PARADES IN THE UNITED STATES.
On August 8, 1919, the Fourth Brigade, as a part of the Second Division, paraded in New York City. Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune, with many Marine officers on his staff, was in command.
On August 8, 1919, the Fourth Brigade of Marines was transferred to the naval service upon its arrival at Quantico, Va.
On August 12, 1919, the Fourth Brigade of Marines, then a part of the naval service, was reviewed by the President of the United States in a parade at Washington, D. C. Brig. Gen. Wendell C. Neville was in command.
A company of Marines and a battalion commander, as a part of the Third Army Composite Regiment, paraded in New York and in Washington, D. C., as escort to Gen. Pershing. The First Division also formed a part of these parades.
Chapter XXIV.
DEMOBILIZATION.
Immediately upon the armistice becoming operative on November 11, 1918, the question of demobilization became one of paramount importance. It was necessary that plans be at once put into effect providing for the release from service at the earliest possible date of duration-of-war men and reservists. While authority existed to hold such men for several months after the ratification of the peace treaty, the popular demand for the return and discharge of all who could be spared was only natural. Parents, relatives, and friends could see no necessity for the keeping of their loved ones in the service after actual fighting ceased.
The problem before the Marine Corps was serious, as a wholesale reduction at that time would have seriously crippled its efficiency. Therefore, on November 20, 1918, in Marine Corps Orders No. 56, orders were issued to the service stating that it was the desire of headquarters to release those members of the Marine Corps Reserve and those men of the Regular Service, who enlisted for the duration of the war, who wished to complete their education, or who had urgent family and business interests demanding immediate and personal attention. Thus demobilization to a limited extent was begun nine days after the signing of the armistice.
On May 1, 1919, it became necessary, owing to the demands of the service and the reduction of the enlisted personnel, temporarily to limit the privilege of discharge to men whose release was necessary for urgent financial dependency reasons.
Following the approval of the act of July 11, 1919, which act provided sufficient funds to sustain the corps only at an average enlisted strength of 27,400 men, with corresponding officers, Marine Corps Orders No. 42, July 12, 1919, were published, establishing demobilization centers and promulgating detailed instructions for the complete demobilization. Under this plan duration-of-war men were discharged as rapidly as the exigencies of the service permitted. Those men who were serving in the Tropics who were eligible for discharge and desired their release were returned to the United States as rapidly as practicable, and orders were issued for their discharge and awaited them at the time of joining a Marine barracks, thus minimizing delay in allowing them to go home. By the latter part of December, 1919, practically all of the duration-of-war personnel had been discharged.
In August, 1919, the Fourth and Filth Brigades of Marines, which had been serving with the Army in France, were returned to the Marine barracks, Quantico, Va., and the naval operating base, Hampton Roads, Va., respectively, at which places the demobilization of these two organizations was effected. This undertaking was by far the largest and most important of its kind that had ever confronted the Marine Corps, but due to the coordination of the various departments interested, and the far-reaching and clearly defined instructions issued in advance the demobilization of these units was effected in a remarkably short time, being completed on August 13, 1919, and in a manner bringing satisfaction to the men discharged, and reflecting to the credit of the corps. The success of these efforts is evidenced by the following statement of demobilization:
Discharged or transferred to inactive status:
Fourth Brigade, 6,677 enlisted men.
Fifth Brigade, 6,671 enlisted men.
In addition to the enlisted men released there were also about two hundred officers of the two brigades who were either discharged or transferred to an inactive status. Due to the diligent cooperation of those concerned the demobilization was carried out with a degree of success far beyond expectations.