WWI welcome home parade
I have attached a picture of two mounted soldiers leading the welcome home parade in State College, PA on May 23, 1919. They are just past the main gate to Penn State College. The man on the left is Major Wilber F. Leitzel. He led the Boal Machine gun battalion in WWI. This had been formed as a volunteer mounted machine gun troop as part of the 1st PA Cavalry in 1916. He was seriously wounded and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Captain Elton D. Walker is on the right. He was Professor of Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineering at Penn State. During the war he was in charge of Company A Fifteenth Engineers AEF but shortly before his return was transferred to the Section engineers Office at Le Havere where he was in charge of water supply and sanitary installations of that district.
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- Boal troop comes back from the war_0003.jpg (510.13 KiB) Viewed 4513 times
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Interesting way they are both holding their reins.
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Great photo!
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They seem to be holding both reins with their left hand, but they also have the bite in their right hand. The rider on the far side has his right hand a tad lower, the same.selewis wrote:How so, Jim? They appear to be bridged but it's hard for my morning eyes to see exactly.
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The captain's saddle blanket almost looks like it has a plaid patter to it.
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In their civvies in that last one.
It strikes me that these parades (right after WWI) were likely the very last mounted victory parades in the nation's history.
It strikes me that these parades (right after WWI) were likely the very last mounted victory parades in the nation's history.