World War I 100 Years Ago: Nov. 23-29

From The Indianapolis News, Friday, November 29: Demobilization began today at Ft. Benjamin Harrison with the mustering out of the first 100 soldiers of Company P, 21st Battalion Engineers receiving discharge papers. Other soldiers looked on enviously as the “lucky 100” cheered with joy, threw their hats into the air, and danced about when told they could go to the post quartermaster, receive their last pay, and start for home. Tomorrow 150 additional soldiers will leave camp and Monday an entire company will be mustered out. The goal is to send out two companies daily, but the speed of demobilization depends on the ability of the railroads to handle the increased traffic. Tomorrow more than fifty army trucks will convoy through downtown streets as the 1,600 men of the Chamber of Commerce army vocational training school bid farewell to Indianapolis.