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And remembering, we shall always seek to justify the self-sacrifice made by those companions who trained with us and fought with us but whom by virtue of their supreme service, we returned without.

They died, but being dead, live on, and their spirits beckon us to strive toward that for which they died.

The flag was their shrine—the fields of France their tomb—and they shall ever be wreathed with God's great glory.

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Greetings!

I am very glad that Company B—307th Infantry is putting into this form the many memories of the Great War which remain with those of us who participated therein as bright spots in our path through life.

The work done by the 77th Division was most notable and in that work Company B—307th Infantry took full part and contributed its full share. The record of the Company is one of which any organization might well be extremely proud. It took part in the operations in the Vosges; on the line of the Vesle; and in the advance from the Vesle to the Aisne—the 77th Division being the only American division to reach the latter river. In the Argonne-Meuse Offensive which brought the war to a successful conclusion, the Company, with its Regiment, Brigade, and Division, played a noteworthy part. The battle losses incurred by Company B and the battle honors conferred upon members thereof speak for themselves.

Not the least of the Company's exploits was that which, culminating on the evening of October 7th, 1918, brought relief to the long-beleaguered Battalion under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles W. Whittlesey—the so-called "Lost" Battalion.

The officer to whom was granted the supreme honor of sharing with you as your Divisional Commander the toils, the dangers, and the honors of that supreme campaign salutes you! No Commander could ask more loyal support from his comrades of all ranks than was freely given me. For your future careers in civil life or wherever Fortune may lay your paths, you will carry with you my sincere best wishes and my affectionate regard. The qualities of courage, fidelity, and loyalty displayed by you during your service as soldiers will be, I am sure, at the disposal of your Country as well in Peace as they were in War.

November 19th, 1919.

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NVITED—all of us. And we trooped down Yaphank-way, out on Long Island, as tho bound for a picnic. Which, for a week, it was. Then we were brought up short. On September 17, 1917, the 77th Division came to life. One of the first units to be organized within the division was Company B—307th Infantry, formed also on September 17th.

Immediately we were on paper as a regular unit, we quickly took semblance of a military organization. Under the leadership of Captain Blanton Barrett, 1st Lieutenant Alexander D. B. Pratt, and 2d Lieutenants Philip Cheney and Everett A. Butterfield, we were gradually whipped into an efficient machine. Corporals were made and unmade—sergeants came and went—and we were drilled, drilled, drilled.

We had exchanged our hair mattresses for straw, our china for tin, our homes for barracks, and they made us like it. At first we occupied but one building,—a rambling two-story affair having bunk rooms on all the upper floor. The lower floor was given over to kitchen, mess hall, and recreation room. The recreation room, however, was short lived, for as we grew in numbers it became necessary to fill it with bunks. And then, when we had grown to full strength—two hundred and fifty officers and men—we overflowed into another barracks of which we occupied half of both upper and lower floors.

The advantages of a billiard table, a piano, and a talking machine were ours. We supported a miniature barber shop and a tailor. Talent we had a-plenty, and we ran our own shows.

But we drilled, drilled, drilled. And we had schools—lots of 'em. When we were not doing the "school of the soldier", we attended bayonet school. The "school of the squad" divided time with gas instruction. The study of the automatic rifle was complicated, but so was the "school of the platoon". We practiced the manual of arms and learned how to throw hand grenades. Little by little we were perfected in the art of thinking, and knowing, and doing, the right thing at the right time.[Pg 10]

Early in 1918 we felt ready. On Washington's Birthday our division paraded down Fifth Avenue a complete fighting machine. We were prepared for the next move and the cheers of the crowds had barely died when it came.

On the night of April 5th we were ordered to roll packs. We stacked our bunks and drew ammunition. And we were posted on a vigil of waiting. April 6th, 1918, Saturday, was the first anniversary of America's declaration of war. At two-thirty on that morning, in an air pleasantly crisp and flooded with moonlight, we marched to the railroad and entrained. Leaving Camp Upton at three-fifteen, we pulled into Long Island City just in time to be greeted by the usual six o'clock factory whistles.

A waiting ferry engulfed our battalion and we were transported down the East River, around the Battery, and up the Hudson to Pier 59, at the foot of West Eighteenth Street, Manhattan. A methodical transfer was accomplished from the squat and stunted ferry to the gigantic but little known Justicia.

While still under process of construction in the shipyards at Belfast, in Ireland, for the Holland American Line, the Statendam was commandeered by Great Britain at the beginning of the European war and was operated as a transport under the name Justicia by the White Star Line. She was at the time the fifth largest vessel afloat and that she was the especial prey of the German undersea navy is indicated by the fact that a submarine attacked her on a subsequent trip from England to the United States, on July 20th, and after a dramatic engagement lasting some twenty-four hours, she was sunk. Fourteen of a crew of seven hundred were lost.

All day men and equipment poured onto the decks and into the hold of the giant transport. Our entire regiment and one battalion of the 308th Infantry were quartered between decks. Next morning, before reveille, the Justicia slipped quietly down New York Bay, thru Ambrose Channel, and into the Atlantic.

B Company had no quarters de luxe. We were crowded into small space—Section K—far down on D deck, with sleeping hammocks slung over our mess tables. And our mess, served by the British, was a sorry series of meals. We were compelled to wear during the day, and to sleep with during the night, ungainly life preservers. But discomforts were subordinated to the interest in our new surroundings. The mysteries of the big ship, its spotless engine-room, the intricacies of navigation, the precautions against possible attack,—all held us.[Pg 11]

On leaving New York we pursued a northerly course, and at nine o'clock that night anchor was dropped in lower Bedford Bay, at Halifax. Early next morning we steamed up into the inner harbor and before us lay the sadly devastated city of Halifax. Immense areas of the city had been totally destroyed by the explosion resulting from the collision between a Belgian relief ship and one bearing a cargo of explosives.

That day and the next, while waiting for our convoy to assemble, was spent in practicing with lowered boats.

Late on the afternoon of April 9th our convoy of ten passenger and cargo ships passed out of the harbor, sped by the cheers of the crews of two American battleships. We were escorted by U. S. S. St. Louis and H. M. S. Victoria.

Boat drill, a well-ordered scramble for life boats, took place twice daily. Each morning we indulged in strenuous setting-up exercises in order that we might remain in trim. Practice with depth bombs and smoke screens helped to relieve the tedium of the long trip.

As we neared our unknown destination, our escort was increased by ten British torpedo boat destroyers. Veritable sea dogs they were, darting every which-way, breasting wave after wave, ever watchful for the tricky Hun.

And then, on Friday. April 19th, land! Just a ridge above the horizon—the blue hills of Wales—but already we could feel in our imaginations the solidity which our unsailorly legs had missed.

As the day waned we sighted the lighthouse at the mouth of the River Mersey. With cheers of relief we were permitted to doff our bulky life belts. Just before dusk we entered the Mersey, passing closely by the beautiful seaside resort of New Brighton.

Forging up the river we reached Liverpool and, at nine o'clock that evening, after almost fourteen days afloat, our transport was moored. The city, as we saw it from the decks of the Justicia, lay quietly, with lights beginning to twinkle in the increasing gloom.

One by one the companies formed and debarked, and at 11:15 P.M. B Company marched down the gang plank, thru half-lighted sheds, into those curious side-door railway cars so peculiar to Europe. Exactly at midnight our train pulled out of Liverpool. At 3:00 A.M. a short stop for hot coffee was made at Rugby. We passed thru the outskirts of London at 6:00 A.M. and at nine-twenty the train rolled into the terminal at Dover.

The private yacht of Belgium's Queen Elizabeth had been pressed into service as a cross-channel ferry and in this royal craft, under escort of destroyers, aeroplanes, and dirigibles, we crossed to Calais in an hour and thirty-five minutes. The crossing was enlivened when two riflemen of the crew took to firing at mines that endangered our passage.[Pg 12]

Once in Calais we found that we divided honors with Company C of our regiment in being the first two National Army companies to land in France, having debarked on French soil April 20, 1918.

That night we experienced our first real touch of war. Sheltered in tents in British Rest Camp No. 6, we received a call of welcome from a squadron of Jerry aeroplanes. A truly thrilling reception it was, with the thunder of Hun bombs alternating with the "ping!" of British anti-aircraft guns,—and thru it all the "pat-pat" of a multitude of machine guns. But best of all, there were no casualties.

Next day we spent in adding to our equipment gas masks and trench helmets and we exchanged our American Enfield rifles for British Enfields,—lighter, shorter pieces having a magazine capacity of ten rounds of ammunition.

April 23d introduced us to the famous little "40 hommes—8 chevaux" box-cars of the French. A three-hour journey in these brought us to the British base at Audruicq. Our first real hike started from here and ended at Zouafques, a little village in Picardy. We occupied some of the best sheep-pens, cattle stalls, and hen roosts in town and during our five-week stay we became really comfortable inhabitants.

Zouafques proved to be a sort of military high school, where we polished our elementary knowledge of tactics. Our "noncoms" were sent to specialized schools in scouting, sniping, musketry, automatic rifles, grenades, and infantry tactics. The instruction, as well as the food and equipment, was distinctly British.

Five weeks of this work and we took our next step trench-ward. Hiking from Zouafques at 1.30 A.M., May 13th, we entrained a la chevaux at Audruicq. A day's journey via Calais, Boulogne, Etaps, and Doullens brought us to Mondrecourt, in Flanders. Then an almost heartbreaking hike thru Pas to the war-worn village of Couin.

Our assimilation by the British forces became most complete when we found ourselves brigaded with a battalion of the Lancashire Fusileers of the 125th British Brigade. Our position was in reserve of the British lines north of Amiens and southwest of Arras.

Here another five weeks of training gave us the right to work alone. Once again we traded rifles, retrieving our American guns, and on June 6th we started on a three-day march. Thru Gézaincourt, Bernaville, Ailly le-Haut Clocher, to Pont Remy, where we entrained.[Pg 13]

Two days by rail, via Amiens, Versailles, Bar-le-Duc, and Nancy, and we detrained on June 11th at Thaon, in the Vosges. Then an intermittent hike, with stops at Longchamps, Destord, and Menil, passing thru Rambervillers and Baccarat, to Vacqueville, in the Lorraine.

A stirring incident occurred en route when we passed the boys of the old Sixty-Ninth New York Regiment. Brooklyn hailed Brooklyn; Harlem called to Harlem; Bronx met Bronx. It was a breath of home to the already veteran Sixty-Ninth and more than a cheering welcome to us.

We shared Vacqueville with a battalion of the Alabama regiment of the 42d "Rainbow" Division. Advance parties were sent into the lines to acquaint themselves with the position which we were to take over. And in the dead of night, on June 20th-21st, Company B took over that part of the line between Ancerviller and Badonviller designated as P. C. (post commandant) Hameau and P. C. Montreux.

The first and second platoons of our Company held a position in the Grand Bois (Big Woods), a section of forest southeast of Ancerviller. The second and third platoons and Company headquarters occupied the ruined village of St. Maurice. St. Maurice was a part of the line at this point and had been subjected at different times to severe shelling. Only bare skeletons of the buildings remained and any nook or cranny between sections of walls and under a bit of roof was used as shelter. Deserted cellars had been bolstered, reinforced, and barricaded so that they would serve as shell-proof protection in the event of attack.

It was usually Fritz's intention to place a harassing barrage on any section of the line where he knew that a relief was being effected. But he was less watchful than usual when we went in.

The enemy awoke, however, three days later, on the morning of Monday, June 24th, and attacked our regimental outposts. In order to effectively prevent any assistance being rendered by the platoons stationed in St. Maurice, a heavy barrage was laid on the town beginning at 3:30 A.M. During the early part of the shell[Pg 14]ing the continual use of H. E.'s (high explosive shells), with an occasional gas shell, served to keep the men not only penned in their bomb-proof cellars, but also forced the continued use of gas masks. Gradually the H. E.'s were interspersed with gas shells until a point was reached where far more gas shells than high explosives fell into the town, resulting in a heavy blanket of phosgene, mustard, and lachrymatory gases settling over the position.

The barrage did not lift until 6:00 A.M. and when it did the platoons were forced to take a defensive position to guard against any possible success of the enemy.

During the night before the attack, the men had been digging until a late hour on a system of trench defense. This entailed a lack of sleep which, together with the continued wearing of the gas mask and the exposure endured immediately after the barrage, weakened their resistance to such an extent as to make them easy victims to the poisonous gases.

Seventy-nine men were forced to the hospital by the effects of the combined phosgene and mustard. Among them were our first sergeant, supply and mess sergeants, all but one of our cooks, and both mechanics, which left us decidedly crippled.

The shadow of our losses was deepened when we heard that Cook George Alberts, always popular, had died from gas inhaled while trying to prepare the company breakfast in a gas-filled kitchen. He was our first loss by death.

An immediate result of our losses was the extra work shouldered by those who had escaped any of the serious effects. The men left in St. Maurice remained on constant guard until the Company was relieved several days later.

During the short rest period that followed, a reorganization of the Company was accomplished and we again entered the lines in July, taking over P. C.'s Hameau and Montreux, as before.

On Sunday, July 21st, a patrol of fifty-two men from our Company, accompanied by two medical first-aid men, engaged in a raid on the German trenches at two-thirty in the afternoon. The party advanced on the enemy lines in single[Pg 15] file, divided in four groups which were respectively commanded by Sergeant Todd, Captain Barrett, Sergeant Bromback and Lieutenant Mohlke.

The intent was to surprise the enemy with a daylight raid and thereby obtain information thru capture and observation. But either thru knowledge or by chance, the Germans had prepared against this maneuver and the surprise was reversed.

Waiting until our patrol was fairly within their lines, and then partially surrounding them, the enemy centered upon our men a deadly fire of rifles, machine guns, and grenades. The raiders fought valiantly in return but were outnumbered four to one. After an hour's fighting, seventeen of our party, including Captain Barrett, lay dead, and sixteen were captured. Of the twenty-one who returned, thirteen were wounded. We were informed by two German prisoners captured a few days later that seventeen Germans had been killed.

The loss sustained in this daylight raid occasioned considerable comment, chiefly because it was generally believed that Captain Barrett had misread his orders,—that the time for action had really read 2:30 A.M. instead of 2:30 P.M. This, however, is quite untrue, inasmuch as all the Company officers, as well as the supply sergeant and company clerk, were conversant with the orders. Captain Barrett's immediate battalion and regimental superiors were present at or near the time of action and possessed full knowledge of the entire plan.

The defeat was caused solely by the lack of the intended element of surprise. Whether or not the enemy had possession of our plans, and if they had possession, how they obtained it, is something we shall never know.

A telegram was received by the Divisional Commander from General Headquarters to the effect that the entire action had been investigated and found creditable.

The casualties suffered from the raid, together with those resulting from the gas attack of June 24th, so depleted the Company as to make an immediate relief imperative and that same night Company L took over our sector.

A subsequent reorganization of the entire regiment distributed the men of the various companies so that all would have an equal strength. Our numbers were so few that we lost none of our men in this process but instead received increases not only from many of the other companies, but also from the 76th New England Division.

As tribute to those men whom we had lost, a Company B mass was held at the Catholic Church in Vacqueville at which[Pg 16] Chaplain Father Walsh of our battalion officiated. The entire strength of the Company was present.

Another rest and another turn up front, after which the entire division was relieved by the 37th Ohio and Kentucky Division. Once again we crossed the Vosges, halting for three days at Seranville. Leaving there, we bivouaced for a night in the Forêt de Charmes and entrained at Charmes next morning, August 7th, at dawn.

Two days later, August 10th, we took transport on an immense train of motor trucks—"lorries" we called them, after the English. They were driven by Indo-Chinese serving under the French. After nine cramped but interesting hours—we passed thru Chateau-Thierry—our trip ended at Fere en Tardenois. For three days we camped in a small wood and then we moved to a position supporting the attack on Fismes. We were stationed in the Bois de la Pissotti, adjoining the Forêt de Nesle. While there we were engaged in digging a series of reserve trenches near Mont-sur-Courville.

On August 28th the battalion moved around Chéry-Chartreuve to a position east of Le Prés Farm. September 1st we again shifted, this time crossing the Vesle and relieving the Third Battalion, just east of Bazoches. Here we repulsed a raiding party, inflicting heavy losses upon the enemy. We were then moved to a ravine, which gave us the opportunity of taking a two-day rest.

Our next move brought us to face with the enemy just south of Merval, where we took a position in an exposed field, our only protection being the individual "funk holes" which had been deserted by the retreating German troops.

After three days of little water and practically no food, at 5:30 on the afternoon of September 8th—still brilliant daylight—we crawled from our funk holes and, each squad in single file in formation known as "squad columns", we advanced against German artillery in an effort to straighten the line. As we reached the outskirts of Merval we were subjected to an intense barrage of H. E.'s, suffering the loss of four men killed and five injured.[Pg 17]

No gain was made by this sortie and we drew back to our funk-hole position awaiting further developments.

Early on the morning of September 14th, supported by a barrage laid down by combined American, French, and Italian artillery, we attacked the enemy position that lay on the far side of the Ravine Merval.

The advance was made down the side of the valley in the face of a withering fire of enemy machine guns. Tho suffering heavy casualties, our progress was unchecked and we swarmed up the opposite slope with undiminished vigor. So rapid were our gains that we had to pause to allow our flanks to catch up. Our Third Platoon was so far ahead of the line of advance as to be mistaken by the commander of the cooperating French forces for a body of the enemy and it required considerable persuasion to correct his misconception. The day's end saw the German horde driven across the Aisne, and we were well beyond our original objective. But we had advanced true to form. Commenting on a previous attack made by another American unit, a French officer had remarked: "The Americans,—they are fools. Tell them to take one trench,—and they take three!"

We had been operating on the line of the Vesle with several divisions but the 77th was the only American division to drive its way to the Aisne.

Our gains were paid for with numerous casualties and when we received our relief it was thoroly welcome. It had been our longest consecutive stretch in the front line and we suffered not only from battle losses but we had also endured the utmost privation. Short rations, little water, exposed positions, and the constant necessity for watchfulness had undermined our strength to an unusual degree. We had been operating on the will to accomplish rather than on food and water.

An Italian unit relieved our Company and we withdrew to a reserve position in the Vesle Valley, east of Fismes. Here, on the night of[Pg 18] September 16th, our division was relieved by an Italian division and we pulled out of the sector.

We looked forward to a period of rest, but it was not to be. Twenty kilometres of hiking brought us to the Arcis le Ponsart Forest, where we bivouaced for a day. Then into lorries for an all-night ride to Le Chatelier-sur-Marne, where our losses were replaced by a detachment from the 40th "Sunshine" Division. Two days of speculating as to our chances for a rest terminated when on the night of September 20th we were ordered to roll packs. We stepped off on a thirty-two kilometre hike at 1:00 A.M., via St. Menehould and Florent, and seventeen hours later we dragged ourselves into the Forêt de Maisons Petites where we were quartered in barracks at the edge of the Argonne Forest.

The memorable and decisive drive known as the Argonne-Meuse Offensive started on September 26th. That day found us entrenched near the main road at Florent,—a position in reserve of the 1st Army Corps.

Actual operations were started that night, when the entire cannon of half a hundred divisions poured forth on the enemy its scorching fire. Next morning we moved to a position north of Florent, and three days later we moved thru the town of Le Four de Paris into those trenches north of La Harazee that had been deserted by the 122d German Regiment of the 2d Landwehr Division.

October 2d we left the reserve and assumed a support position. On that day the forces in the line drove forward, but in the execution of the advance Companies E, H, I, K, L, and M of the 308th Infantry and Company K of the 307th Infantry found themselves trapped by the enemy on a hill north of the Bois de la Buironne. These units were the only ones to reach their objective but by thus advancing ahead of their flanks, they gave the enemy an opportunity to surround them. In this hazardous position they struggled as the "Lost" Battalion.[Pg 19]

We went forward to their relief on October 4th, but were held back by the effective machine-gun fire of the enemy. Next day we again strove to extricate the besieged battalion, but again we failed. Certain enemy machine guns were so placed that their hail of death was impassable. They seemed an insurmountable obstacle in the path of the entire 307th Infantry. The men of Company B knew that the machine-gun positions of the enemy must be taken. There was nothing, at that moment, that counted more than the capture of these positions. So on October 6th we attacked, giving no thought to risk. We did what we thought would have been impossible before we knew that it had to be done. Persistently we attacked in the face of the enemy fire and as the German resistance gradually weakened, we took the heretofore impregnable positions. Seven of our men were that day cited for exceptional bravery.

On October 7th our division organized a concerted attack on the German lines. We realized the awful plight of the "Lost" Battalion and all day we fought against the enemy machine-gun nests. One by one they were silenced, and at 5:00 P.M. Company B, alone of all the division, succeeded in reaching and saving the "Lost" Battalion. The Germans were driven beyond the hill and once more the line was straightened out.

Another week and we had driven the Germans across the River Aire. We remained in a clump of woods until October 16th and then, not even waiting for our engineers to throw their bridges across the Aire, we waded the river and drove against Grand-Pre, which was the keystone of the enemy defense in the sector opposed by our division.

We were stubbornly opposed by the 253d German Infantry of the 76th Reserve Division. Again and again we assaulted the position and finally, after a running fight thru the streets, the town was ours and the American wedge was in a fair way to split the entire German defense.

We pulled out of the line on October 17th and withdrew 10 kilometres to a small forest near Apremont, being relieved by the 78th New Jersey Division. As usual, there was no rest, and on October 21st we moved to Fleville for a three-[Pg 20]day stretch of trench digging. October 31st was spent in digging trenches in the Chattel Valley.

We resumed our activities at the front on November 2d, keeping in mind that half injunction, half promise, credited to General Pershing: "Hell, Heaven, or Hoboken by Christmas!" We gave little thought to Heaven and less to Hell but, we were beginning to long for Hoboken, and we went forward with irresistible determination. Hiking via St. Juvin to Thenorgues, we loaded into motor trucks. Unloading close to the lines, we swung into immediate action and on November 3d we wrested the village of Fontenoy from the 45th German Reserve Division, the following day capturing the village of Oches from the 76th German Reserve Division.

Stonne, a village of strategical importance, was next selected by the enemy as a point of resistance. On November 5th the combined strength of our entire Regiment was hurled against the 195th German Division, and Stonne fell to us. The capture succeeded in liberating a French population that for four years had been under the dominance of an enemy army.

The enemy by this time was retreating fast, and so closely did we press them, we were far in advance of our cannon. The progress of the big guns was much delayed by poor roads, but the spirit of victors was in us all and little did we miss our artillery.

In quick succession we took town after town, the enemy losing to us in one day,—November 6th,—the villages of Raucourt, Haraucourt, Angecourt, and Remilly. The terror-stricken Hun gave little resistance and we kept within five minutes of their rear guard.

We came to a halt on the banks of the Meuse, four miles from the historic city of Sedan and, after augmenting our depleted ranks by replacement from the 38th "Cyclone" Division, we organized for what we hoped would be our final attack.

But the final attack had already been made. The unconquerable Argonne had been conquered; a ruthless enemy was vanquished.

Germany sued for Peace with defeat rather than face peace with Death. The last shot was fired at the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month, Nineteen Eighteen, and we rested on our arms worn and tired, but victorious and happy.[Pg 21]

The joy of accomplishment was ours and we celebrated the declaration of the armistice in a spirit far more triumphant than relieved.

On November 12th the same French who had laughed at us in pity as we shouldered their task in the Argonne, hailed us with gratitude as they took over our positions.

The march from the Meuse to our rest base in the Chateauvillain area took twenty-four days and covered 300 kilometres. It was an intermittent hike and we stopped successively at La Berliere, Oches, Harricourt, Fleville, Le Four de Paris, Florent, Sivry-sur-Ante, Noyers, Andernay, Hoericourt, Eclaron, Fresnay, Maisons, and Bayel, arriving at our base in Lanty on December 5th.

It was soon apparent that altho we had been spared the alternatives we still were not going to see Hoboken before Christmas. So we made ourselves comfortable and settled down to a long stay.

It was necessary to the maintenance of discipline and the morale of the army that drills should be continued, and as well as any recruit, we were once again schooled in the finesse of the salute, the art of the right face, and the strategy of shoulder arms. We engaged in manouvers to practice the lessons that we learned in the Argonne. And we passed in reviews before princes, generals, and congressmen. Time passed: not too quickly, but still it passed.

Christmas was not the dreary day a Christmas away from home usually is. We had much for which to be thankful, and the intervening miles between Lanty and Home were no bar to those good wishes that came from our folks.

We celebrated, we ate, and we played Santa Claus. A tree was erected in the centre of the village and we passed out to the civilian population candy and biscuits and tobacco. The women and children and men sincerely appreciated our tokens, and happiness reigned.

The mess sergeant had an inspiration of genius and he served us with a truly Christmas dinner.

New Year's Day was red-lettered with another meal worthy of our mess sergeant's reputation. The holiday season was over and we entered upon the new year full of new hopes and ambitions.

[Pg 22]

Not until February 9th was another move made. Then, en freight car, we journeyed to the Le Mans area, detraining at Poillé from whence we hiked to La Roches Farm, near Auvers-le-Hamon. April 15th we entrained at Sable for Brest, where we were quartered at Camp Pontazaine.

On April 19th, exactly one year after our arrival at Liverpool, we were lightered out to the United States Transport America.

A fast ship and smooth waters combined to give us a rapid and enjoyable voyage and we docked at Hoboken at 9:00 A.M., April 28th. We proceeded to Camp Mills, Mineola, Long Island, where immediate passes gave us the opportunity to greet our home folks, eat home meals, and sleep in regular beds.

The Company moved on May 5th to the armory of the 22d New York Engineers in New York City to await final orders for the parade of welcome arranged by New York City.

We formed for the parade near Washington Square at 8:00 A.M. next morning and at 10:00 A.M. we marched out to Fifth Avenue and swept up that thorofare to the acclaim of a million throats. No greeting could have been more sincere, no welcome more impressive, and this, our last hike as Company B, was a march of glory.

We returned to Camp Upton, our first station and our last, and we were demobilized on May 9th, 1919, to return to our respective states. Ours was a truly American company, composed of true and representative Americans. Our homes lay in thirty-two different states, scattered between New York and Maine in the east, Minnesota and the Dakotas in the north, Utah, Oregon, and California in the west, and Texas, Louisiana, and Florida in the south.

So ends the History of Company B. We were mustered out of the service military, but the spirit that withstood the Lorraine, the valor that gained the Aisne, and the fire that conquered the Argonne, lives on, and we have banded ourselves together so that we may, in the words of our commander, Major General Robert Alexander, "serve our Country as well in Peace as we did in War".

[Pg 23]

[Pg 24]

The officers before whose names has been placed an asterisk (*) were commissioned from the enlisted ranks of Company B and assigned to duty with other organizations.

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Star indicates a posthumous award.
* Asterisk denotes those who were killed after their citation.

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That spirit of dominant Americanism with which the war was fought seems in these times of peace to be best reflected by the American Legion.

Appreciating this, those members of Company B, 307th Infantry, who regarded with favor the idea of a post-bellum organization applied to the American Legion for a charter. One was granted and they were admitted as the Burke-Kelly Post No. 172.

The name was selected in honor of the memory of two of their comrades: Sergeant Frank W. Burke, killed by a high explosive shell on the line of the Vesle, August 23d, 1918, and Corporal John E. Kelly, killed by a high explosive shell during the battle of Merval, September 8th, 1918.

This publication of the History of Company B was made possible by the members of the Burke-Kelly Post under the following officers:

President
William F. Howard

Vice-Presidents
John A. Ross
Arthur J. Hamblen
Alfred Heller

Secretary
A. James DiMaggio

Treasurer
Thomas F. Twyford

Corresponding Secretary
Julius Klausner, Jr.

Executive Committee
Donald M. Wallach
Fred A. Gleiforst
Ralph U. Brett

[Pg 30]

They were watched, and high they burned, by those who more than all else represented to us the concrete reason for which we served.

None of us but felt that we were fighting for our Country; but all of us knew that we were fighting for our Home.

Our Home Folks,—our Mothers and our Fathers, our Sisters and our Wives and our Sweethearts and our Friends—all banded together so that we, while never losing the thought of Home, were also not to lose its touch.

Those tenders of the fireside whom we knew as the "Family Unit" were organized as the Company B Family Unit and were affiliated with the 307th Regimental Family Unit. They formed on our embarkation for overseas, and by virtue of a succession of meetings under the active and enthusiastic leadership of Mrs. William Vanamee and Miss Virginia Fuller they became welded into a body that accomplished immeasurable benefit not only for our physical but also for our spiritual welfare.

The socks, the cigarettes, the wristlets and the soap were needs of vast import, but our knowledge that those behind us were marshaled just as we were was more warming than wristlets, more comforting than cigarettes.

The officers during the early period were Miss Virginia Fuller, President; Miss Helen Pritchard, Secretary; Mrs. W. B. Wise, Treasurer. The meetings were held in a barren loft at 6 East 30th Street, New York City. Here the ideas were conceived, the plans formulated, and the policies acted upon, that were so far-reaching and effective.

Tho first drawn together for the good of Company B, their own sufferings served to consolidate their interests and to strengthen their purpose.

As notice after notice issued from Washington advising as to losses in battle by death and by wounds, the need for common consolation became most urgent and a noble response came from those who were in a position to give comfort. These were trying days, days of mental agony, days of longing and hoping and praying.[Pg 31]

In September one of our own men, Sergeant George A. Klein, Jr., who had been returned to the United States as an instructor, appeared at a meeting and gave word, mostly welcome, some sad, to the news-hungry relatives.

These various activities were recorded in a small four-page bulletin published for and distributed to us overseas.

And then the Armistice. Relief from the tension of the meetings was given by the final let-up of the war and soon the time came when much thought was given to filling those "9x4x3" boxes of Christmas cheer.

The date of our return was flashed across the waters during the early part of April and immediately wheels were set in motion to prepare for it.

Their welcome took the form of a reception and dance. For the first time, and the only time, Company B and the Family Unit were together. And as a token of their affection and regard they presented to each of us a silver signet ring bearing our Divisional insignia—Liberty, together with the Company and Regimental designation. Inside the ring they had placed as their wish: "May God Protect You."

Guests of especial honor were the two McIntyre sisters, who were so active overseas with the Salvation Army and who for so long a time had been identified with our Division, having for a while been assigned to our own Regiment.

Thus culminated the activities of the Family Unit of Company B. But just as we have decided upon a continuation of our organization—the same in substance, if not in form,—so the Unit decided to serve as the Auxiliary to the Burke-Kelly Post, American Legion.

The Auxiliary meetings are held in the rooms adjoining those of the Burke-Kelly Post, at the 77th Division Club. The original board of officers includes Mrs. A. J. Hamblen, President; Miss Virginia Fuller, Miss Sarah Kelly, and Mrs. William Charles, Vice-Presidents; Miss Anna Charles, Secretary, and Mrs. W. B. Wise, Treasurer.

And their banner is still held aloft. A new name, but the old purpose.

[Pg 32]