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Chapter 4 “We bid farewell to cadet gray and don the army blue” A new life now dawned not only for me but for my impoverished family. It did not occur to us that my salary of $116.67 per month as a second lieutenant was not to be used for the benefit of all. This, to us, was great riches. We had never dreamed of anything like it, and it meant what we had never known—security. I knew nothing of what my living expenses in the army would be, but I determined that the greater part of my salary would be sent to my parents. On graduating, I made my first choice for assignment, the First Infantry, stationed in San Francisco Harbor, California. When I received my assignment to the regiment, I wrote to the captain of “C” Company,1 to which I was ordered, expressing my pleasure at the prospect of being with him and my hope that I could be of some service. He replied from the Cosmos Club in San Francisco, where he was on recruiting duty. He stated that he wanted to give me two pieces of advice and that, if I would follow them, I would rise to the head of my profession. They were never to play cards for money and to read military history. I may say that I did follow his advice and I did rise to the head of my profession. There may or may not have been some connection. I found that he was noted for not following his own advice. My wealthy friend in New York whose granddaughter I had taken to cadet hops wrote me that she and her granddaughter would be at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco the end of September when I arrived to join my regiment on September 30. I left Astatula in time to spend a few days with them. The railroads gave reduced rates to army officers, and I was able to buy a day coach ticket to San Francisco for about $40.00. It did not occur to me to ride in a Pullman and spend the extra money. In order to see something of the army en route, I stopped a day at Atlanta, Georgia, to see the Fourth Artillery at Fort McPherson; a day at Omaha, Nebraska, to see the 24 THE WAY OF DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY Second Infantry at Fort Omaha; and a day at Salt Lake City, Utah, to see the Sixteenth Infantry at Fort Douglas. I was treated with great courtesy and invited to lunch at each place. At Fort Omaha, Lieutenant W. M. Wright2 was adjutant. He and his lovely wife gave me my first glimpse of an army home and of army hospitality. They drove me to the station in their phaeton3 drawn by two horses. He became a lifelong friend. In World War I, he was a major general commanding a division in my army corps. No one could have been more loyal to me. I ate at the meal stations en route. The railroad cars were very uncomfortable, and I made frequent changes, but I was saving money much needed at home. On reaching San Francisco, I took a carriage to the inner court of the old Palace Hotel. As I alighted, I saw my friends waving to me from an upper balcony. I was their guest, and they had reserved a lovely room for me. This was a new world, and the glamour quite overwhelmed me. Immediately after breakfast the next morning, the card of Captain Thomas H. Barry4 was brought to me. He was the first officer to call on me, and I felt it an unexpected honor. He then commanded a company in the First Infantry at Angel Island. In after years, he proved to be a loyal and helpful friend. He was one of the ablest officers in the army, and years later, when I was a captain on duty at West Point, he was a major general and superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy. During the day, other officers called, and I was invited to visit Angel Island and meet the officers, which I did. My assignment was to “C” Company, stationed at Benicia Barracks, thirty miles east of San Francisco. I called on the captain of the company5 at the Cosmos Club. He was cordial and told me to use his furniture stored at Benicia Barracks. I...

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