AMERICAN ARMIES AND BATTLEFIELDS IN EUROPE--a fine book!

Tuesday, 26 June 2018

This blog should be more like a blog than report, but I have just started reading American Armies and Battlefields in Europe, A History, Guide, and Reference Work, published by the American Battle Monuments Commission in 1938. It is a total treasure and I am grateful to Mike Hanlon for making it “required reading” for our tour in August. I ordered the hard cover book from Amazon/vintage-books for $54 and it arrived in pristine condition, complete with separate maps. The book is now unavailable, so I am glad that I ordered it in February!

The book is thorough, but succinct. I have several other books about the 90^th, the 28^th, and the 80^th Divisions for information specific to their engagements in France. Family members were in each of these divisions plus the 37^th Engineers—I have yet to find out which division this unit was with. My World War I library would rival many amateur historians and I have read and made notes in every book. I am certainly not an expert though.

Last night when I typed up the updated itinerary (subject to change), I was very happy to see that we are revisiting some places we saw before. For example, the Douaumont Ossuary near Verdun was such a moving site. One cannot take photos inside the chapel and perhaps this year there will be a portfolio of photos for sale. As mentioned in 2015, the tower of the structure is shaped like an artillery shell but is cathedral-like with Christian images on the exterior. When we stepped inside the building, the silence was remarkable. It was cool on a sweltering day. Thousands of names are engraved on the walls. Inside the chapel the stained-glass windows depicted stunning images of battlefields with crosses. One window depicted two angels holding a nurse (red cross on her veil) who was wounded in the war when a hospital was bombarded. Another image is of Christ cradling a soldier. The Crucifix at the Altar is Mary holding Christ upright, both have arms outstretched to form a cross, an image I have never seen. I see these images in my mind, but they are difficult to share with others—the impact is not the same.

Other places that I want to see again include the American cemeteries, Seicheprey, and the Pennsylvania bridge at Fismes. Only after the 2015 trip did I realize that my Uncle Roy W. Hall was in the 28^th Division—I knew that he was in the 112^th Infantry. In 2017 my brother gave me Uncle Roy’s doughboy helmet, with a red keystone stenciled on it.  The 28^th Division was known as the Keystone Division, mostly Pennsylvania men.

I will continue my research on my great uncle, Russell Archie Harvey—I hope to honor him in a special way on this trip, especially if we get back to Baalon, Mouzay, and Stenay, France. Another purpose of this trip is to honor not only my dear family members but all service members who served during the Great War.