University of California Los Angeles - Bruin Life / Southern Campus Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 26 text:

last bring-ing- sad news of the dear one lost in battle. This has caused our eyes to fill with tears of sympath} , but our faces have beamed with gladness as they told of the home- coming- of the boys at the end of the war. They were the same boys who went away, but all had grown older and some carried battle scars. Thoug-h we have seen old soldiers from our earliest child- hood, war has always seemed a stor} ' of the dim past, and of a people less enlightened than our own. But what was once only a tale has become a stern realty. We, too, have seen the muster of troops in the cause of country ; we have felt the stir of patriotism and have shed the tears of patriotism and of parting- as our boys marched away to war ; we have received the sad news of the death of some, for country ' s sake, though not on the battle field ; we have rejoiced at the return of some, and are now looking forward to meeting- those who have actually smelled the smoke of battle and have seen the destruction of war. We are proud that we have had a part in this fight for a noble cause. Thoug-h our brothers may not wear the blue our classmates do. When the call came, many of our boys were ready to go. But because of certain obstacles only seven of them became soldier boys, and two of these were so unfor- tunate as to be a part of the ill-fated Seventh. The others belong to Batter} ' D, Heav}- Artillery, and have now been in Manila nine months. No one who was in Normal June 7, 1898, will ever forget that time. The morning was spent in joining in the farewell to the Seventh Regiment, and the afternoon in sa ' ing good- bye to our own boys who were to leave the following Sunday. Our eyes were filled with tears to think that they might not come back, but our hearts were full of pride in our soldier boys. That we loved and honored them was shown by the applause on commencement day, when Professor Pierce held up the diplomas tied with red, white and blue, of the three who were to graduate. The boys in Battery D have shown themselves worth}- of our respect, by the favorable reports which have come from Captain Steele personally, and from the fact that three of them are officers.