ll that belonged to the army; that
because their work was always emphasized by the officers as being
essential to the boys in the trenches, the term "stevedore" became one
of dignity as representing part of a great American Army.

How splendidly the stevedores and others measured up to military
standards and the great affection with which their officers regarded
them, Rev. Dr. Ferguson makes apparent by quoting Colonel C.E. Goodwin,
who for over a year was in charge of the largest camp of Negro Service
of Supply men in France. In a letter to Rev. Dr. Ferguson he said:

"It is with many keen thrusts of sorrow that I am obliged to leave
this camp and the men who have made up this organization. The men
for whose uplift you are working have not only gained, but have
truly earned a large place in my heart, and I will always cherish a
loving memory of the men of this wonderful organization which I
have had the honor and privilege to command."

Lester A. Walton, who went abroad as a correspondent for the New York
Age, thus commented on the stevedores and others of the same service:

"I had the pleasure and honor to shake hands with hundreds of
colored stevedores and engineers while in France. The majority were
from the South, where there is a friendly, warm sun many months of
the year. When I talked with them no sun of any kind had greeted
them for weeks. It was the rainy season when a clear sky is a
rarity and a downpour of rain is a daily occurrence. Yet, there was
not one word of complaint heard, for they were 'doing their bit' as
expected of real soldiers. Naturally they expressed a desire to get
home soon, but this was a wish I often heard made by a doughboy.

"Members of the 'S.O.S.' will not came back to America wearing the
Distinguished Service Cross or the Croix de Guerre for exceptional
gallantry under fire, but the history of the great world war would
be incomplete and lacking in authenticity if writers failed to tell
of the bloodless deeds of heroism performed by non-combatant
members of the American Expeditionary Forces."

During the summer of 1918, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, the poetess, went to
France to write and also to help entertain the soldiers with talks and
recitations. While at one of the large camps in Southern France, the
important work of the colored stevedore came to her notice and she was
moved to