Please convey to the North Carolina soldiers of the eighty-first the following message: “Soldiers of the eighty-first Division: On behalf of the people of North Carolina I welcome you home. I deeply regret that it is impossible for me personally to greet everyone of you. We are so gratefully proud of you; proud that you went, and proud that you have returned in safety, but proudest that you bring back with you an official record of personal purity unsurpassed by any army in any war in any country in any time. For us you answered the high, clear call. For us you endured the privations of the camp. For us you braved the serpents of the sea. For us you made the long, long march. I voice the soul of North Carolina when I say, “God bless you everyone.”