"As we unfurl it to the breeze, it speaks with an eloquence irresistible and it tells a story of heroism and patriotism unsurpassed. It brings memory of Lexington and Concord; it tells of suffering at Valley Forge, and of Victory at Yorktown. It was waved in triumph on the hills of Gettysburg; and the blue of Grant and the gray of Lee entwined it forever in the reunion of Appomattox. Dewey carried it to victory in Manila Bay, even as Shafter and Joe Wheeler did at San Juan and Santiago.
"When a military Power overseas attacked the cause of universal freedom in the world, Pershing with his boys in khaki, and Benson with his boys in blue, carried that flag to the forefront of the battle line; and today, side by side with the banners of England, martyred Belgium, gallant Italy, and unconquerable France, it waves defiance to the foe. It kisses the poppies of Flanders and to the lilies of France it whispers 'Lafayette, we are here.' In asking, therefore, the God of Truth and Justice to bless this flag, we offer Him no indignity. As He loves the right, He must love Old Glory, and therefore we ask Him to re-adorn it with victory.
[Illustration: SISTERS OF UNIT NO. 2--THE ONLY SISTERS OF THE A. E. F.
Standing from Left to Right: Sisters Valeria, Catherine, De Sales, M. David, Angela, Agatha, Florence. Left to Right Seated: Sisters Lucia, Chrysostom, Mariana.]
"Ours, too, is the performance of another duty, it is to speak the briefest, yet the hardest of all words to utter, the word of final farewell. Had I the gift of eloquence, I would pour into that word, as into a casket of alabaster, all the love, all the affection, all the sad sweet smiles, all the 'God be with you until we meet again,' of your loved ones back home. Through the gates of memory you have left ajar, I seem to see your old home town--the streets guarded by sentinels of maple, oak, and elm; the cottage of white, with lattice of climbing roses; and in the door, her dear face looking sweetly sad yet bravely, towards you, the mother who kissed you as you turned to go. Tenderly she hung the service flag in the window; bravely will she wait and pray beside the vacant chair.
"Many of you have come from the dear old Southland; and there seems to come to me now, floating down the valley of dreams, the song old mammy used to sing: