Vol. 2, no. 21(September 1944) - Oregon State Library: State ...

ON GUARD!
PUBLISHED MONTHLY FOR THE
OREGON STATE GUARD
BRIGADIER-GENERAL RALPH P. COWGILL, Commanding
By On Guard Publishing Company
534 N. E. 18th Avenue - EAst 4577 - Portland, Oregon
CAPTAIN HERMAN EDWARDS Editor
13 LIEUTENANT CY HAWVER Associate Editor
Unit news items should be mailed to reach Headquarters by the 20th of the Month.
Address all ommunications to
HQ. OREGON STATE GUARD
The Armory. Portland, Orell'on
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ON GUARD is the oUiclal publicatloJ\ of THE
OREGON STATE GUARD. Opinions expressed In
articles are those of the Individual and not necessarily
those of the Oregon State Guard.
VOL. 11. PORTLAND, OREGON-SIDPTEMBER, 1944 Number 21
gtate qen dlcwe qo.od
Rea4rm 104 P IUJe. in Peltl(J/l,lnance
Thousands of Portlanders and many
World War 1 veterans who are members
of the American Legion saw for
the first time Oregon State Guardsmen
marching, armed and in full uniform,
when Portland units formed a guard of
honor for Legionnaires opening the
state convention August 10. Spectators
who lined Portland's downtown streets
thrilled with a new pride as they
watched fathers and sons, neighbors and
friends. swing smartly past to the tunes
of t.he Guard band.
This was a new experience for Port­
land. ann something of surprise in it
t.oo. for the State Guardsmen have been
hard at work on their own problems,
with no time to spare, and little inclination,
to make a show of parading the
city's streets. For this occasion, those
who participated did so voluntarily,
leaving their work for the noon hour
and returning to it as soon as uniforms
were doffed, and doing it in tribute to
their comrades of the American Legion.
The experience was new to the
Guardsmen too, and it did them, and all
of the Oregon State Guard good, thus
to get acquainted with a busy public who
knows little of what his neighbor is doing
to keep things on a level keel at home
while his younger comrades are trying
to restore world equilibrium abroad.
But the best compliment the Guards­
men received for their splendid show­
ing, and it was a showing in which every
Guardsman over the state can take
pride, was a left-handed offering by a
newspaper photographer who had been
rushed out to 'get a picture of the parade,"
and had trained his camera on
the marching columns, more intent on
,R'etting a good picture than in knowing
who it was he photographed.
Asked if he had got a shot of the
State Guardsmen, he said:
"Were those State Guards ? You
know, I thought some of them were a
little old for regular army soldiers."
This issue's cover picture, made by a staff photographer of The Oregonian portrays
Oregon State Guard troops as they concluded a parade of Portland downtown
streets August 10 in honor of the opening of the annual Oregon department
convention of the American Legion. State Guardsmen voluntarily composed a
provisional battalion as an honor guard for the visiting Legionnaires. Brig. Gen.
Ralph P. Cowgill, State Guard commander, and members of his staff, led the
parade. For thousands 6f Portlanders the parade provided their first glimpse of Oregon
State Guardsmen, armed and in full uniform. Their reception of the Guardsmen
was enthusiastic and the troops made a fine appearance.