HISTORY
of
THE 306th Field Artillery
The Chaplins' Department
0F all the
momentous experiences of a soldier, the keenest and most
awe-inspiring is the loss of his comrades, killed in
action. In the emotion of that loss we reach a climax in
human experience. For if the life of a soldier means
danger, we know that they have faced the worst; if it
means bravery, we know that they have met the severest
test; if it means victory through sacrifice, we know that
their sacrifice was supreme even as their victory was
glorious.
But it was long before we met the enemy that we were
called upon to bear the loss of comrades, when accident
and disease claimed the lives of four, two at Camp Upton,
and two at Camp de Souge in France. The sadness cast over
all Camp Upton on the afternoon of October 28, 1917, by
the accident at the railway station was shared by us when
the news came that Private Joseph Messina of Battery F
had been killed, the first of our men to die in the
service. Five months later, on March 22, 1918, Private
Edward F. Murphy of Battery E succumbed to pneumonia
while on leave at his home in New York City.
A month after our arrival in France another accident
saddened us. For on the afternoon of June 3, 1918,
Private First Class John J. Wallace of Battery C was
struck by a motor truck and died as the result about an
hour later in the camp hospital at Souge. Just as we were
leaving for the front, Private Benjamin Schmitt of
Battery E, who was in bad health when transferred to us
at Brest, died of tuberculosis and heart disease at the
same hospital on July 11, 1918.
Then we went to the Lorraine sector where we found the
enemy menace far less than we had ex-pected. But on
July21st we were sternly reminded that there are other
hazards of war beside enemy action when an accidental
firing of a rifle fatally wounded Private Walter A. Avery
of Battery D.
On the second week in August, having crossed the Marne
and marched through Chateau-Thierry, we realized that we
had been called upon to face the enemy at a point on
which the eyes of all the word were turned. Although we
felt the thrill of having a part in the turning point of
the greatest crisis in human history, yet we were certain
that even as Quentin Roosevelt had given his life at a
spot nearby, just so surely would some of us be called
upon to give up our lives.
Who would be the first? That was the question in our
minds when our guns were rolled into position around
Chery-Chartreuve amid the shriek and crash of German
shells.
But although we were prepared to that extent, yet the
solemnity of the news of our first major casualties was
deeper than anything we had imagined. On the morning of
Sunday, August 18th, the machine gun detail of Battery E
was wiped out by a single shell and Sergeant Joseph H. Le
Voy, Private First Class Enoch G. Margraf and Private
John Nelson had gone, to join the ranks of America's
heroes fallen in battle. Then that very afternoon at 4.00
P.M. came the news of the killing of Private Thomas
Martin of Battery C on the other end of our sector, the
extreme left.
The next point at which the enemy shells damaged our
ranks was at the observation post of the First Battalion,
on the edge of a wood overlooking the Vesle valley on the
left of our sector. It had been a hot corner for most of
the forenoon and enemy fliers had been directly overhead,
but the observers had stuck to their posts. Then at about
the noon hour a shell landed at the foot of the tree from
which branches our observers were watching enemy
territory. Private Patrick J. Kane of Headquarters
Company who had obtained partial shelter at the foot of
the tree was struck by shell fragments, and then an
officer, Lieutenant Hirschel Tritt of Battery B, was seen
to reel from the branch of the tree on which he had been
standing and fall across a lower branch. He was caught by
others and lowered gently to the ground but never
regained consciousness and died a few minutes later.
Private Kane was at first able to walk and talk but died
soon after reaching the infantry first aid station.
Lieutenant Tritt had joined the regiment only a month
before and had been assigned to Battery B only the day
before but had made many friends and had won the respect
of officers and men, especially throughout the First
Battalion. He had just received his commission when his
career was cut off, but that career could not have been
more glorious had it lasted for years.
These two casualties just mentioned occurred on August
19th. The next to go in quick succession was Private
Nicola De Felice of Battery C, killed while on duty
beside the guns on August 20th.
On August 22d came the loss which was felt most widely
throughout the regiment in all batteries and companies
when the word was passed from man to man that Lieutenant
Samuel J. Reid, Jr., the commander of Battery A, Athletic
Officer of the regiment, with the regiment since its
organization, had been killed.
The story of his life in college, on the athletic field,
in the courts, and as a soldier, is familiar to every
member and friend of the 306th Field Artillery. He was
captain of his school athletic teams, president of his
class at Princeton, captain of the college team and on
the All American Baseball Team, a leader in class and
college activities, the secretary of the Princeton Club
of New York, Assistant United States District Attorney in
Brooklyn, a fighter and commander who was like a brother
to every man under him. But the climax of his career was,
when leading his battery against his country's foe, he
gave all. The men of Battery A have done and will
continue to do everything humanly possible to show
respect for his memory. The epitaph which they placed on
his grave near Chartreuve Farm is "A Leader and
Inspirer of Men in Life and in Death."
This loss of a battery commander stunned the whole
regiment. The effect on the men in Battery A was
indescribable for seldom has a leader of any group of men
had such a hold on their affection. Yet, although their
commander was gone, his spirit was still leading them,
for on that very night those guns of Battery A roared
back to the enemy with what seemed like a new note of
grim defiance.
Yes, he was like an older brother to every man in his
outfit. In fact he had left his shelter at his post of
command to go to the assistance of one of them who was
wounded, and while on that errand was killed. And so it
was solemnly fitting that when he died one of those
"younger brothers" of his was beside him
sharing the same fate, the same grave, the same glory.
For the shell that killed his commander also killed Cook
Herbert P. Ecks.
On that eventful night, Lieutenant Reid's orderly,
Private Rene H. Mongeon, wrote in his little worn pocket
diary "Today I lost my best Pal." Thenon the
very next morning came one of the most pathetic
coincidences of the war when Private Mongeon himself
joined his "best Pal" in the great beyond,
killed by a shell while leading his horse to water.
Meanwhile Battery F had been heavily shelled and had sent
many men to the rear, gassed and wounded. Reports from
the field hospital had been indicating that all our
wounded men were getting on well, but on August 23d,
Mechanic Charles F. Hopp and
Frederick E. Flugge of Battery F who had been struck at
almost the same time on the afternoon of August 22d,
succumbed to their wounds and died, and were buried at
the field hospital near Fere-en-Tardenois.
On the morning of August 24th the regimental Post of
Command was ordered to move temporarily from Chartreuve
Farm to make way for an infantry Post of Command. The
move was to be completed before daylight, and at 3.00
A.M., Private Walczak of Headquarters Company was one of
those detailed to bring up the wagon. The road was being
shelled at the time near the First Battalion Post of
Command and when the wagon failed to appear a searching
party found Private Walczak lying dead, he having driven
unfalteringly ahead directly into the shelled area.
Battery E had been
occupying what was perhaps the most precarious position
of any, on the crest of Mont St. Martin with the infantry
reserve trenches. It had borne a heavy fire but since the
loss of the machine-gun detail on the first Sunday it had
been fortunate. On August 25th and 26th, however, four
more men of that battery paid the price for the position
they had maintained with such determination and fidelity.
Two of them, Corporal William H. Gross on August 25th and
First Class Private Reilly on August 26th were killed
almost instantly at the battery position. The others,
First Class Private James P. Bums and Corporal John J.
Mc-
Hugh, both wounded on August 26th, died after they had
left the first aid station and had been taken to the
field hospital. In General Orders NO. 35, Head-quarters
77th Division, November 3, 1918, was the following
Posthumous Citation: " Corporal John J. McHugh, No.
1716207, Battery, E 3o6th Field Artillery-while repairing
telephone wire under heavy shell fire received wounds
which resulted in his death. He showed absolute
fearlessness and disregard of danger and exceptional
devotion to duty under the most trying conditions."
Battery F had meanwhile moved over to a position on the
road just northwest of Chery-Chartreuve and it seemed
that its position there would remain undiscovered by the
enemy. But on Sunday evening, August 25th, the shells
landed thick and fast and at a roll call later that
evening Sergeant Raymond A. Berkerneyer did not report.
They found his body in a trench by the roadside, the
fatal shell having landed three feet away from his
shelter.
Amid the ruins of Chery-Chartreuve was a Y. M. C. A. and,
although to visit it was to gamble with death, Private
James W. Madden on the afternoon of August 28th
volunteered to get some supplies for his battery. But he
never obtained them, for he was caught just outside of
the door of the Y. M. C. A. by a terrific shell burst
which caused many other casualties at the same time. It
was on that same day that news came of the death of
Private Warren L. Hoel of Battery D in the field
hospital. He had been wounded on August 26th and had made
a game fight for life but in vain. And now every one of
the batteries without exception had felt the bitterness
of real war.
Then there was a lull; there were evidences that the Huns
were preparing to retreat. But just on the eve of our
advance across the Vesle the telephone wires near Battery
D were destroyed by one of the last bombardments of that
area. Out into the storm of flying metal and explosive
went Private Jacob Waiser of the repair detail only to
return borne by his comrades unconscious, severely
wounded, and doomed to meet the end soon after in the
field hospital.
The advance toward the Aisne was made soon after this. We
felt the satisfaction of victory in the pursuit of a
retreating enemy but were reminded that we must count the
cost of success when on September 12th Corporal Kaplan of
Battery D was badly wounded while on the outskirts of
Vauxcere and died in the ambulance, never having regained
consciousness.
The wireless messages about the St. Mihiel victory on the
13th cheered us, and when the Italians came to take our
places there was universal relief. But there was one more
life to go to complete the toll this regiment paid as the
price of victory on the Vesle. Long distance enemy guns
were tearing up the ruins of Fismes as Battery C came
through and Private Samuel S. Brody fell fatally wounded
on that night when relief and rest seemed just ahead,
over the hill of Dravegny.
The "rest" never came, however, for Foch needed
us in the Argonne Forest. The great attack of September
26th cracked the Hindenburg line and we had crossed the
Biesme twelve hours after the attack was begun, but the
wilderness of the Argonne was a tangled mass of ravines,
wire, trenches, underbrush, and thick forest. The exact
location of our front lines was unknown, and on September
28th three of our officers who had been reconnoitering
were lost. All day Sunday, September 29th was spent in
search but there was no trace. Not 'til a month later did
we learn that Lieutenant Jean Badin, our French Liaison
Officer, had been killed by machine-gun fire and our
other two officers taken prisoners in a ravine near
Binarville, not far from where the "Lost
Battalion" of infantry were cut off a few days
later. Lieutenant Badin had been a member of the 117th
Heavy Artillery of the French Army before he was assigned
to us. He was not only our ally but had become our friend
and comrade. His sacrifice while in our ranks has linked
us more closely than ever to his nation.
On October 22d when we were having a short breathing
spell behind the lines at La Haraz6e came the tragic
death of five men of Battery E caused by a "barbed
wire exploder." The presence of that explosive near
the picket line still lacks an adequate explanation but
the mystery of it only aggravated our sorrow. They were
Private First Class Dominick A. Detrani, Private James
Fleming, Private Levi Lefto, Private First Class Henry
Lindblom, and Private First Class Joseph F. McGrath.
The first week in November found us chasing the Germans
in their last great rout to Sedan, with our Third
Battalion well in the lead. On November 5th final victory
seemed near. Danger seemed entirely passed, but it was
not. Private James A. Welch of Battery F met almost
instant death when a shell struck the Third Battalion
Post of Command on that evening. His grave near the Meuse
is a monument to the iron will of our regiment to be
" game to pay the price" up to the very end and
to stop at nothing short of complete victory.
Most of our fallen comrades were buried where they fell
on the battlefield or at the nearest field hospital.
There was little time or opportunity for proper eulogies
or elaborate ceremonies. The simple funeral services
sought to remind the hearers that the spirit of a hero
does not die, that the work for which they gave their
lives must be finished by us who are spared and that
their lives although cut off in youth had attained the
climax of glory. Several battery and battalion memorial
services were held when more of the men could assemble
and on January 5th a regimental memorial service was held
at which the entire regiment was turned out.
Throughout our campaign the health of our regiment has
been splendid, and a tribute to our Medical Detachment
and Supply Company. Not a single man did we lose by
disease during the months of exposure at the front, in
spite of abnormal living conditions and difficulty in
bringing up supplies; and we only lost two while in
training, a remarkably low record.
The world-wide epidemic of influenza and pneumonia,
however, made itself felt in our ranks during the weary
months of waiting after the Armistice and eight of our
comrades were buried in France although they had lived to
see the victory for which they had fought and for which
they had crossed the ocean. Second Lieutenant Harvey 0.
Weilopp died December 9, 1918, Private Benjamin H. Sloan
of Supply Company, January 8, 1919,Private Edward E.
Hamilton, Battery B, January 13, 1919, Horseshoer Anthony
Heck, Headquarters Company, January 20, 1919, Private
John M. McGrady, Battery B, February 12, 1919, Private
George L. Belain, Battery B, February 13, 1919, Private
Thomas F. O'Rourke, Battery E, February 17, 1919,
Corporal William Ruppert, Headquarters Company, November
20, 1918.
Whatever else may be forgotten, the memory of our fallen
comrades will always remain. Some of them, of course,
were more widely known than others; such as men like
Sergeant Le Voy, active in the welfare work of the
regiment; Sergeant Berkemeyer, a man of the strongest and
most popular moral leadership in his battery; Corporal
Kaplan President of the Jewish Federation of the
regiment; Corporal McHugh, athlete and true sportsman;
Lieutenant Reid, whose fame extends far beyond our ranks.
But whatever their
varying rank and duties, telephone men, cannoneers,
cooks, officers, drivers, messengers, observers, all,
from battery commander to private, who have shared the
Great Adventure have equal rank in the true democracy of
American Heroism.
Religious Activities of the 306th Field
Artillery
DURING the regiment's period of training in America most
of its members were accessible to the services of their
home churches or synagogues in or about New York City.
For those who remained in camp over Sunday, morning and
evening services were held regularly. Two Catholic masses
and two Protestant services were held each Sunday and in
addition at least one religious service and one Bible
class were held during each week at the Y. M. C. A.
The various watertight compartments of the Leviathan each
served as a church building on our Sunday on the ocean
and our first Sunday in France at Pontanezen barracks
were fittingly observed by large outdoor services.
While in training camp, and in billets in towns, before
and after the fighting, there was every opportunity for
regular schedules of services. They consisted of Catholic
masses, hours for confessions, Jewish services,
Protestant communions, Protestant church services,
general services, Bible classes and an open Forum for all
creeds. This last mentioned enterprise was conducted by
the cooperation of the three religious federations of the
regiment and presented a series of topics for discussion
for general moral and social topics such as " What
Do You Mean by Morale?" "What of the Girl You
Left Behind?" " Will Your Religion Affect Your
Courage Under Fire? " " What is Your Personal
Duty as a Soldier -Citizen of Democracy?" "
Should the Standard of Right and Wrong be the Same for
Soldier as for Civilian? "
These conferences were largely attended and many men
participated in the discussions.
Each religious federation had an executive committee composed of a
representative from each battery and company. Corporal Kaplan of Battery D (killed in action
September 12, 1918) was President of the Jewish
Federation; Sergeant Hughes of Headquarters Company, of
the Catholic Federation; Sergeant Fisher of Battery B of
the Protestant Federation.
While we were at the front there were always a quantity
of unexpected factors and emergencies to be taken into
account in the arrangement of religious services. Night
firing was more conducive to sleep than to church during
the daylight hours and likelihood of shelling and enemy
air observation prevented any sort of group assembly. In
spite of these handicaps a few small simple services were
held at the gun positions and some more largely attended
ones in the woods at the echelons with the help of the
chaplain's organ. The most gratifying thing was that each
man, throughout those trying months, showed the spirit of
devotion, loyalty, bravery, nerve, unselfishness,
sympathy, and courage in the face of death. Wherever that
spirit is found, there is real religion.
Of course there were a great many services at the front
of a sadder and more solemn kind, when it became our duty
to pay the last simple tribute beside the graves of our
fallen comrades. Many 306th Field Artillery men with
their chaplain were often called upon to conduct burials
and funerals for dead soldiers of other regiments; most
frequently for infantrymen near the infantry first aid
stations. Memorial services were held later for batteries
and battalions, and on January 5th at Dancevoir the
entire regiment was formed for a regimental memorial
service.
Our regiment owes a great debt of gratitude to the
various chaplains of other faiths who assisted the
regimental chaplain in religious work. Father Sheridan,
of the 305th Field Artillery, has rendered steady and
most appreciated service to the Catholic men,
particularly in hearing confessions at the gun positions
on the battlefield. The French cures of Merviller,
Dancevoir, and Noyen were most cordial in their
invitations for our soldiers to join in their services.
Rabbi Blechman at Camp Upton, and Rabbi Schwartz of
Bordeaux gave liberally of their time and energy for the
benefit of the Jewish men of the regiment, the latter
conducting a most impressive ritual at Camp de Souge just
before we left for the front. Chaplains Friedman and
Voorsanger of Division Headquarters visited the regiment
at regular intervals. The secretaries of the Y. M. C. A.,
K. of C., and J. W. B. consistently cooperated most
sympathetically with all chaplains in religious work
programs, and often used great initiative in planning
events.
A religious census in Camp Upton showed 35% Catholic, 30%
Protestant, and 2570 Jewish men in the regiment. This
proportion was nearly the same throughout our history,
although we had many replacements after the census was
taken.
Some of the outstanding religious events in the history
of the regiment have been; the Day of Atonement
observance at Camp Upton, September, 19 17; Easter, 1918,
at Camp Upton; the "Welcome to France" outdoor
service at Pontanezen Barracks; "Mother's Day,"
May, 1918, at Camp de Souge; Visit of the Grand Rabbi of
Bordeaux; Service in commemoration of fourth anniversary
of the war, held August 4th, at Loromontzey Woods in
Lorraine; Service in Bois-de-Meuniers, September 15th,
while en route from the Vesle to the Argonne;
Com-memoration of completion of six months' foreign
service, November 3, 1918; "Victory Sunday"
service at Sommauthe near the Meuse on November 16, 1918;
"Fathers' Day" and Thanksgiving Day services at
Marcq; Christmas services at Dancevoir.
A Purim service and banquet and Passover service were
held at Noyen in March, 1918, and a Christmas observance
with a tree and party was held for the children of
Dancevoir in December, 1918, with the co6peration of
Father Thivet, the cure of the village. Our last six
Sundays in France were observed by a series of "
Homeward Bound " talks in the Noyen theater, and on
April 6th a service in commemoration of the second
anniversary of America's declaration of war was held. The
decks of the Agamemnon served as pew and pulpit at the
last services held on April 27th, just before we sighted
America.
Many of the greatest preachers of the United States were
heard in France, through the agency of the Y. M. C. A.,
and whatever the subject a real commonsense idea was put
across without offense to men of any creed.
More important, however, than the enumerating of services
and listing of events is the pride which every member and
friend of the regiment feels in the high standards of
intelligence and conduct that have been maintained. Our
men gave a broad-minded sympathetic hearing to all
religious messages whether or not they agreed with the
views expressed. They showed themselves to be high-minded
thinking men of the best order of American citizen-ships.
We have been assured that no regiment in the A. E. F. had
a better moral record and that few equaled the splendid
spirit of high endeavor and disciplined self-control
which this organization consistently displayed.
ROGER PAGET, The
Son of the Regiment
0N Sunday morning,
June 9th, at a memorable assembly at Camp de Souge,
four-year-old Roger Paget of Bordeaux was adopted as the
protégé of the regiment. His father, Lieutenant Henri
Paget of the 8th Cuirassiers a pied, was killed in action
on April 29,1917, at a point north of the Marne near
where most of our own men were killed in action.
Lieutenant Paget twice received the Croix de Guerre and
was named for the medal of the Legion of Honor. We have
been proud to have the son of such a brave soldier and a
representative of the children of France, become a part
of the regiment.
Madame Paget,
Roger's mother, and a detail from the American Red Cross
were present at the ceremony, which was opened by the
regimental band and the singing of America. The chaplain
referred to the story of Lieutenant Paget and introduced
Roger and his mother. Colonel Miller then accepted Roger
in behalf of the regiment while the handsome boy himself
stood on the table by his side.
Sergeant Levi then
spoke briefly in French translating what had been said
and expressing the sentiment of the occasion. The climax
of the program was reached when Rudolfi stood by the side
of the lad and sang Sweetest Little Feller, Mighty Lak' a
Rose and the Marseillaise.
Captain Van Keuren of the Red
Cross then congratulated the regiment, after
which the band played Sousa's 306th Field Artillery
march. Most of the men came to the platform to meet Roger
and his mother personally.
Bordeaux, Paris,
Boston, New York, Philadelphia papers have written up the
event and referred in glowing terms to Roger and his
regiment. His picture was also published and sent to
hundreds of friends of the regiment who in turn have
showered letters and souvenirs on him. The 306th Field
Artillery Association at a mass meeting in Brooklyn,
unanimously adopted Roger and sent him a bountiful box
for Christmas, 19 18.
Many of our men on
leave visited the Pagets both in Bordeaux and Lyon to
which city they moved in February, 1919. "9 Rue
Valdeck-Bousseau, Brotteaux Lyon," is the address.
They will, in turn, surely visit New York occasionally.
The Farmers Loan
and Trust Company of Bordeaux is handling the fund we
have established for Roger's education.
As we left France we of the 306th Field Artillery had no
more happy reminiscence than the thought of the boy -who
has become a symbol to us of the meaning of our fight for
the children of France, our own boys and girls, and the
future generations of the whole world. We are proud that
we helped to finish the work for which his father gave
his life, and that some of our comrades shared his noble
sacrifice.
That thought will
always bind Roger closely to the 306th Field Artillery.