go to town with us, help us out with any difficulties, or assist us in any way he was always ready and willing. And now for the Sergeants-last, but by no means least. Heading the list was First Sergeant Schale. I might close here with nuff said, but they say you can never tire of a good thing, so here goes. Sergeant Schale is, as are all of our Sergeants, a regular Army man and has seen service in almost every camp and military post in the U. S., having enlisted sixteen years aga. He like- wise served in the Philippine Islands and during the emergency held a commission as a First Lieutenant of Infantry. Not only is he a soldier through and through but he is likewise a boxer of no little repute. He has fought some of the best men both in and out of the service, and though defeated three times during his career as a boxer, Schale has never been knocked out. Sergeant Schale was 48