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Homecoming Parades Held in Wheeling

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series about Wheeling during the First World War leading to a centennial observation of Armistice Day (Veterans Day) to be held at 2 p.m. today at the Doughboy monument at Wheeling Park. If you are a descendant of a World War I veteran or nurse, contact lunchwithbooks@yahoo.com.

By HAL GORBY

For the News-Register

Wheeling’s citizens were jubilant when the Armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918, and they looked for public ways to celebrate. Wheelingites sought to keep the memory of the war alive by welcoming veterans back to the Friendly City.

Crucial in these efforts was the American Legion. On March 1, 1919, a group of Wheeling veterans met in the Laconia Building. With P.J. McGinley as their first commander, the group would, as Capt. Joseph Reass noted “literally be the G.A.R. of the past war.”

Following the national and state conventions, Wheeling earned the designation as “Wheeling Post No. 1.” In the 1950s, the national commander approved a resolution granting Wheeling’s claim to the title “Oldest Post” of the American Legion.

Civic groups organized massive celebrations when soldiers of the AEF returned home during the spring of 1919. The first unit to arrive in Wheeling were over 100 men of Battery C, 61st Field Artillery. They were met by adoring crowds at the B&O station and were virtually mobbed as they marched through Wheeling.

In early March 1919, 800 soldiers were cheered by an estimated crowd of 50,000. Led by G.A.R. veterans and the Boy Scouts, along with civic and immigrant societies, veterans also told their stories. Andrew Hess of the 79th Division wanted to refute claims that AEF units had shown a “yellow streak” on the front. A member of the 304th Signal Corps, he vouched for the efficiency of the AEF artillery barrages during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

The largest parade honored the 314th Field Artillery, who arrived back on American soil in late May 1919. Those of Battery C, composed entirely of Wheeling men, were cited by Gen. John Pershing, supreme commander of the AEF, for their bravery in action at St. Mihel and the Meuse-Argonne. Each member received two bronze stars and two gold overseas stripes.

When they arrived in Newport News, Virginia, William Gompers noted with sarcasm after so long away, “Is this really the United States?” A massive parade took place on June 11, 1919. Sgt. W.N. Overfield presented the city with the first battalion flag and colors. In what may be the largest parade in the city’s history, an estimated 100,000 people cheered their local heroes, as the 314th Field Artillery veterans carried a massive “Wheeling-to-Berlin” banner. Later soldiers, their families and the general public participated in field exercises and amusements at the state fair grounds.

Local residents had another chance to celebrate veterans on April 9, 1920, when Gen. John “Blackjack” Pershing visited Wheeling. Sixty flags adorned the front of the McLure Hotel, and the Stone & Thomas department store was covered with red, white and blue bunting.

Pershing’s parade was noteworthy for another group of veterans. Men of J.W. Holiday’s G.A.R. post, made up of local Civil War veterans, announced they would march in their last public demonstration. True to their word, about half the men advanced in age walked the parade route in tribute to the AEF commander.

Gen. Pershing honored the local dead, placing a wreath at the base of a flag at the old Wheeling High School. At the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Pershing paid a short, but elegant tribute to the men of the 80th Division. As noted by the Wheeling Register, Pershing “found Wheeling 100 percent American.”

As we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, let us never forget the sacrifice of those who gave their lives in the “Great War.” It is a time of quiet reflection for Wheeling’s own Doughboys, who went over the top while serving on the Western Front.

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