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:

"'I hear the children calling
I see their sad tears falling,
My heart turns back to Dixie
And I must go.'

"Yes, my dear Sisters and nurses, you must go. There is need of you over
there. Our Country's heroes are there, bleeding and dying, and they need
you, beloved angels of mercy, to bind their wounds. In the cities, the
academies and hospitals from which you came, there are those who would
love to be