CHAPTER XIAFTER THE ARMISTICE
To the world behind the lines the conclusion of an armistice meant the end of the Great War, a quick return to peace time conditions and the resumption of normal business. Armistice day was celebrated throughout the nations included in the Allied list. Crowds everywhere were wild with joy. But the man who had been on the line for months, facing death or wounds nearly every day for a seemingly endless time, was dazed rather than joyful when the cannon and machine gun were silenced and the menace of the Hun airplane bomb passed into history.
The strain of the last few weeks at the front was of that terribly tense variety which cannot be shaken off. Strong in nerve and inured to hardships as the Company was, the incessant turmoil of the latter part of October proved too nerve-racking for a large number of men and they were ordered back to the hospitals just before the armistice. Casualties of the Company during all the fighting totaled eighty-six. Two thirds of these were caused within the last three weeks of the War.
Thirty-two members of the Company were in positions on the line at 11 o'clock on November 11, 1918, and twenty-five of these were of the original personnel which left Niantic. Four fifths of the number usually assigned to gun squads were gone.
When the relief by units of the 4th Division was complete at noon, November 12th, the Company left behind it the bloody fields of the Argonne-Meuse battle and began its long hike to the south. The trip was made in easy stages. Passing down through the valley of the Meuse the route followed took the Battalion to the Ninth Training Area, southwest of Neufchateau, and November 23 billets were assigned in the village of Poulangy, fifteen kilometers north of Chaumont, in Haute Marne.
Reports circulated that the 26th Division would take its place as a unit of the Army of Occupation and all units shortly embarked on a program of training, the purpose of which wasdiscipline. Close order drill took a prominent place in the schedule and this was relieved by machine gun work and manœuvers.
Replacements were added to the Company on the trip back from the lines and many of those sent to the hospital returned in small groups or singly as the days passed. Intricacies of red tape failed to stop D Company men from waiting for the first dark night and eluding the hospital sentries so they could take the shortest route back to their friends. Many and varied were the stories of foiled M. P.'s and puzzled officers who tried to trace the runaways.
Thanksgiving was made notable only through the efforts of Sergeant Foley, who purchased supplies at the commissary to add to the meager rations. No turkey adorned the tables of the mess hall that day, for the American Expeditionary Forces had increased in number from the bare hundred thousand of the previous year to more than two million men.
Rain and snow made the mud deeper than ever for the weeks which followed and the drill schedule was carried out with difficulty. Inspections took place with the customary frequency, baths and delousing operations with issues of new clothing bringing the appearance of the command up to the point of perfection it had reached before entering the line.
Although the order authorizing all units in the Division to wear the identifying "YD" on the upper left sleeve was issued in August, it was not found possible to comply with the regulation until late in December. Then the soldiers appeared with the blue felt emblem which distinguished them as members of the Yankee Division. Furlough orders were plentiful and the ranks of the Company were constantly being thinned by the departure of a large percentage of the men to the vacation areas in the south of France.
President Wilson, attending the peace conference in Paris, found time to review the 26th Division on Christmas Day on the parade grounds near Chaumont. For this event only part of the Division was assigned to participate and the 102d Machine Gun Battalion was chosen to represent the machine gunners of the Yankees.
December 24th the Battalion hiked to a small town within a few kilometers of the parade ground and billeted there overnight. Christmas Day was raw and disagreeable and winter mud prevented the artillery units taking part in the review. D Company led the Battalion past the reviewing stand and finished the hike back to Poulangy that night.
Christmas festivities among the men and officers were in order for the following day. Drills were suspended and the miniature boxes allowed to pass through the mails from home were delivered to the Company. That night Sergeant Foley again proved his worth by producing a feed reminiscent of the annual holiday feast at home. Seated in the mess hall with the enjoyable odors from the steaming dinner sharpening their desire to attack their full mess kits, the men refused to eat until Lieutenant Nelson came to the hall. They cheered their commander with an enthusiasm founded on a whole-hearted admiration for him as man and soldier. After mess he was presented with funds to purchase a trench coat and boots in the name of the Company, and a regulation D Company entertainment was provided to conclude the celebration.
In order that the Battalion might be in a better position to take part in the manœuvers constituting a part of the program of training, it was moved east about fifteen kilometers to the village of Esnouveaux on January 2. Here news was received that the Division was no longer considered a part of the Army of Occupation and the football season was inaugurated.
In the first game D Company defeated C Company of the Battalion 12 to 0 and February 13 concluded its conquest of Battalion teams by trimming B Company 34 to 0 on the gridiron at Mansigne, in the Le Mans area. February 16 the 103d Artillery eleven held the Battalion team, composed of D Company men with substitutes from the other teams in the Battalion, to a scoreless tie. The team representing the 103d Machine Gun Battalion was the next to fall before the prowess of Captain "Duke" Rowley and his men. They lost 7 to 0. Then the 101st Engineers, with their team of college stars, tasted defeat in a score of 18 to 0 on March 5th. The 101st Artillery followed in the path of their predecessors and dropped a 7 to 0 game to the fighting machine gunners on March 7, and March 12 the schedule was completed when the 101st Infantry played a scoreless tie with the team.
This feat entitled the winners to the divisional championship and each of the men received the medal emblematic of their victory. From the first game feeling ran high through the Division, arguments were numerous on the sidelines and large numbers of francs changed hands after each contest.
A highly successful minstrel troupe was organized among the members of the Company. Their performances were featured with the parodies written by Otis Culver, who was the leading spirit in the movement. This show was so well received that it was chosen to take a trip through the various units of the Division and was about to start on a short tour when orders were received for the Battalion to entrain for the port of embarkation at Brest.
With the establishment of educational centers throughout the American Expeditionary Forces by the army in coöperation with welfare workers, the men were given the opportunity of selecting courses of study they wished to pursue and were sent to the different schools for a period of four months. Corporals Watrous and Harrington and Bugler Shaw went from the enlisted men of the Company and Lieutenant Nelson also decided to follow his studies for the designated period.
In line for drill on the morning of March 3, the Company awaited a word of farewell from Lieutenant Nelson, the only officer who had been with them through their entire service, but he was so overcome by emotion his only words were, "I can't say what I want to say. You'll find it on the bulletin board. Good-bye." The speech he had prepared in anticipation of the event was displayed until all the men had read it.
Captain Brouse and Lieutenant Carroll remained with the Company until the former was also detailed to attend school. Then Lieutenant Carroll assumed the herculean task of keeping many of the D Company men from serving sentences of various lengths for misdemeanors, at no time serious, but always provoking to the higher officers, for the old Troop A spirit of taking things into their own hands whenever they saw fit was still strong.
Day after day the Company was subjected to the delousing processes brought into use during the war, and inspections of all kinds followed each other in endless procession. Clothing, equipment and billets were inspected until the men were stayingup after taps to be certain that everything was in the proper order. The climax to these occurrences was the field inspection by officers from General Headquarters.
MedalsIF THE COMPANY MEMBERS COULD DISTRIBUTE MEDALS
IF THE COMPANY MEMBERS COULD DISTRIBUTE MEDALS
Billeted in a magnificent chateau near the village of Mansigne, the men occupied the best quarters they had found in France. In addition to the comforts of a fireplace in nearly every room, a piano was found and permission obtained for its use. This improvement in the entertainment facilities of the town was utilized during all spare hours.
March 29 orders were received for the Battalion to entrain for Brest and the men were crowded into box cars so closely that none could sleep during the long ride which followed. Arriving at Brest the following morning they hiked to Pontanezen Camp and were introduced to the system employed at that place for caring for thousands of transient troops. The tents were fitted with floors and iron beds were provided for a majority of the men. They were fed in long lines at several kitchens and the mess proved excellent.
After receiving candy and other articles from the Red Cross, the Company embarked on thePatricia, formerly the German steamerHamburg, on the afternoon of April 6, finally to start on the journey about which rumors had been spread so many times. A solemn silence was maintained the first night on board ship, for stories had gained circulation during the stay in the Brest camp that units had been returned to shore after embarking for the slightest breach of military etiquette. Once safely on the ocean, with the shores of France receding on the horizon, they were willing to again take up their favorite amusements and help make the trip as pleasant as possible.
There were a few days when the unfortunate ones among the passengers were attacked by seasickness, but the first day of this trouble usually meant that the next rough seas could be passed successfully.
When six hundred miles from Boston a former German officer attempted to set fire to the ship, but was apprehended before much damage resulted and placed under arrest for the remainder of the trip.
Thursday, April 17, was a red letter day on the calendar for all the men on thePatricia, for while going to mess that morning they had their first sight of the United States in more than eighteen months. At noon the ship passed Boston light, and shortly afterward the fleet of welcoming boats made its appearance. These were received in silence in spite of the enthusiasm of the welcomers until Major General Edwards made his appearance on one of them; then the flood of feeling was loosed and the veteran commander of the Yankee Division received an ovation which resounded over the waters of Boston harbor.
Landing at the immense pier the army had taken over for transport use, the men were met by the welcoming committee from New Haven, headed by Captain Wolf and Captain Condren. Here they were the recipients of more chocolate, cigarettes, candy, cigars and cakes than they could use and after a short period while the public was allowed on the pier, they loaded their baggage onto a waiting train and continued their trip to Camp Devens, Ayer, Mass.
The next day passes were granted to some of the men for two-day leaves at home, and the rest of the Company took the opportunity to leave without passes, for home had been far away too long to allow such a chance to pass by. Proud relatives and friends met the train at the New Haven station and the returned soldiers were fêted to the limit for the time they had to spend at home.
April 25 the 26th Division was received officially at Boston. A parade of several miles through the center of the city between solid walls of cheering New Englanders was the feature of the day and at night the Boston companies were entertained by their friends while D Company men wandered around the city until it was time for them to return to their billet in Horticultural Hall.
Returning to Devens the next day the men were quartered in the barracks which had housed the 76th Division while it trained in that camp. Monday, April 28, Lieutenant Carroll, in command of the Company, was presented with a watch and chain as a remembrance of the esteem in which he was held by the men.
The last two days at the big camp were filled with important work,—service records must be prepared and correctly endorsed, discharge papers filled out and final returns made of all government property. This was all completed and at last on the morning of April 29 final pay with transportation home was given to the waiting line of men. It was an event toward which many anxious thoughts had been turned for months. It meant for most of the men the termination of their first period as soldiers and it completed the roll of experience which had been filled to the last detail for the original members of the company who were fortunate enough to complete the tour of duty.
With the issuance of discharge papers, Company D, 102d Machine Gun Battalion passed into history, as had Troop A,Cavalry, Connecticut National Guard, and "The Second Company of Governor's Horse Guards."
Returning to New Haven the men were dined by the city after a parade in the latter part of May and were brought together early in June for an afternoon of celebration by the veterans of Troop A.
As the dauntless spirit of bravery and endurance welded so firmly in the heat of battle is emblazoned on the rolls of history in the names of those who dwell beneath "the crosses row on row," may it ever serve as a bond of union among those who remain!