Oyster Cocktail
Snowed Potatoes Roast Turkey Turkey Filling
Cranberry Sauce Celery Peas
Oranges Apples Candy Cake Nuts
Bread Butter Coffee
Mince Pie
Cigarettes Cigars
Sweet dreams of this dinner often haunted the boys when "bully-beef" was the mainstay day after day many times during the sojourn in France.
After the dinner officers and battery members adjourned to the second floor of the barrack where battery talent furnished an entertainment, consisting of instrumental and vocal numbers and winding up with several good boxing bouts. Barney McCaffery, of Hazleton, Penna., a professional pugilist, was the pride of the battery in the ring.
Corporal Frank McCabe, of Parsons, Penna., was one of the real comedians of the battery. His character impersonations enlivened many an evening in 019. Every member of the outfit was deeply grieved when Corporal McCabe was admitted to the base-hospital the latter part of January, suffering with heart trouble. On January 24th at 8:20 p. m., Corporal McCabe died. This first casualty of the battery struck a note of sympathetic appeal among the battery members. A guard of honor from the battery accompanied the body to Parsons where interment was made with military honors.
After Thanksgiving Battery D settled down to an intensive schedule of instruction. Days of rain, snow, and zero weather followed, making the routine very disagreeable at times, but never acting as a demoralizer. Days that could not be devoted to out-door work were used to advantage for the schedule of lecture periods during which the officers conducted black board drills to visualize many of the problems connected with artillery work.
On December 6th, 1917, a series of regimental practice marches were instituted, first on foot, then on mount. The first mounted marches, however, were rather sore-ending affairs, as were the first lessons in equitation. Saddles and bridles were lacking as equipment for many weeks after the receipt of the horses. Mounted drill, riding bare-back, with nothing but a halter chain as a bridle, was the initiatory degree of Battery D's equitation.
Barrack 0103, about half the size and situated in the rear of 019, was completed on December 19th, when a portion of Battery D men were quartered in the new structure, thereby relieving the congestion in 019.
Christmas and New Year's of 1917 furnished another controversy on the question of holiday furloughs. On Saturday, December 15th, inspection was called off and forty men were detailed to bring more horses from the Remount station for use in the battery. The detail completed its task faithfully, the men being happy in the thought that, according to instructions, they had, the night previous, made application for Christmas passes. Gloom greeted the end of the day's horse convoy. Announcement was made that all Christmas pass orders had been rescinded in the camp.
The gloom was not shattered until December 20th, when announcement was made at retreat formation that half of the battery would be allowed Christmas passes and the other half would be given furloughs over New Year's Day. The loudest yell that ever greeted the "dismissed" command at the close of retreat, rent the atmosphere at that time.
More disappointments were in store for the boys before their dreams of a furlough home were realized. Saturday, December 22nd, was decreed a day of martial review at Camp Meade. Secretary of War Newton D. Baker visited the cantonment that day and the review was staged in his honor. Battery D formed with the regiment on the battery street in front of 019 at 1:20 o'clock on the afternoon of the review. The ground was muddy and slushy. The regiment stood in formation until 3:15 o'clock when the march to pass the reviewing stand started. At 4:30 o'clock the review formation was dismissed and the boys dashed back to 019 to get ready to leave on their Christmas furloughs.