USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > South Hadley > South Hadley, Massachusetts, in the world war, 1932 > Part 1
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EDUCATION
SOUTH HADLEY
IN THE
WORLD WAR
SOUTH HADLEY in the WORLD WAR
SOUTH HADLEY MASSACHUSETTS in the
WORLD WAR
MOL
MASS.
DUCATION
AGRICULTURE
1775
*
Published by the Town of South Hadley
Anker Printing Company Holyoke, Mass. 1932
"Though Love repine, and reason chafe, There came a voice without reply,- 'Tis Man's perdition to be safe When for the truth he ought to die.' " -Sacrifice, R. W. Emerson.
FRED M. SMITH
Foreword
At the annual meeting of the Town of South Hadley, March 16, 1925, it was voted that a Memorial Volume concerning South Hadley in The World War be prepared by a committee of five to be appointed by the Moderator, and that the sum of $1,200 be appropriated for that purpose. The Moderator, Fred M. Smith, appointed Frank A. Brainerd, Maurice E. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Mary K. O'Brien, Mrs. Jean B. Kinney and Rev. Jesse G. Nichols, members of the committee to prepare such a volume. The committee organized with the choice of Frank A. Brainerd, Chairman and Mrs. Jean B. Kinney, Secretary. Within a few weeks several pre- liminary meetings were held and general plans were outlined. The members of the committee recognized that the individual among all of South Hadley's citizens who had in his possession most of the valuable material for the memorial volume, was Mr. Fred M. Smith, the Moderator, who was largely responsible for securing the action of the town. Mr. Smith was the efficient Chairman of the Committee of Public Safety during the period of the war, and during most of the time was also Chairman of the Local Board for Division No. 7.
A meeting was held at the home of Mr. Smith at which he placed all of the public records and much of his private notes and correspondence at the disposal of the Committee, and endorsed enthusiastically the plans which the Committee sub- mitted. There was every reason to expect that the work of preparation of the mem- orial volume would progress steadily and be completed within a reasonable time. Before that hope was realized, however, Mr. Smith, after a protracted illness, passed away. The citizens of South Hadley, representatives of The Commonwealth, of Amherst College, his Alma Mater, and his associates in fraternal organizations joined in loving tribute to a public servant who, throughout his life, had given generously of his time, strength and means to every interest for the welfare of his fellow citizens.
Upon the resignation of Hartley W. Morrill of Ludlow, as chairman of the Local Board, and upon the appointment of Mr. Smith to that office, the headquart- ers of the Board was transferred to the Town Hall, South Hadley. Mr. Smith, with characteristic devotion, threw himself, with all the power at his command, into the task of supervising the work of the Draft Board, and of sending into the service of the United States, men who were physically and mentally fit. He was careful to send them, not en masse, but, so far as he was able, he studied the individual case. He placed special stress upon the work of the Board of Instruction, affecting the social and moral welfare, the intelligence and high purpose of the soldier as citizen and patriot. He maintained that painstaking, personal interest in the in- dividual service man and in his family during the war, and for many months after
6
SOUTH HADLEY IN THE WORLD WAR
the Armistice. No inquiry into the welfare of all parties concerned, no provision for their needs, escaped his attention. In the mass of correspondence on file, now in the possession of the committee, there are letters to men in the service and to their families, and letters received in reply, that are too intimate and personal to publish in full, but which reveal the fact that the writer was more than a public official, concerned with routine duties; that he was one who carried in his heart the welfare of the individual. This was true, not only of the citizens of South Hadley, but also of all the towns in the district. To a South Hadley boy, reported as seriously wounded in France, who gave his life, he wrote:
"Everybody here was very sorry to hear the news that came last night that you had been wounded * * * If the good wishes and hopes of the people of the town amount to anything, I can assure you that your recovery will be rapid and complete. I wish I might be able to send you something * if you need anything, don't hesitate to call upon me, even if you have to cable at my expense. Keep up your courage and rest assured that the people of South Hadley are thinking of you and are with you in spirit, even though they cannot be so in person."
To a South Hadley Pastor he wrote:
"Will you kindly give a message to your Christian Endeavor Society which S- has asked me to do. * * * I am glad they are writing to him, for I know what letters from his home town mean to a boy like him. I know of quite a few boys from this town who have no one to write to them, and they are more than appreciative to have some one in town write to them. I have tried to impress upon the people here their duty to write to such boys, and how much they would appre- ciate such attention. There are quite a few boys from this town, who are in the service who have no relatives to write to them, and some who have relatives who cannot write. All the boys say that if they had to choose between their pay and letters from home they would take the latter."
These letters, and other similar messages, reveal the heart of the man who had three sons in the service. Under the leadership of Mr. Smith, Local Board, Division No. 7, was ranked as second in efficiency among all the Boards in the State; and second to none in personal devotion.
Naturally, the committee, bereft of its guiding spirit, could not proceed at once to the completion of its work. All the members felt, however, that the Mem- orial volume would have an added significance as a tribute to one who exalted public office by personal devotion.
Within a comparatively brief period a further loss to the town and to the Memorial Committee was sustained in the death of the Chairman, Mr. Frank A. Brainerd. Mr. Brainerd, who had served the Town of South Hadley in various capacities in public office, had been honored by the voters of the district with a re- election as Representative to the General Court. In the midst of many and exacting demands of private and official business, he found time to further the plans and to provide for the completion of the Memorial, in which he took such a deep personal
7
SOUTH HADLEY IN THE WORLD WAR
interest. For a second time the citizens of South Hadley, associates in business and in the service of the town and The Commonwealth, were called upon to pay their tribute of respect to an honored citizen.
After repeated and unavoidable delays, such as have been described, the remaining members of the committee were authorized by the town at the annual meeting in March, 1931, to select other citizens to assist in completing the work. Four ex-service men consented to serve; who, by their personal experience in camps in this country and in service overseas, could add much to the accuracy and worth of the volume as a valuable record. The new members were: William H. Gaylord, George F. Dudley, Francis M. Fitzgerald, and Rev. John P. O'Day. The committee reorganized with the choice of Rev. Jesse G. Nichols, Chairman and Mrs. Mary K. O'Brien, Secretary.
The Memorial volume herewith presented to the citizens of South Hadley is the result of the fine spirit of co-operation and careful work of all members of the Committee. Each member has made an important contribution, and there is an underlying unity which marks the spirit in which they have labored. As the work has proceeded the members of the Committee have been impressed with the im- portance of the trust committed to them in the careful preparation of a faithful record of events, which should be a worthy Memorial to the citizens of South Hadley, who gave themselves so freely in civil life and in military service in a struggle which has affected vitally the future welfare of all the peoples of the world.
Contents
FOREWORD
5
Page
AMERICA ENTERS THE GREAT WAR
13
AMERICA ORGANIZES FOR WAR
15
SOUTH HADLEY'S EXPEDITION
20
LOCAL ACTIVITIES
26
THE GLORIOUS DEAD
43
THE ROLL OF THOSE IN SERVICE
55
REFERENCE LIST OF PLACES WHERE SOUTH HADLEY MEN FOUGHT
127
NAMES OF CITIZENS CONNECTED WITH LOCAL BOARD FOR DIVISION NO. 7 . 133
SOUTH HADLEY in the WORLD WAR
Draft Board for District No. 7
Frederick Warren, Dr. Henry Doonan, Fred M. Smith
America Enters The Great War
THE MOMENTOUS CONFLICT IN EUROPE
The year of our Lord 1914 sees burst forth what is to be the most momentous conflict of armed forces that the world has yet witnessed. It is to be called the Great War, the World War, the War of the Nations. On the one side the Central European states of Germany and Austria, aided soon by Bulgaria and Turkey, are pitted powerfully against the allied nations of France, England, Belgium, Russia and Serbia, soon to be joined by Italy. All the resources of mind, man, money and material are organized and put into military opposition by both sides - on land, in the air, on sea, and under the sea.
AMERICA LOOKS ON
As yet, the United States of America only looks on at the mighty struggle. Our country is neither unmoved by it nor unaffected, but she tries to keep a just and strict neutrality. American sympathy, however, has to show itself toward women and children sufferers, especially the destitute of Belgium. Money, food, clothing and medical supplies in unstinted quantity are dispatched to their aid. The cause of humanity must be served, even though we are neutral as regards the cause of either belligerent.
STRAINED NEUTRALITY
But before a year of the war has passed, our neutrality is put to many a heavy strain, when Germany, disregarding international law, begins a ruthless submarine warfare against passenger vessels. The torpedoing of the giant ship Lusitania, with a loss of 1400 lives including 107 Americans (men, women and children) the Armen- ian with a toll of 20 more Americans, and three weeks later the Arabic - these and other similar incidents try our patience to the utmost. Public indignation is further aroused by the activities of German propagandists, considered as inter- fering in our industrial and commercial enterprises, even in our national affairs. President Wilson's messages have words of warning and alarm, as the year 1915 closes.
14
SOUTH HADLEY IN THE WORLD WAR
THE SHADOW OF WAR
In 1916, the shadow of the Great War falls menacingly on us. German sub- marine activities, and British interference with our mails and blacklisting of Ameri- can firms, cause growing concern, and the interchange of sharp notes by the gov- ernments. Germany, as a concession to us, agrees to restrict her submarine warfare. But this proves to be only the lull before a storm.
WAR IS DECLARED
In January, 1917, the German government declares to the United States and all other neutral countries its intention to wage unrestricted warfare on and under the sea, upon all commerce within zones of its own choosing. This is equivalent to Germany's seizing, as though belonging to her, about half of the Atlantic Ocean. She adds to the affront by offering to permit one American vessel to touch at one British port once a week. It is the beginning of the end. On February 3, 1917, the German ambassador to the United States is handed his passports. On April 2, President Wilson asks Congress to declare that a state of war exists with Germany. War is declared April 6, 1917.
America Organizes For War
HARNESSING THE RESOURCES OF A GREAT COUNTRY
However reluctantly we may have entered the war, however unprepared we were for it, we are soon organizing to take our full share in the world conflict. Speed, efficient speed, is the password. But the United States is a vast country, and her very vastness requires time and preparation for the enormous task that confronts us: mobilizing and training men to the number of millions, producing and transporting all kinds of materials in seemingly unlimited quantities, con- structing camps and warehouses, enlarging seaports, designing and making new types of weapons and equipment - all this, and it by no means describes the full magnitude of our undertaking, all this requires time. But in a surprisingly short number of months we are accomplishing it.
FIVE MILLION MEN
An effective fighting force is the foremost demand in our own mind and in the urgent advices of our allies. When war was declared our army numbered only 200,000 men. Within nine months this force is increased to over a million, nearly one-fifth of which is already in France. Our supreme effort in supplying man- power is reached during the spring and summer of 1918 when a million and a half American soldiers are carried overseas. At the end of the war our total number of military effectives (Army, Navy, Marine Corps and other services) nearly reaches the figure of 5,000,000. To the selective service draft and the willingness of the American people in accepting it belongs much of the credit for this remarkable achievement.
SIX MONTHS OF TRAINING
To make a soldier out of a citizen requires training. This was especially true of the Great War because of the novel methods of offensive and defensive fighting. The plan of the War Department calls for six months of training in the United States, two months in France before entering the lines, and finally one month's
16
SOUTH HADLEY IN THE WORLD WAR
initiation in a quiet sector of the front before taking part in hard fighting. The ex- perience of many a soldier may differ with these typical figures, but in the main the average American who fought in France had the advantage of such training.
TRANSPORTING 10,000 MEN A DAY
How to find the means of carrying our men overseas is one of the most difficult of the problems we have to face. Tonnage is woefully lacking. Our Navy cannot be used for troop transport, and would be vastly inadequate if so used. An American fleet had early joined with the British for patrol duty in the war zones, and this service must continue. We can count on sufficient cruisers and destroyers as guards in convoying troop ships, but we must find the ship bottoms to transport. Of our own we have but seven troop ships and six cargo vessels, but to this beginning we soon add the seized German vessels found in our ports when war was declared. A considerable further increase is made by chartering Dutch, Scandinavian and Japanese tonnage. The Emergency Fleet Corporation sets to work to build new vessels and eventually turns out a million tons. The Shipping Control Committee picks out of commercial service another million and a half tons. Of course, all this tonnage is not available at the same time, and despite our magnificent efforts - so pressing was the demand for our troops - our allies had to help in their movement. British ships, in particular, carried over nearly half of our expeditionary forces. At the peak of the troop movement (July, 1918) an average of more than 10,000 a day are transported. In all, more than 2,000,000 American effectives are set down in France. Let it be noted also that cargoes of supplies, food, clothing, and equip- ment, are in proportion.
ARMS FOR THE MAN
At the outbreak of hostilities our equipment of rifles is much nearer our needs than that of any other arm of service. We have on hand 600,000 Springfields, sufficient for the initial equipment of about 1,000,000 men. No one could foresee, of course, that we would be called upon to furnish rifles for 5,000,000 soldiers in addition to supplying the Navy. The emergency is met not so much by the con- tinued manufacture of the Springfield, but by adopting, with some changes, the Enfield (a British model) which several of our large factories are ready to manu- facture, having already turned out large British orders. The Browning automatic rifle and the Browning machine gun is chosen for our army, put into quantity production, and used in large numbers in the final battles in France.
17
SOUTH HADLEY IN THE WORLD WAR
GUNS AND EXPLOSIVES
As in the case of rifles, our light artillery seemed sufficient for first require- ments, but we are soon faced with the problem of supplying artillery of small and large caliber for an army 5,000,000 strong. To meet the situation, it is decided to use our guns for training purposes on this side, and equip our forces overseas with French and British artillery. Nevertheless, American plants are able to produce complete artillery units to the number of 3,000, or equal to all those purchased by us from the Allies. As regards powder and high explosives, the Allies in large measure fought the war with American products.
TRACTORS AND TANKS
The extensive military use of motor transportation is an innovation of the Great War. Caterpillar tractors are harnessed to the big guns for hauling especially over rough ground. The tanks, built on a tractor base, are put into direct battle service, particularly for clearing away enemy entanglements. We can only begin the production of these motor types in the quantities desired, but before the Armis- tice is signed we have shipped overseas 1,100 of the smaller and 300 of the larger tractors. 350 more are secured for our use from the French and British. Of the tanks we are able to ship 64 up to the Armistice, with a total of 800 in production.
AIRPLANES AND MOTORS
Our pre war equipment of airplanes was 55 training planes, of which 51 are classified as obsolete and the other four as obsolescent. The Allies at once make available to us the designs of their planes, and we begin a production that even- tually turns out 8,000 training planes and 16,000 engines. The De Havilland-4 observation and day bombing plane is the only service plane we produce, of which 3,227 are completed and 1,885 shipped overseas. But the production of the 12- cylinder Liberty engine is America's chief contribution to aviation; 13,574 are turned out, 4,435 shipped to our forces in France, and 1,028 delivered to the Allies.
200 DAYS OF BATTLE
American combat forces are organized into divisions, consisting of some 28,000 men and officers. (The British division numbers about 15,000, the French and German, about 12,000 each.) We have overseas 42 of these divisions and several hundred thousand artillery and service of supply troops. Of our divisions in France, 29 take an active part at the front, the others being used for replace- ments or arriving too late for the hostilities. Our combat soldiers see, all told, 200 days of battle, and are engaged in 13 major operations, 11 of which are joint
18
SOUTH HADLEY IN THE WORLD WAR
undertakings with our Allies, and two are distinctively American (St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne).
The following table gives the complete list.
Operation
Approximate number of Americans engaged.
West Front-Campaign of 1917:
Cambrai, Nov. 20 to Dec. 4.
2,500
West Front-Campaign of 1918:
German Offensives, March 21 to July 18:
Somme, March 21, to April 6.
2,200
Lys, April 9 to 27.
500
Aisne, May 27 to June 5.
27,500
Noyon-Montdidier, June 9 to 15.
27,000
Champagne-Marne, July 15 to 18.
85,000
Allied Offensives, July 18 to November 11:
Aisne-Marne, July 18 to August 6.
270,000
Somme, August 8 to November 11.
54,000
Oise-Aisne, August 18 to November 11
85,000
Ypres-Lys, August 19 to November 11.
108,000
St. Mihiel, September 12 to 16.
550,000
Meuse-Argonne, September 20 to November 11.
1,200,000
Italian Front - Campaign of 1918:
Vittorio-Veneto, October 24 to November 4
1,200
At the time of greatest activity (the second week of October, 1918) all 29 divisions are in action. They are holding 101 miles of front, or 23 per cent of the entire allied battle line. From the middle of August until the end of the war, they hold a longer front than the British. Our strength tips the balance of man power in favor of the Allies, so that from July, 1918 to the day of the Armistice, the allied forces are superior in number to those of the enemy.
DEATH AND DISEASE
It was the deadliest war of history. The total battle deaths in this war were greater than all the deaths in all the wars of the last hundred years. The number of American lives lost is 125,500, of which about 10,000 are in the Navy, the rest in the Army and the Marines attached to it. Our actual battle losses are 50,000 killed and 206,000 wounded. These are heavy figures counted in terms of lives and suffer- ing, but light compared to the enormous price paid by the nations at whose sides we fought, and against whom we fought.
19
SOUTH HADLEY IN THE WORLD WAR
Death from disease had a lower rate in this war than in any other American war. During our entire service in France our soldiers had available hospital facili- ties actually in excess of the needs.
A MILLION DOLLARS AN HOUR
The war cost to the United States was something over $1,000,000 an hour for more than two years. The direct cost was about 22 billion dollars, or enough to have carried on the Revolutionary War continuously for more than a thousand years at the rate of expenditure which that war actually involved. The total war costs of all the nations engaged were about 186 billions of dollars.
South Hadley's Expedition
A WORTHY EFFORT
In nearly all the activities sketched in the foregoing pages, the town of South Hadley in Massachusetts took an integral, if a very small, part. Her effort and accomplishment was worthy and in proportion to her ability and resources. Indeed, it would appear that, compared with the population, the number of men supplied from the town for military purposes was somewhat in excess of the general average for the state. Statistics, however, in this connection are of no great moment. Suffice it to say that the town was typical of the nation: that the pulse of war-time America beat strongly in South Hadley.
SOUTH HADLEY A TYPICAL TOWN
We had no unit of militia or special company that could be called South Hadley's own; we were too small a community for that. Our men were scattered throughout the various divisions and services of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. A list of the functional departments in which our people performed duty reads like a complete military organization, thus: infantry, cavalry, artillery, aviation, ordnance, quartermaster, engineer, marine transport, motor transport, machine gunnery, medical, dental, ambulance, nursing, clerical, telephone. In this variety of service, South Hadley may again be taken as a typical town, representing in miniature a section of the country's military experience. It is proposed, now, to follow in very brief outline these far-flung activities of our citizens who were ac- credited to military service in the Great War.
CAMPED THROUGHOUT THE U. S.
As our men were enlisted or inducted into the various forces of the nation at war, they were sent for classification and preliminary training to camp or fort, naval station or flying field, as the case might require. Naturally, our people were sent in largest number to the cantonment center of New England, Camp Devens, in our own state. At different times this camp held nearly 100 South Hadley citizens affiliated to the service. In addition some few of our men were distributed in the
21
SOUTH HADLEY IN THE WORLD WAR
forts around Boston, and in other parts of New England. Many of our sailors were trained at the Newport Naval Station in Rhode Island. In New York state, not- ably at Fort Slocum and at Camps Syracuse and Upton, over 60 of our recruits entered army life, while to the camps along the New Jersey coast we sent some 15 more.
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS 541 AVERAGE COST $ 1,500,000
Construction projects of the Army in the United States.
Throughout the Southland also, the town was represented in numerous camps: in Maryland and Kentucky and Virginia, at the capitol city of Washington, in North and South Carolina, in Georgia, in Florida, in Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. Texas flying fields, and camps in Kansas, Nebraska and Arizona, and, in the Northwest, Illinois, Minnesota and Washington, saw some of our men. Even in the Canal Zone and in Hawaii, South Hadley was found.
EMBARKED FOR OVERSEAS
In troop sailings, our town's record is again typical of the nation's. More than one-half of South Hadley's war effectives (about 150) shipped from the United States and Canada for overseas. Nearly all of the ports shown on the following diagram saw one or more of our soldiers embark; their transports traveled the
22
GLASGOW
45 000
MANCHESTER
4000
LIVERPOOL
844000
BRISTOL PORTS 11000
FALMOUTH
1000
PLYMOUTH
1000
SOUTHAMPTON
57000
LONDON
62000
1025000
QUEBEC
11000
--
MONTREAL
34000
ST; JOHNS
:1000
-
LE HAVRE
13000
HALIFAX
5000~
-BREST
791000
PORTLAND
6000
ST. NAZAIRE . 198 000
BOSTON
46000
LA PALLICE 4000
-
-- BORDEAUX 50000
PHILA.
35000.
MARSEILLE
1000
BALTIMORE
4000
NORFOLK
288 000
2036000
To Italy 290g
Troops sailing from American ports and landing in France and England.
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