GREAT WAR, GREAT MEN/SERENDIPITY/WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?

Erie, Pennsylvania

31 July 2018

Sometimes I wonder if I find things to do to keep me from doing what I should be doing…

Basically, I am packed, and my research materials are organized and ready to go. I have two bags, a 24-inch wheeled with clothes, etc. and a sort of small duffel with my DSLR camera, laptop, my research, umbrella, pens, pencils, basically an abbreviated office. In 2015 we ended up having to carry our luggage up two flights of steep stairs in one of our hotels and I was so glad I packed light. I also cannot lift a bag into an overhead bin and like to have “my office” accessible under the seat in front of me. 

Tim, on the other hand, has decided to use a 27 inch wheeled bag this time. He encouraged me to do the same. In my mind, I know that no one is going to say, “Here, let me help you with all of your luggage.” I need to do it myself, hence my philosophy. We shall see if Tim has any regrets.

My bags--the duffel looks larger than it really is!

Great War, Great Men.  Andrew J. Capets compiled this book about the 313^th Machine Gun Battalion using first hand accounts (previously unpublished letters and journals) of more than a dozen soldiers who served together during the Great War, just published in 2017. Capets’ commentary, insight, and research make the individual pieces cohesive.

Many of the soldiers of the 313^th were from the Erie County, Pennsylvania area and there was even a club on Peach Street, Erie, now the Kings Rook Club. My cousin, Lynn C. Parker, was in the 80^th Division, 313^th Machine Gun Battalion and this book gave me better understanding of his experience. Andrew, whose grandfather served in the same company that Parker did, has a Facebook page dedicated to the 313^th.  I contacted him through that and today we had a great conversation about this battalion, my cousin, his research, and publishing.

Great War, Great Men.  Andrew J. Capets. CreateSpace, 2017.  Website with maps, photos, more: 
https://goodwargreatmen.com/313/index.php

The same time I heard from Andrew Capets, I also heard from Lynn Parker’s great granddaughter—I just found her on Ancestry. I so hope that we can make a connection—that is serendipity.

The Great War: American Experience/PBS

I have one more hour to watch of this very well done six hour series about World War I on PBS. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to help write the Medal of Honor National Curriculum, commissioned by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation [in committee with the School District, City of Erie, Pennsylvania]. That is one reason why I found the story of William Henry Johnson so compelling.  Our tour guide, Michael Hanlon, is in France right now conducting a World War I tour for the families of Henry Johnson and another World War I Medal of Honor recipient William Shemin (4^th Division).

From the Medal of Honor website:

Henry Johnson, Medal of Honor Recipient

Area of Operation: Argonne Forest, Champagne, France

Position: Sentry

Date of Action: 15 May 1918

Then-Pvt. Henry Johnson served as a member of Company C, 369th Infantry Regiment, 93rd Division, American Expeditionary Forces, during combat operations against the enemy on the front lines of the Western Front in France.

While on night sentry duty, May 15, 1918, Johnson and a fellow Soldier, Pvt. Needham Roberts, received a surprise attack by a German raiding party consisting of at least 12 soldiers.

While under intense enemy fire and despite receiving significant wounds, Johnson mounted a brave retaliation resulting in several enemy casualties. When his fellow Soldier was badly wounded, Johnson prevented him from being taken prisoner by German forces.

Johnson exposed himself to grave danger by advancing from his position to engage an enemy soldier in hand-to-hand combat. Wielding only a knife and being seriously wounded, Johnson continued fighting, took his Bolo knife and stabbed it through an enemy soldier's head.

Displaying great courage, Johnson held back the enemy force until they retreated. The enemy raid's failure to secure prisoners was due to the bravery and resistance of Johnson and his fellow comrade. The effect of their fierce fighting resulted in the increased vigilance and confidence of the 369th Infantry Regiment.

Awards: Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Cross, Croix de guerre 1914-1918  

Here's why you can't visit the Statue of Liberty's torch

From Friend Heather—she had not heard this story and neither have I. So many things connect to the Great War.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/here-s-why-you-can-t-visit-statue-liberty-s-n895856

An Army-Air Force Connection?

Today I decided to look at my Great Aunt May Harvey Beardsley’s small black notebook again (for the gazillionth time). Aunt May was Archie’s sister and I am so indebted to her for keeping his letters written during the war to his mother as well as other artifacts. She also kept the family history. Several pages in the notebook are titled, “Harvey Soldiers,” where she recorded all the family names who served in the military from the Revolutionary War through World War II. I am quite sure three of Archie’s nephews served in World War I, but I cannot find documentation on Dayle Wanamaker. Today I noted more carefully what the notebook said:  "assigned to 9th Provisional Co. A.S.S.C. Madison Barracks Trans. Co. 4 USA. S.A.P Kodak Park Rochester, NY, photography in Air Force.” The "Air Force" was part of the Army from 1907 to 1947 when it was recognized as a separate branch of the service.

I must follow up on this little clue. Since I know he died in a VA hospital, I am quite sure that her served during the time of the Great War. Perhaps he was never sent to France. More research!!

ETD/Erie, PA to Toronto, Ontario: 2 August 2018—countdown!

My Field Journal

Field Journal-Back

Top row--Archie's shoulder patches

2nd row: 90th Division (Tough Ombres for Texas Oklahoma), 

28th Division (Keystone), and the 80th Division  (Blue Ridge)

Closeup of the Stenay-Baalon area

My dear sister in law Marge made this great bag for me. 

I will have my computer and research materials in it as we visit 

battlefields, cemeteries, and museums.

Archie sent a dried fern frond home, so Marge put an 

embroidered fern on the clasp.

Marge also made these embroidered stars. I thought I might need thank 

you notes and little gifts along the way.

SUBMARINE OFF CAPE COD/WORLD WAR I, POETRY, MORE FILMS

July 26, 2018

Erie, Pennsylvania

As I make final preparations for our trip, I continue to immerse myself in more information about The Great War. Several friends have sent me interesting material and I am trying to catch up on a few films before we leave. I probably should be packing.

So I am going to briefly introduce a few things that I have found very especially interesting, and even controversial.

GERMAN ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL

Friend Heather sent me a link to an article published by Time about a little known German attack on American soil. “On July 21, 1918, a German submarine U-156 surfaced three miles off Cape Cod and began firing torpedoes and shells at an unarmed 140-foot-long tugboat called the Perth Amboy and four accompanying barges.” You can read the “Surprising Story of World War I's Only Attack on U.S. Soil. Though the attack’s circumstances were remarkable, its death toll was zero.”  Read the story here:  http://time.com/5343228/wwi-attack-cape-cod/

FILM FOOTAGE OF THE U.S. 112^TH INFANTRY REGIMENT ARRIVING IN CALAIS, FRANCE DURING WORLD WAR I

I just came across this site in my notes and since several of my friends and my family have a connection to the 28^th Division/112^th Infantry, I thought I would share this footage, especially for Ann, Carole J, my family (Uncle Roy Hall was in the 112th) and Sandra F. You can watch it here (1 minute 36 seconds):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4EEzsoPO1s

GOODBYE BILLIE AND WWI POETRY

A new friend for me, but a fellow Erie East graduate with Tim, Jack B, has been sending me a lot of material about World War I that he used in high school history classes over the years.

Goodbye Billie, America Goes To War  1917-1918   is a short documentary made by professional historians and created out of original sound and film as part of the American Historical Association’s Historical Education Project in 1972.

According to the website to access the film, it “surveys the history of the United States in World War I at home and at the battle fronts. A documentary compiled of authentic war films set to vintage sound, designed to stimulate student interest in further study of the war and the times.”  The footage (24 minutes, 17 seconds) includes images of so many of the things I have been reading about, e.g. the American tribute to Lafayette in Paris, ships at sea, submarines, union support and parades, Liberty Bonds, factories hard at work for the war effort, President Wilson, the horses, the clogged roads, the desolation of the French country side, the Unknown Soldier dedication, and more.   https://archive.org/details/goodbyebillyamericagoestowar19171918

The poems, Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen 1917 (British poet) and Spring in the Trenches by Edgar Guest (American poet) are very thought provoking. After reading the poems, students were asked which poem was more anti-war than the other and would they have allowed the poems to be published if they were George Creel, head of the United States Committee on Public Information, a propaganda organization created by Woodrow Wilson during World War I. [I appreciate that Jack shared both the film and the poems with me]

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

TCM recently aired the 1930 film, All Quiet on the Western Front, which was awarded Outstanding Production/Best Picture that year. I have been watching this black and white silent film over the last three days. It was adapted from the book of the same title by Erich Maria Remarque, who fought for Germany on the Western Front. Controversial in its time, the film portrays the violence and futility of war from the German perspective. Youthful fervor gives way to reality on the front lines of war, “Where madness dances with death.”  The barren land, trees gone, barbed wire, all contribute to the starkness of the reality.

Here is an interesting article about the controversy of the book and the film:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/most-loved-and-hated-novel-about-world-war-I-180955540/

Our travel documents came today. I am so hoping that we can stop near the site of my great uncle Archie’s heroic effort near Stenay/Baalon/Mouzay. With so many people on the tour this time who all have special spots to visit, I don’t know if we will get there.

Since we have less than a week before departure, I had better truly concentrate on getting ready—no more side trips through books and films…oh no!!

THE DOUGHBOYS: AMERICA AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Erie, Pennsylvania

July 25, 2018

Michael Hanlon, Our Guide in France and Belgium

http://www.worldwar1.com/

Tim and I truly value the experience of our tour leader, Michael Hanlon who is a former U.S. Air Force Weather and Operations Officer and a manager of large projects for both corporate and governmental clients. He is the author of About the Great War: An Introduction to the Most Momentous Event of the 20th Century and has appeared on the History Channel as a commentator on the First World War's events and secrets. He is also the editor of the award winning “Doughboy Center” website and produces a number of publications, including "Over the Top" Magazine, the online newsletter, the "St. Mihiel Trip-Wire," and the daily blog "Roads to the Great War. He is a partner with the United States World War I Centennial Commemoration Commission.

If you are interested in The Great War, or military history in general, I totally recommend subscribing to his daily blog, “Roads to the Great War,” as well as his other publications. I do not know how he and his wonderful team have time to research and write the blogs on a daily basis.

The first time I talked to Mike in 2015, he was so accessible and knowledgeable. When I briefly told him of my great uncle’s story, he knew the division immediately and continued to research until he could take us to locations the 90th Division saw action. This year we have narrowed down the site of Archie’s particular heroic action and if everything falls into place we will be there. But Mike did not stop there.  He has been working to make certain that we see some of the places that my other three family members were at-- 112th/28th Division (Uncle Roy Hall) ---313th Machine Gun Battalion/80th Division (Cousin Lynn C. Parker) ---and 37th Engineers (Great Uncle Earl Beardsley), all time permitting, of course. Mike is repeating this process for the other participants in the tour who had family members in the war.

Mike sends all participants a list of books to read before taking the tour.  I already posted about American Armies and Battlefields in Europe, prepared by the American Battle Commission in 1938. Today I just finished The Doughboys, America and The First World War, written by Gary Mead and published in 2000. The book is very concise and covers the American involvement from beginning to end. Mead tackled the great scope of American involvement and offered the history in such a way as not to be tedious. In his last chapter, “Aftermath,” Mead asks, “Was the AEF responsible for bringing Germany to its knees?” He answers, “In purely battlefield terms its presence was necessary but not sufficient. It is in any case the wrong question. The important question, in assessing the part the United States played in the First World War, has a much broader focus: could the Allies have defeated Germany without the financial, economic, military and psychological backing of the United States” Unquestionably not. Yet the AEF has been ignored, and overlooked, even by American historians. The Doughboys, p. 416.

Several chapters were uncomfortable, like “The Cost.” The cost of The Great War in terms of human life and injury was unimaginable, but there were other costs that resonate around the world still today. 

The Doughboys, America and The First World War. Mead, Gary. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press, 2000.

When I think of the costs of that war, I think of Archie and his letters. He omits any information that would worry his mother, he references “Mothers day,” the weather, “I have stood quite a bit of exposure but outside a few cootie bites no damage was done me, “the Supreme Hand protected me,” “I have been taught a great lesson,” and his desire to be home. Twenty-one letters from July 10, 1917 to October 16, 1921. There is an innocence in his letters that belies his experience.

LIFE AND NOTHING BUT

July 23, 2018

Erie, Pennsylvania

Last week Tim and I watched a movie that Mike Hanlon, our tour guide and historian extraordinaire, mentioned in 2015, Life and Nothing But, a film produced in 1989 by French filmmaker, Bertrand Tavernier. The story takes place a year after the end of the war in October 1920. A French major has been given the task of identifying and interring thousands of fallen French soldiers, most anonymous, from the Verdun battlefield.

“Humanity has entered its last dance”

In the film's opening, a woman is looking for her husband amongst the unidentified living soldiers while a French major looks for the soldier to be the French Unknown Soldier. The filmmakers recreated a ruined village and the desolation of the country side vividly reminded me of our 2015 trip. Today the fields are covered in grasses and shrubs, even trees, but huge craters and trench lines are still visible.

Desperate families are examining found objects, personal letters, books, cups, dishes, trying to find some vestige of their loved one, gone for at least two years or more. According to the film there were 349,111 missing French soldiers, 1.5 million French soldiers killed. Wooden crosses indicate temporary graves. A hospital train, buried in a tunnel collapse during the war, yields even more bodies. However, the train was also carrying explosives and another catastrophe befalls the families when it blows up unexpectedly.

Tavernier is a popular French director and producer. His characters are deeply developed in Life and Nothing But, the story skillfully told. I like the question on the back of the DVD, would we want to be post-war survivors stripped of illusions or would we want to be trapped in the seductive feelings of bitterness and mourning for days, lives, and loves gone by?

Life and Nothing But. Dir. Bertrand Tavernier. Perf. Philippe Noiret and Sabine Azema. Hachette Premiere/King Video, 1989. DVD.

According to an article at  http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/unksold.htm, “After World War I, the Allies found that the bodies of many soldiers killed in battle could not be identified. The governments of Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, and the U.S. decided to honor the memory of these soldiers. Each government chose a symbolic unknown, buried his remains near the national capital and built a monument in his honor. The first unknown to be interred was France’s. The selection was made at the Verdun Citadel and the body was then taken to the Arc de Triomphe. Each day the eternal flame is relit at the Arc in a commemorative ritual.”

The full story of the American Unknown Soldier can be found at this website, too.

KING AND COUNTRY

Another film that I watched recently was King and Country, a British film about a young British soldier at Passchendaele, Belgium. After three years in the trenches, he decides to just walk home. The movie is a heartrending depiction of the effects of PTSD (long before it was called that, of course) and how the soldier was court-martialed for his desertion. The captain assigned to defend the soldier learns that the soldier spent three years in front-line trenches and was the sole survivor of his company. Despite the circumstances, the soldier is executed. My writer friend, Chris H. recommended that I watch the movie, recently shown on AMC. It was an intense and poignant film, a story starkly told. War is horrible. The graphic on the movie poster is stunning.

King and Country. Dir. Joseph Losey. Perf. Dirk Bogarde and Tom Courtenay. BHE Films, 1964. AMC.

OUR HEROES DON’T ALWAYS COME HOME, PART IV: Remembering Arthur Manness

22 July 2018

Erie, Pennsylvania

 The Hendershott Manness VFW # 374 in Arcade, New York, was named to honor two Arcade “boys” who lost their lives in World War I. The last blog was about William Hendershott who served in the U.S. Army, AEF 78^th Infantry Division/303^rd Engineer Regiment/Company D. 

Arthur J. Manness and his family lived in Buffalo by 1910 (1910 U.S. Federal Census, Buffalo, New York). It seems he studied at Technical High School in Buffalo and worked as a mechanic at Columbia Garage before enlisting at age 21 as a motor mechanic in the U.S. Army on July 25, 1918 (World War I Draft Registration Card). He trained at Camp Hancock in Augusta, Georgia. Before that Arthur worked as a “packer,” according to the 1915 Buffalo City Directory.

Arthur’s service record seems to indicate that he served in France from October 5, 1918 until his death October 16, 1918. Although his military forms had been erased and re-written to say he died from “wounds,” Manness actually died from bronchial pneumonia and the government was trying to quiet the many influenza deaths, as stated in the material sent to me.

I recently found an extremely informative article, “The U.S. Military and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918–1919,” written by Carol R. Byerly, Ph.D. in Public Health Reports at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2862337/

“The American military experience in World War I and the influenza pandemic were closely intertwined. The war fostered influenza in the crowded conditions of military camps in the United States and in the trenches of the Western Front in Europe. The virus traveled with military personnel from camp to camp and across the Atlantic, and at the height of the American military involvement in the war, September through November 1918, influenza and pneumonia sickened 20% to 40% of U.S. Army and Navy personnel. These high morbidity rates interfered with induction and training schedules in the United States and rendered hundreds of thousands of military personnel non-effective. During the American Expeditionary Forces' campaign at Meuse-Argonne, the epidemic diverted urgently needed resources from combat support to transporting and caring for the sick and the dead. Influenza and pneumonia killed more American soldiers and sailors during the war than did enemy weapons.”

Another viable resource, The National Archives, had an article, “The Deadly Virus: The Influenza Epidemic of 1918,” that states, “Hard as it is to believe, the answer is true. World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history. The flu afflicted over 25 percent of the U.S. population. In one year, the average life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years.” [boldface is mine]

https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/

Parents do not want to hear about such statistics. One of their two sons was gone, a son who bravely enlisted in the U.S. Army during wartime, and now he was no longer with them. I can only imagine that James and Catherine Manness took comfort in the fact that when the VFW in Arcade, New York, was organized in 1938, the Post chose their son’s name. From what I understand, the family lived in Arcade at that time. I also believe the family was originally from Arcade. 

Catherine Manness

Right now, I do not know what division of the U.S. Army Arthur Manness served in, but I suspect it could have been the 28^th Division, the Keystone Division, because that division trained at Camp Hancock in Georgia.

As stated in information sent to me, Arthur Manness was well known for his splendid singing voice, and he sang at many church and community functions. When we reflect on the life of this brave man, we know little, but because of the VFW and a few articles, we know that he was loved and respected, and well-honored.

Thank you, again, to new friend, Carole J.,  the Arcade, New York Historical Society, and Hendershott Manness VFW Post #374. (http://www.arcadehistoricalsociety.org/)

OUR HEROES DON’T ALWAYS COME HOME, PART III: Remembering William Hendershott

July 18, 2018

Erie, Pennsylvania

Another New Friend/Arcade, New York

A few months ago, I was contacted by Carole J. from Arcade, New York, who knew that our Presque Isle Chapter, NSDAR, was a partner with the United States of America Vietnam 50 Commemoration, a program authorized by the last three U.S. Presidents and the Department of Defense. The program was developed to thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War and all those who served in the Armed Forces on active duty regardless of location from November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975. 

The American Legion and the VFW in Arcade, New York, wanted to honor the Vietnam veterans they could reach out to who were living in their area and served in the U.S. Armed Forces between those dates.  Since our DAR Chapter was already a partner, we were happy to assist Carole with getting the lapel pins and accompanying literature, decals, and stickers for their great program. Their event in June 2018 was very significant.

When the Vietnam Veteran lapel pins and the accompanying materials arrived, Carole and I cooked up a plan to meet at one of our favorite restaurants, Sprague’s Maple Farms in Portville, New York. As it turned out, Sprague’s was closed that day for parking lot paving. Fortunately, Carol and her husband Mike knew about the Beef and Barrel in Olean, New York, a new restaurant for Tim and me. Both Tim and Mike are U.S. Navy veterans, so in a short two hours we all became fast friends!

Mike, Carole, Mary Jane, Tim at Beef and Barrel in Olean, New York

How does that narrative fit in with World War I?

As it turns out, the Hendershott Manness VFW # 374 in Arcade, New York, was named after two Arcade “boys” who lost their lives in World War I. I mentioned to Carole that I was going to France on a World War I tour and I mentioned that  I would be visiting the St. Mihiel American Cemetery where William Hendershott was buried. I wanted to know more about these two men who served in The Great War and lost their lives.  I am honored that my new friend Carol J helped with providing me with the research and photographs from The Arcade, New York Historical Society and for permission to write about and post the photographs about him. I truly appreciate this effort! (http://www.arcadehistoricalsociety.org/) 

William Hendershott before enlistment in the U.S. Army 

William Hendershott, born in 1892 in Genesee, New York, served in the U.S. Army, AEF 78^th Infantry Division/303^rd Engineer Regiment/Company D.  He was inducted in on September 16, 1917 and served in Europe from his arrival May 26, 1918 to his death of bronchial pneumonia on October 29, 1918, in Toul, France.  At the time of his death he was a corporal but was advanced to the rank of Sergeant posthumously.

Before his enlistment Hendershott was a locomotive engineer for the Pennsylvania RR, the only child of William H. and Frances Barber Hendershott. The photograph above shows a relaxed Hendershott, his almost smile, and that dapper bowtie.

His 26 years of life were certainly more than a few dates and his rank in the U.S. Army. I cannot imagine how his parents felt having their only child 3000 miles away in combat, a man whose career was just beginning, a man who had aspirations, a man who was loved.

“My dear folks at home”

Hendershott’s last letter home, written September 14, 1918, “Somewhere in France,” told of walking five miles every morning, moving closer to the front, working where “No man’s land was last week.” He asked about his dad, told his dad to take care of himself, told his mother not to work too hard, and promised, “I will take as good of care of myself as the army will let me.” He signed the letter, “Lots of love, your only son, WCH.” As the caption on the letter states, “Cpl. Hendershott died of pneumonia six weeks later and was buried in St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial near Thiaucourt, France.”

The accompanying photograph of William Hendershott depicts a healthy young man with a serious face, yet yearning to break into a smile, friendly eyes, clean shaven, neat uniform. An only child, well-loved.

Corporal William Hendershott Co. D, 303rd Engineers Died of Pneumonia Oct. 29, 1918 

V.F.W. Post 374 Namesake

Corporal William Charles Hendershott writes home: 

"Somewhere in France 

"September 14, 1918

"My Dear Folks at Home: 'Just a few lines before it gets dark. Have not much time now days and won’t have until we go back for rest. Things are certainly lively around here; not where we are camped, but we walk over five miles every morning to where there is something doing, then come back every night, but tomorrow I hear we are going to move up closer. We were working yesterday and today where no Mans Land was last week, but the old Dutch [Germans] are on the go, and I hope we can keep them going. Today was the first nice day we have had in over a week, raining all the time and cold, with mud a foot deep. We marched two nights with mud over our shoes all the way, and then when we do get in, no place to dry our clothes, only on our backs, and pitch our tents anywhere we can. 

“I have got a pal named Johnson from Jamestown, N.Y. We always bunk together, and when we get in the first thing we do is look for hay or a pine tree to make our bunk out of. We couldn’t find either here, so we have got just some oak leaves, but they go pretty good. Last night our packs got lost, so we didn’t have anything but two wet raincoats to sleep under. Ask anyone there how they would like to do that.” 

“. . . I sent you a handkerchief about a week ago; let me know if you received it. How is dad? Tell him a line is always welcome and to take good care of himself and don’t you work too hard, either of you, and I will take as good care of myself as the army will let me. 

"Lots of love, your only son,

W.C.H.'"

Cpl. Hendershott died of pneumonia six weeks later and was buried in St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial near Thiaucourt, France. 

“Gold Star Mother Mrs. Frances Hendershott’s Pilgrimage to Her Son’s Grave in France”

A news article was included in the information that I received that tells the story of Hendershott’s mother and her visit to her son’s grave in France. The article describes the circumstance that enabled over 6000 mothers or wives to visit their loved one’s grave in France. 

The accompanying photo of Mrs. Hendershott, taken 13 years after her son’s death, truly shows the pain she could not hide, reflected in her eyes as well as that clenched fist at her side while she connects to the cross at her son’s grave, Block D, Row 12, Grave 12, St. Mihiel American Cemetery, Thiaucourt, France.

"Photo : Frances at her son “Willie’s” grave at St. Mihiel Cemetery in France, 1931."

Text accompanying this photo:

Gold Star Mother Mrs. Frances Hendershott’s Pilgrimage to Her Son’s Grave in France 

      "The Gold Star became a symbol for mourning the fallen. Families who lost a loved one in the service hung a Gold Star in their windows. Their female relatives referred to themselves as Gold Star mothers and widows. 

     "When Frances Hendershott’s only son, William, died of pneumonia in France, she became a Gold Star Mother. 

     "Between 1930 and 1933 The United States government sponsored several pilgrimage trips for Gold Star Mothers and Wives who had lost their sons or husbands in the war and were buried in one of the 8 cemeteries in Europe. Frances Hendershott began her journey August 10, 1931, and returned on her 72nd birthday, September 13, 1931. 

     "All mothers and un-remarried widows of someone buried or memorialized at an American cemetery received an invitation. Over the course of the program 6,654 women participated. However, in keeping with the Jim Crow Era segregation of the military at the time, the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps racially segregated the pilgrimages. African-American women travelled in separate groups. While many objected, 168 African-American women still participated as pilgrims. 

    " Even after the crash of the stock market in October 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression, the federal government funded the entire pilgrimage. The Quartermaster Corps meticulously organized the program and cared for the mothers and widows. They arranged every detail of the journey and monitored the pilgrims’ physical and emotional health. Escorted by Army officers and nurses, the pilgrims traveled to many of the major tourist sites in the countries they visited, including the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, where they laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They subsequently traveled to the cemeteries and visited the battlefields and memorials in addition to the graves of their loved ones. 

     "Cemetery staff decorated the graves with the flags of the U.S. and the host country. They provided a chair for the pilgrim to sit next to the headstone and reflect. Each pilgrim received a photograph of herself at the tombstone, where she also laid a memorial wreath. These personal touches added to the dignity of the pilgrimages and demonstrated the government’s commitment to the cemeteries."

I am so grateful to the Arcade Historical Society (www.arcadehistoricalsociety.org), Hendershott Manness VFW  #374, and Carole for all of this information. I hope that I will be able to photograph his grave on our trip to France. Our visit to St. Mihiel American Cemetery will be August 13, 2018. It would be my honor to do this. Bless Carole J. for contacting me!

My next blog will be about the other man VFW #374 is named for, Arthur Manness.

 [Note 1: The 78^th Division’s shoulder patch was a bolt of lightning across a red field. The battles of that division were likened by the French to a bolt of lightning leaving the field blood red. Hence the 78th Division was known as the Lightning Division]  

[Note 2: The World War I St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial in France, 40.5 acres in extent, contains the graves of 4,153 of our military dead. The names of 282 soldiers missing in action appear on two walls in the museum.]

OUR HEROES DON’T ALWAYS COME HOME, PART II: Remembering Robert F. Arnold

17 July 2018

Erie, Pennsylvania

My World War I journey has taken so many twists and turns. I think of my Uncle Archie and how he never could have imagined a great niece taking an interest in his story and going so far as to read over 40 books on World War I to say nothing of the hours of DVD WW I footage I have watched, the maps I have pored over, and being on the eve of my 2^nd trip to WWI battlefields in France. I think my uncle was representative of so many young courageous men who wanted to represent their country, who wanted to “take their stand with the Armies of many nations now fighting in the Old World the great battle for human freedom.” * 

I have taken many paths on this journey, but all those paths ensure that I recognize the courage, the valor, and the faith that our American soldiers and those who supported them had as they engaged in war so very far away from home.

A New Friend
The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) has joined with the World War One Centennial Commemorative Commission which formally recognizes Commemorative Partners who demonstrate a commitment to honoring, commemorating, and educating the public about The Great War, to include (but not limited to) the 4 million Americans who served and the 116, 516 who sacrificed their lives

So recently, by chance, I was navigating a DAR World War I Facebook page when I saw a post indicating someone was looking for her uncle’s grave in France.

I messaged Sandy from Texas that I was going to France and would be pleased to look for her uncle’s grave site. As it turned out, her uncle, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, is buried in the United States.

However, our research did lead us to the discovery that her uncle, Robert F. Arnold, was in the 28^th Division, 112^th Infantry, the same unit that my uncle and Friend Ann’s great uncles were in. Then I found Robert Arnold’s name in the book I have mentioned before, With the 112^th in France, A Doughboy’s Story of the War, by James A. Murrin.

The listing was as follows, “Robert F. Arnold, 2d Lt., Co. H; died October 13^th from shrapnel wound received in action in early part of the Argonne Battle.”

This is only a listing in a book. We know there is so much more to the story—a young man who had a life in Missouri yet joined the National Guard and became an officer. He lost his life serving his country. A young man whose family mourned him then, and still mourns today.

The entire book by Murrin can be found at this website:

https://archive.org/stream/with112thinfranc00murr/with112thinfranc00murr_djvu.txt

I value Sandy’s interest in World War I, and her uncle. I will honor him, my Uncle Roy, and Ann’s uncles at Fismes, France, and other sites where the 112^th was engaged.

* King George V: Letter to Soldiers of The United States - April 1918. Each soldier was given a letter from King George III of England. This is part of the that text.