Photo By Maj. Mikel Arcovitch | The Vermont National Guard sent a contingency of five soldiers along with Maj. Gen....... read more read more
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Nearly 20 million people were killed in World War I. Another 20 million were wounded. Regular people from all corners of the United States went to fight in The Great War. The U.S. active-duty Army was relatively small, and thus an abundance of National Guard Soldiers were sent to Europe.
The Vermont National Guard was no exception.
In 1917, Germany was using submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and repeatedly attempted to create an alliance with Mexico against the United States, then President Woodrow Wilson had no choice, but to declare war against Germany.More than 1,500 Vermonters were sent to Europe to fight in the War to End All Wars, World War I. Vermonters traveled to Europe as part of the 26th Infantry Division, affectionately known as the “Yankee Division.” The 26th ID was called the Yankee Division because it was mostly New Englanders serving in the ranks.
“Originally, Vermonters had trained as one group called the 1st Vermont Old guard,” said Maj. Zachariah Fike, “and at the last moment they were told they would not fight as a state, but separated with Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine within the 26th Division.” Fike continued, “The division was formed on July 18, 1917, and they saw some of their first fighting a year later in July 1918 at Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood.”
2018 marks the 100-year anniversary, the centennial, of the end of The Great War. Army National Guard units who fought in WWI were invited back to France to walk the ground of their forefathers.
Vermont sent five Soldiers along with Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, Adjutant General for the Vermont National Guard, to pay homage to the Vermonters who served, and share the Vermont story with service members and Vermonters.
The various events occurring throughout the centennial anniversary are supported by Army National Guard Soldiers from various states and the U.S. Army Center for Military History. This is our experience.
We landed in Paris on Tuesday, July 24. The first day was dedicated to travel, in-processing, and settling in for the week ahead. We stayed at Camp National de Sissonne in Sissonne, France. The drive took us Northeast of Paris and through the vast rolling hills of France.
There were no significant mountain ranges in the area we traveled, but the endless rolling hills and abundant farming reminded me of our Midwest. It seemed that every last inch of ground for the miles we drove through were accounted for, and had wheat, corn or potatoes growing right up to the edge of the road or the next crop. We were told that many farmers have their own miniature museums in their barns from the war material they find while farming. We did not have the opportunity to see any of these museums, but we did see leftover war material in the trenches. French citizens also showed us large bags of shell casings they had acquired over the years. We got back to our barracks in Sissonne relatively early. This was the only early night we had during the trip.
Day two found us again traveling through the farmland of France where we visited a variety of important battle locations in World War I. This was our first full day in France and was packed with historical locations. We traveled on buses and were educated on the history of each stop by the Center for Military History.
The first stop was on the Marne River. Two major battles took place here, The First Battle of the Marne in 1914 and the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918. The 26th ID did not fight on the River Marne, but it was amazing reflecting at this peaceful town and river where so many Soldiers fought and died in attempts to move their military forward.
Part of the Second Battle of Marne was the Battle of Chateau-Thierry in 1918. This battle was fought in July and was some of the first action of the American Expeditionary Force under General John J. Pershing. We traveled to the American Aisne Marne Memorial that overlooks Chateau-Thierry. The Memorial honors the Americans who gave their lives, and was the first place we saw an inscription or mention of the 26th ID. We walked through woods in front of the Memorial to the outskirts of a town called Vaux. We had our first taste of the leftover scars of the war as evidence of the craters that remained from artillery fire.
“It was the mission of the 9th Infantry Regiment to take the Village of Vaux,” said Dr. Peter Knight of the Center of Military History. “Vaux was a very clean operation. A stone mason from inside the village provided intelligence to guide the 9th Infantry Regiment to best attack the town. The 26th Division, the Yankee Division, would come later in July to relieve the 9th Regiment,” continued Knight. “They would use Vaux and the line through Vaux, Bouresches and just in front of Belleau Wood as their jumping off point for their attack that would go from West to East through their assigned sector as part of the Aisne-Marne Offensive.”
We briefly visited Belleau Wood, which we visited in greater depth at the end of our trip, and spent an extended period in Fismes and Fismette. The Battles of Fismes and Fismette was part of the Aisne-Marne Offensive. The banks of the Vesle River had become the new German line after their attack along the Marne had failed. The 32nd Division (AEF) was the main force attempting to cross the Vesle River in order to reach Fismes. The Division was decimated and eventually relieved by the 28th Infantry Division which was largely populated by the Pennsylvania National Guard. This was a critical battle in WWI. The Allies captured and lost the city five times. It was eventually secured by the Allies, but the city was completely destroyed.
We had the opportunity to walk around both Fismes and Fismette and were amazed at how the town was now flourishing after such destruction. We found a restaurant that was all things America, and took pictures in front of a Vermont license plate and with the owner holding American flags. We finished the day by visiting Reims which is a much larger city, but was none-the-less also a victim in the Great War. We met up with Ms. Helen Patton, grand-daughter of Gen. George Patton. Ms. Patton showed us around Reims where we had the opportunity to visit the Reims Catherdral, also known as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Reims. We had a great dinner as a group and returned home for a quick nap before the start of the next day.
Day three we spent more time at the locations we visited. Our first stop was the Apremont Forest near the Bois Brule. This forest is significant to Vermonters as the Yankee Division experienced a fair amount of combat here, but it is also where Cpl. Leonard Lord was killed in action.
Cpl. Lord was the first Vermonter killed in the Great War. The trenches and forest itself were breathtaking. “There are miles of trenches stretching throughout this forest,” said Capt. Joe Phelan, “It is remarkable how the whole area remains untouched as if it was a century ago.”
There are no restrictions on where we could go. We discovered barbed-wire and rusted metal from the war. We found holes that led to caves that could fit multiple people. We saw countless craters and trees still reduced to stumps from artillery. The distance from the marked front of the German trench to the front Allied trench was no more than 30 meters. A terrifying thought that the enemy slept, ate, and aimed their rifles less than 100 feet away.
After our inspiring visit to the Apremont Forest, we traveled to the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon. It is a beautiful cemetery and honorable final resting place for many Americans killed in WWI. Thirty-two of our Vermont Soldiers are buried in the cemetery.
The cemeteries are meticulously kept by a diligent grounds crew. We spoke almost nothing to one another as we spent the time walking amongst the many crosses marking gravestones. We finished the day here. It was a fair amount of traveling between points so we made our way home to prepare for the next day.
On day four, we participated in a 10-mile march to honor the fallen. As we marched in the high 90 degree heat, we all shared a mutual agreement in how difficult it must have been to be a WWI Soldier wearing all wool uniforms. We were once again amazed at the local population and their turnout to march with us to remember the fallen. We stopped at various monuments along the route to enjoy the company of fellow service members and the French community.
After the march, we again visited Belleau Wood for a longer stay this time. We were able to go into the woods behind the cemetery. Old refinished canons remained, various craters and trenches lined the woods. Part of the Vermont contingency, Seth Wilkinson, 1st Sgt. for Bravo Battery, 1-101st Field Artillery, had a great-grandfather that served in WWI and fought in Belleau Wood. “(He) fought with the 4th Marines in 1918. He survived, married my great-grandmother, and had 8 children,” remembers Wilkinson. “Knowing it took a month for the Marines to clear such a small area (is truly amazing). This all has been very humbling,” said Wilkinson.
During our exploration of Belleau Wood, we also found a fountain of a mastiff that pours fresh water continuously. This fountain is famous to the Marines as it was a battle ground for the Marine Corps. Drinking from the mastiff is fabled to bring strength to the Marine who drank from it.
After a physically tiring day, we found ourselves coming into our busiest day. Day five began with a jam-packed ceremony at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery that honored fallen French and American forces from the Great War and the continued relationship between our two countries. Around 20 men and women dressed as Soldiers and nurses in World War I era garb representing the French, American, and German forces. There were dozens of American and French political and military leaders in the ceremony and the crowd. Maj. Gen. Steven Ferrari, commander, 42nd Infantry Division, and Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief National Guard Bureau, spoke at the ceremony. The ceremony included multiple speakers, a three-volley salute, a 21-gun salute, a company from the French K-9 Regiment, wreaths laid by the distinguished guests, and a myriad of flags and banners from the French and American militaries. The pièce de résistance was a flyover by WWI era fighter planes. The flyover was in honor of Quentin Roosevelt, son of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a pilot and killed during the war. A truly memorable and once in a lifetime experience.
After the ceremony we immediately found ourselves in a parade through Fére-en-Tardenois. French and American flags covered houses, streetlights, and arches throughout the town. People came out in masses to honor the centennial. Children walked hand-in-hand with American Soldiers. Our Vermont Guardsmen passed out American flag patches, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) unit patches, and because we had no idea how many people would be there, we gave out anything else we had to as many greeters as we could. Town locals leaned out of their windows and waved to recognize and honor the relationship. It was a truly indescribable event that left us feeling like the Armistice had just been signed that day. The general officers, to include Maj. Gen Cray, rode through the parade in WWI era vehicles waving flags to cheers from the crowd. We eventually arrived to what can only be described as the village green in the center of Fére-en-Tardenois. The reenactors had set up WWI era tents and laid out kits that Soldiers from each Army had carried during the war. The green was packed with Guardsmen, citizens, veterans, and tourists. We had lunch on the green and worked our way to Les Fantômes for another celebration.
We arrived and had to park a little over a mile away. Walking through the French farmlands was welcomed in the beautiful afternoon sunlight. We arrived and the place was overflowing. We saw an airshow from some WWI era fighters with the planes buzzing just overhead to the delight of the crowd. We left after the airshow to have dinner back in Fére-en-Tardenois.
We discovered very quickly that we had limited options at 8 p.m. on a Saturday. The French culture is very relaxed and it was difficult to find an open restaurant. We saw the reenactors had built a large fire on the green and it turns out they were camping for the foreseeable future living out of their tents to celebrate the centennial.
The French again proved to be incredibly caring and gracious hosts as they cooked us a WWI era dinner by the fireside. A family of four had also left Fantômes due to the long lines and they joined us for dinner. A few of us played soccer with the families little boy, others shared stories, and some talked about the day with the French reenactors. We exchanged gifts, laughed over the delicious dinner, asked questions about the WWI materials they had out, and stood by the fire well into the night. Our fortunes had again led us to an unforgettable moment. We eventually had to leave the village green and our new friends behind to head back to the barracks and prepare for our final day in France.
Our last day was a unit day which brought us back to Belleau Wood. We were joined by Gen. Lengyel for a ceremonial wreath laying honoring the 26th ID.
After learning a bit more about Belleau Wood from the U.S. Army Center for Military History, we marched, each unit flying their colors in the air, from the cemetery to the church across the street. The church is the only monument to the 26th ID in France. The 26th ID had destroyed the original with indirect fire and promised the village they would rebuild the church. At the end of the war, veterans of the 26th ID raised enough money to erect a new church in October of 1929.
Inside the church, the walls are lined with a variety of flags and names. This includes a Vermont state flag. Also engraved on the wall, we discovered the name of Cpl. Leonard Lord. We hosted a ceremony in April honoring the 100-year anniversary of his death and rededicated the Swanton Armory in his name. It was humbling to see his name on the wall and to effectively bring his story full circle. After touring the church, we made our way out and started our journey to the airport to come home.
“We found the graves of a lot of Vermonters while being here. One of the highlights for me is finding the grave of Cpl. Leonard Lord, and closing the loop on that story,” said Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard. “I thought I knew the history of World War I, but until you are here, and you walk the same ground, you don’t get a full appreciation of what these men did.”
“This whole week has been humbling,” said State Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph (Toby) Quick. “To walk in the foot-steps of our fore-fathers is really something that I have taken to heart.” Said Quick, “I have also really enjoyed seeing all the young kids come out with their parents to remember and honor history.”
This event was a once in a lifetime opportunity for all involved and one that none of us will ever forget. With all of the amazing places we visited and ceremonies we experienced, the best and most memorable part of the journey was the people of France. The lifestyle is relaxed and calm. They were so genuinely happy to see and greet us. We were reminded that Americans helped them keep their land. We fought alongside them and hold a strong alliance to this day. It is vital to remember that none of this journey was possible without the sacrifice of those that came before us. I was honored to be a member of our military and an ambassador for this anniversary. Remember your history and pass it on.
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2018 14:16 |
| Story ID: | 292206 |
| Location: | COLCHESTER, VT, US |
| Web Views: | 177 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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