The Grandfathers. World War 1. PART THREE--VERNE RUSSELL.

VERNE RUSSELL: July 1918 - May 1920 Discharge. Post-War Life. Death in 1971.

   As I said in the previous post about Mike’s grandfather, Albert Sesma, I’ve come to realize that I could study the events of the Summer and Fall of 1918 and never be able to fully understand them, much less describe them. Still, the study of our three grandfathers’ WW1 service has helped me understand WW1 and them better. I also fully expect that as soon as I think I am finished, I will find some new records about the grandfathers.

  Officially, the United States military had been in Europe for a year and in combat since October 1917. For our grandfathers, their families, and all the millions like them, The Great War, the War to End All Wars — was life altering. The Great War killed millions of people. And killed the hopes and dreams of the millions who loved them. The altered lives of the survivors and their future generations can barely be measured. I am trying to do some measuring.

  This post is about my maternal grandfather Verne Russell or at least what I know about his story right now as we approach the 100th anniversary of 11-11-18.

VERNE RUSSELL

Verne Russell, undated photo

  As I wrote in PART ONE, Verne Russell was already in France in July 1918, getting into position with Company C, 5th Field Battalion of the Signal Corps for the so-called “2nd” Battle of Marne.

   His enlistment record lists the following "battles, engagements, skirmishes, expeditions." I've added dates, but dates vary in different sources that I've read, so don’t @ me if you have different dates for these events.

       2nd Battle Marne — July 15 to August 6, including 

  Champagne Marne — July 15-17

  Aisne Marne — July 18-30

       St Mihiel — September 12-15

       Meuse Argonne —  September 26 to November 11

Verne’s enlistment record lists two dates for wounds received in service: July 29, 1918 and October 4, 1918.

   A Purple Heart Certificate was in my mother’s files, for “wounds received in action, in France, July 29, 1918.” The certificate is dated November 15, 1965 and I think perhaps he had applied to the V.A. for benefits and perhaps requested some verification of the Purple Heart when he submitted his service records. In a previous post, I wrote about growing up knowing very little about my grandfather except that he was “gassed in the war.” I’m pretty sure that July 29th was the first time he was gassed. 

Verne Russell. Purple Heart Certificate.

   The list of battles on his record indicates a gap between July 29th and September. I can only speculate, but he must have been sent to one of the nearby hospitals for his July 29 wounds. And I assume they decided they weren’t severe enough to send him home. If they had been very severe, it’s likely he would have been sent to a more distant hospital to return home, and not returned to his unit.

   The following narrative from the "History of the Third Division" was written by someone from Verne’s own Company C, 5th Field Battalion of the Signal Corps. It gives a sense of what this period was like.

"On the morning of July 15th, 1918, I endeavored to reach the 7th Infantry by way of Courboin. There was a terrific barrage on at the time and I passed a party of men of Company "B" working in a wire trench with absolute disregard for the rain of shells; an Ammunition Train was blown up two hundred yards from them but they continued to work. I reached the 7th Infantry at 9.30 A. M., found the telephone dugout wrecked and all lines out. From this point I went to the 30th Infantry in Bois d'Aigremont, where in places, I literally waded through blood. I entered the telephone dugout and of fifteen men only four survived, one man at the switchboard and three out repairing lines. I then proceeded to the 38th Infantry and found both the Signal Officer and the Regimental Signal Officer wounded, and a M. S. E. Company "C", 5th Field Battalion, Signal Corps, in charge, who had lines reconstructed and maintained. I then went to the regimental headquarters and reported to Col. Butts, who stated that all his runners were killed and that he had no communication with the outside, and asked me to take his reports back, which I did. I managed to get out by way of La Roque Farm across an aviation field subject to the direct fire of 7.5's. I delivered the messages to Message Center and made my way to the 38th Infantry at St. Eugene where I found a lieutenant very much in charge and a Sergeant 1st Class and a Corporal and two privates, all that was left of a detachment of nineteen men, and fifteen infantrymen who were forced out of ^a front-line trench near Fossoy. Their only avenue of escape was towards the Marne. They retired twenty yards to the shelter of a railroad embankment and held an indignation meeting, returned and recaptured the trench and one hundred and fifty-seven prisoners, including three officers. On July 16th I requested that the detachment with the 30th Infantry, be relieved as the men were going to pieces. Through the Division Signal Officer I obtained forty men from the 103rd Battalion, Signal Corps, 28th Division, who relieved our men. The men marched in, carrying fifteen miles of wire on their backs. After three days of rest the platoon went back cheerfully while St. Eugene was under heavy shell fire. A "H. E." shell hit a small building occupied by the Signal Corps as a store-room. It so happened that the chimney was used as a store place for pyrotechnics. The shell set fire to the pyrotechnics and for twenty minutes the chimney emitted a gorgeous display of fire works, everybody taking shelter until the cause of the eruption was realized."

https://ia802503.us.archive.org/27/items/historyofthirddi00unse/historyofthirddi00unse.pdf

   Back home in Kansas, Verne’s name appeared in the local papers, thanks to the "casualty lists" published through the War Department. It’s likely he was already back with his unit by September 4th when the lists of wounded were published.

This clipping is from The Ottawa Herald, September 4, 1918. Found on newspapers.com 

“SEVERAL KANSANS WOUNDED: One is Verne C Russell of Colony.” 

The second paragraph from the bottom: 

“Wounded, degree undetermined, Corporal Verne C Russell, Colony, Kan."

The Ottawa Herald Sept 4, 1918. Found on newspapers.com

   The clipping below is from the Walnut Valley Times (El Dorado, Kansas) September 5, 1918. Found on newspapers.com 

"Casualty List Kansas Soldiers."
"The following Kansans have just been reported in the casualty lists authorized by the War Department ….Corporal Verne C. Russell, Colony …. have been wounded, but the extent of their wounds has not been determined." 

Walnut Valley Times (El Dorado, Kansas) September 5, 1918.

   I recently found this clipping from "The Garnett Review" (Garnett, Kansas) Thursday September 19, 1918. Found on newspapers.com  It says Verne was not “wounded” but “gassed” according to a letter from Verne, received by his sister Mrs Bert Scott (Lula) who lived in Colony Kansas. 

"Verne Russell Better."

"Recently it was reported that Verne Russell, of Colony, was wounded in action in France. However, his sister, Mrs. Bert Scott, received a letter from Verne, in which he says he was not wounded, but gassed, and was in the hospital a while. He stated that he was much better."

The Garnett Review, September 19, 1918

  So we don’t know exactly where Verne was between his 29 July 1918 “wound” (or getting gassed) and his second “wound” on 4 October 1918. According to the enlistment record he was back with his company at St. Mihiel in September. I’ve done a little research about how soldiers were treated at the various levels of Army medical care. This helps to get a sense of where he might have spent his time. I’m not going to discuss this any further here, but there is plenty of information via the internet or your library about Army medical services during WW1. See below for links. I can only make guesses as to Verne’s treatments in August 1918. If only his sister, Lula, had shared more information with the local papers. In February 1919, she did.

   In any case, we know Verne rejoined his company because his record shows he was present for St Mihiel — September 12-15, and Meuse-Argonne — September 26 to November 11. Rather than trying to summarize the battles during this period, I’ll refer you to the National Archives. Or you can just do your own internet search. Over a million American soldiers participated. Over 26,000 were killed during these battles. Here’s a link: https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww1/meuse-argonne.html

   According to his records, Verne Russell was “wounded” again on October 4, 1918. In a letter Verne wrote to his sister Lula, this happened at 10:30 AM on that date, somewhere in the “Argonne Woods.” This letter was received by Lula and printed in the Iola Daily Register on February 11, 1919 under “The Happenings at Colony” with the heading “Corp Verne C Russell Written From France: Tells of His Trip to the Hospital for Treatment for the Effects of Mustard Gas.” 

I wrote about Verne’s letter in a previous post, April 17, 2017. Well, it was really more of a post about learning about a grandfather I barely knew. But I'll share the letter here as well.

   Here’s the letter, with my transcript of it below. I’m pretty sure his “dateline” of Beaul" should probably be “Beaulieu” but of course, who knows. Could be a typesetting error, or transcription error by the nurse who took Verne’s dictation.

Beaul, France, Dec. 20, 1918

Dear Sister and All: This will be a full account of my trip to the hospital. The fatal day was October 4th; time 10:30 a.m.; place Argonne Woods; cause mustard gas. On the evening of the 3rd I had orders to take three men with me and stay at a switchboard station until the next morning when we would receive orders to move on at the right time. I picked my men and went to the station, those on duty returning to their dugouts. I knew that in the early morning hours we were going to throw a barrage into Jerry and of course the boys were going to follow, the Signal Corps going with the infantry. During the night I found out the barrage was to commence at four o’clock lasting one hour — then over the top. About 3:20 I went to the dugout to get my pack but could not roll it until the S.C. got out of the way for I got stepped on a number of times trying it. I gave it up and started to talk to a sergeant. While we were talking the barrage started and as the boys were to follow it up they started to file out. About the time our barrage started Jerry came down with just as good a one so you see we went out into shell fire that is something like going out of a house into a rain storm. I rolled my pack and beat it back to the station for I expected our lines to go out under that hail of shells. But as luck would have it not a line had been hit. Two things I forgot to mention: Early in the evening I had a few words with two officers about moving my station. My officers had told me to stay there but these officers from another outfit wanted the dugout I had the switchboard in for their headquarters, so I called my signal officer and we stayed. They felt sore and I can’t blame them. After the barrage started I made up for the feeling though, for they both got hit, one in the hand and the other in the neck. I tied them both up in fine shape and they went on to their headquarters. The other thing was the dugout where the S.C. stayed was large enough to sleep 150 men though we were somewhat crowded. About 6:30 our line went out but I found the break a short ways from the station. I went back and took the switchboard myself to let the men sleep. I was at the board until about 10:30 when a line was shot to pieces I found out later. I called the switchboard man, took another man and went to find the break. Jerry was shooting gas so we had to wear masks. We came to a place where the line ran through some bushes and here we located the trouble. After mending it we started back to our station to get a little sleep. I slept four hours when I had to go chase a line. I felt funny and a little sick and when I went out in the air my eyes began to burn and water but I went on. By the time I had the line fixed I had to force myself to keep my eyes open. The sickness had gone to my stomach and I did the seasick act proper. One of the sergeants was there and he took me to the first aid station. The only way I could see by this time was to pull my eyes open. They loaded me into an ambulance and sent me to a field hospital and for three weeks my mind was blank. Sometimes I would come to long enough to get a faint idea of where I was, once on the train, once in the hospital, and once here. In the fieled hospital I remember I was sick at the stomach and I heard a voice I thought I knew. On the train was where I was scared and I had a right to be. I came alive and found I was all stopped up, could not get my breath and had a rattling in my throat. I called for a doctor and they carried me to the car ahead where I could get more air. From now on is what the nurse told me. She is Miss Ethel Hofer, of California, and if you want to thank anyone, she is the one. Miss Hofer has told me I showed her a good time the first few days, said I was dippy as a coon. After I got my head back again I lay there thinking about my eyes. No one will ever know how much my brain worked those days. I knew the government would teach me some kind of a trade but I sure hated to think about not being able to see again. I asked the doctor if I would ever see again and he always said yes. But I thought differently though I never said so but once. The doctor came and pried my left eye open and I saw just a bit of light. Not long after that my right eye came to life and from that time I have been coming along in very fine shape. My eyes are just about as good as ever and my cough is better although I still cough a plenty. Can’t do much for one of these cough — just have to cough it out.Have been expecting to leave here but have decided to wait and let them do as they please. I will be home some time.CORP. VERNE C. RUSSELLCo. C, 5th Field Battery, A.E.F.

[Note: I have tried to figure out where Verne went for recovery from the October 4 gassing, but without his official medical and military records, it’s just a guessing game. He says he went to a field hospital; but which one? Thanks to a ship transport record, we know he left from Brest, France. Was he at a hospital there or was he brought there from a hospital elsewhere. 
If you’re interested, here’s a link to way too much information about The “Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War."
http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwi/adminamerexp/DEFAULT.html

This same source has information on Army camp hospitals
http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwi/adminamerexp/chapter25.html 
and about “Divisional Medical Service in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)”
http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwi/divisionalmedsrvc/default.htm]

   Unlike the news clippings I found after July 29, 1918, I haven’t found any other news clippings about Verne after his October 4 gassing. But I knew that his father died on December 22, 1918; two days after he wrote to his sister, on December 20, 1918. In my research I found a clipping about Leslie Russell, who lived in Arkansas. I suppose that even if Lula wrote to Verne with the news, her letter may not have ever reached him. [Side note: Verne’s mother died in 1909 when Verne was 16 and he was sent to live with Lula at some point. He was the youngest of seven. Lula was eldest and also the only surviving sister.]

“Leslie D. Russell, a prominent planter near Pinnacle, Ark., died at a local hospital Sunday morning. He was a native of Illinois, but resided in Arkansas for the past six years. He is survived by four sons, O.H. of Los Angeles, Cal., E.A. and B.C., in France, and R.R. Russell of Pinnacle and one daughter Mrs. J.B. Scott of Colony, Kan. He was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp Colony, Kan. Funeray services will be held Tuesday afternoon in charge of the Rev. B.F. Cato. Burial will be in Oakland Cemetery.”

Arkansas Democrat Mon Dec 23, 1918. Found on ancestry.com Death notice for Leslie Russell.

   While we don’t know which hospital Verne wrote from in December, thanks to Verne’s enlistment record and the return transport record we know he returned from France in March 1919. 

   Here is the March 1919 return transport record page from Ancestry. We know from the information within the record set on Ancestry that the Mount Vernon left Brest, France on March 3rd and arrived at Hoboken on March 11. It looks like they all were sent to Camp Merritt in New Jersey. For Verne, perhaps he received more recovery time at the hospital at Camp Merritt. But this may not be an accurate deciphering of the handwriting on his record. What’s clear is that in July 1919 he was back in Leavenworth. See a cropped/enlarged portion of Verne's enlistment record. It's a little hard to decipher -- and I know Army records are not always perfectly accurate -- but we also have a July 22, 1919 clipping from a local Kansas paper about a visit to his sister in Colony.

   I've cropped the top and the line showing Verne because this page is too big to show here full size. See below. (Source: The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Lists of Incoming Passengers, compiled 1917-1938; NAI Number: 6234465; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92)

March 3, 1919 transport ship passenger list

   Here's what I can decipher from the "Remarks" on the back of Verne's Honorable Discharge, his Certificate of Furlough and the Final Pay Statement I received from the National Archives. Those documents will be added at the end of this post.. 

3/11/19.  Arrived U.S.

3/19/19.  Camp Merritt

4/22/19.  Camp Merritt

5/19/19.  Camp Merritt

7/1/19.  Ft Leavenworth

7/19/1919.  Signal Office Fort Leavenworth Kansas

5/7/1920.  Furloughed to Regular Army Reserve from Post Signal Office, Fort Leavenworth Kansas

From the back of Verne's Honorable Discharge

VERNE'S POST-WAR PERSONAL LIFE, 1919-1920

   I have a few news clippings I found via newspapers.com that fill in a little bit about Verne during 1919-1920. The Iola Daily Register reported that on July 20, 1919, Verne visited his sister, Lula in Colony, Kansas.

  “Verne Russell who is still in army service, arrived here Sunday for a visit at the home of his sister, Mrs. Bert Scott. Verne is looking fine and is improving in health from his severe gassing in France.” The Iola Daily Register (Iola, Kansas) July 22, 1919 Found on newspapers.com under “The Happenings at Colony”

The Iola Daily Register (Iola, Kansas) July 22, 1919 Found on newspapers.com 

   It appears that Verne was first assigned to “post signal office" at Leavenworth -- according to his Furlough Certificate which says he was furloughed "from" the post signal office. In the January 1920 census, Verne is listed at the General Service School Detachment No 1, U.S. Military Reservation, Leavenworth: Verne C. Russell, 25, soldier, father born in Illinois, mother born in Ohio.

   My grandmother Margaret Henderson worked at Leavenworth as well and I assume that is how they met. She was a switchboard operator — a “Telephone Girl” — at the fort telephone office according to the 1920 census. I have several news clippings about her attending parties and dances. And based on the photos in her photo album, she had a very busy social life. But she gets her own story someday.

   By November 1919, Verne and Margaret were definitely more than just social dance partners. The Iola Register reported that they went to visit Verne’s sister Lula in Colony. 

"Sergt Verne Russel from Ft. Leavenworth and Miss Margaret Henderson from Leavenworth were guests at the home of his sister Mrs Bert Scott for the week-end. Their daughter Mrs Arthur Brink and Mr. Brink were also here from Ottawa and spent Sunday."

The Iola Register, November 19, 1919. Found on newspapers.com

   Verne and Margaret married on April 5, 1920. The wedding announcement in the Leavenworth Post reports they left immediately for Arkansas and maybe they did but Verne’s discharge records are dated May 1920 so I’m guessing there was a bit of delay. My mother Elizabeth was born in Mansfield Arkansas in November 1921. They lived there for a few years and then moved back to Kansas, where their other child Margaret, was born in 1925. 

  "Mr. and Mrs. E.F. Henderson announce the marriage of their daughter, Margaret, to Mr. Verne C. Russell Monday evening at the parochial residence of the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception. The attendants were Miss Lillian Storm and Mr. Percy Shelton. Mr. and Mrs. Russell left immediately after the service for their future home at Benton, Arkansas."

Leavenworth Post, 7 April 1920. Found on newspapers.com

   Verne continued working at Leavenworth until May 1920 when it seems he was furloughed to the Army Reserve, according to the remarks on his Honorable Discharge. (I've cropped the Certificate of Furlough and the Honorable Discharge in an effort to fit them here. The missing parts are just the margins.)

CERTIFICATE OF FURLOUGH

Certificate of Furlough, from my mother's files.

Back of Verne's Certificate of Furlough, from my mother's files.

HONORABLE DISCHARGE

  The last document I have regarding Verne Russell's World War 1 service is a Final Pay Statement that I received from the National Personnel Records Center -- National Archives. It is dated May 8th which, like the Honorable Discharge document, may or may not reflect anything other than when it was signed. This document didn't add any "new" information, but it's still interesting.

Verne Russell. Final Pay Statement

VERNE'S LIFE, 1920 - 1971

   As I mentioned, Verne and my grandmother Margaret went to Arkansas for a few years, then back to Kansas and to St. Louis, Missouri where they lived with Margaret's family until they divorced in May 1932. Verne remarried in June 1932. He and Gladsia stayed in St. Louis where he worked for a while with the St. Louis Post Dispatch and then as a photographer for the War Department with the U.S. Engineers. In a 1942 letter to my father, he wrote, “You can find me at the U.S. Engineers Office in Federal bldg.” In the late 40’s they moved to the Missouri Ozarks where they built a home and tried to make a living writing and publishing short feature stories. That’s another blog post too. 

   Verne died in 1971 at the Poplar Bluff Veterans Hospital after surgery for a cerebral tumor. According to the few letters in my mother’s files, his lungs and his eyes suffered from the World War 1 gas attacks all through his life. I only met him twice as a small child. He died when I was 18. My understanding of this grandfather comes from official documents, historical research, genealogical research, newspaper clippings and finally, his own letters and articles written by him and his second wife abut their life in the Ozarks. 

   In two letters from Verne written to his daughters Betty and Peg in 1961 and 1962, he revealed how his dreams were thwarted by lack of education, death of his mother, lack of guidance from his father and brothers, health issues since being gassed in WW1.

“If I had been given better training and made to go to school …

 I would have had some sense.”

   I think he may have tried to explain why the divorce happened. Like so many others during and after the Depression, they lived in close quarters with family. The Hendersons were a close-knit family. The Russells were not. 

“Your mother’s folks were together a great deal. At that time I didn’t like the ideas of being so close to them. However, I can see now there was a bond between them that has lasted all these years and that is good.”

  It’s not that he regretted the way his life turned out. But perhaps he wanted his daughters to understand it was him, and not them. Perhaps at 11 and 7 years old, they felt “rejected” but over the years, I know that they visited him when they could and did not spoke ill of him to us. In fact, in their later years, the two sisters made several genealogy trips to study the Russell family tree. That is why I have a full file box of Russell research.

   On the one hand, his lack of education and the health issues from being gassed prevented him from fulfilling “the old urge to set the world afire.” On the other hand, his years of Army service covering 1914 to 1920 probably served as the basis for what he did accomplish. 

   And so I honor that service. And I honor his humility displayed here, in a postscript to a typed letter to my mother; with a handwritten note to “over look the mistakes my eyes play tricks on me at times” 

“One other thing. I was in WW #1 with the Third Division was in five major engagements from the Marne to Oragone.?? I also service in Hawaii [typed over “mmmmmmmm”] Honolulu from 1914..16 with 2nd Inf. And was an insturctor at Jefferson Baracks from 1916 to 197 when I went across to France.”

  Verne is buried at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis Missouri. 

Verne Russell gravestone at Jefferson Barracks cemetery.

The Grandfathers. World War 1. PART TWO--ALBERT SESMA.

Albert Sesma. July 1918 — May 1919. Post-War to Death in 1936.

    I’ve come to realize that I could study the events of the Summer and Fall of 1918 and never be able to fully understand them, much less describe them. Still, the study of our three grandfathers' WW1 service has helped me understand it better. I also fully expect that as soon as I think I am finished, I will find some new records about the grandfathers.

   Officially, the United States military had been in Europe for a year and in combat since October 1917. For our grandfathers, their families, and all the millions like them, The Great War, the War to End All Wars — was life altering. The Great War killed millions of people. And killed the hopes and dreams of the millions who loved them. The altered lives of the survivors and their future generations can barely be measured.

   So here we go. The rest of the grandfathers' World War 1 Army service stories, as I know them right now as we approach the 100th anniversary of 11-11-18.

ALBERT SESMA

   At the beginning of July 1918, Albert Sesma must have been at or on his way to Camp Kearny in southern California. This is not recorded on any of the records I have, but we know he was with the 40th Division and we know the 40th trained at Camp Kearny.

Albert Sesma, undated photo.

  I requested Albert Sesma’s military records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC of the National Archives) in 2012. At that point, I already had a photo of his gravestone that said he was a “Veteran of Foreign Wars.” I knew of this photo of him in uniform and had his WW1 registration card record from Ancestry (see previous post.) Over the years, I’ve acquired records about Albert such as census and city directories and even his death certificate. But today, I still don’t know much about Albert between his birth and his draft registration in 1917. 

Albert and Maria Sesma's gravestone. Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, Santa Clara, CA

   NPRC found and sent me Albert's final payment record which listed his “date of acceptance of enlistment or place of receipt of notice for duty” as June 26, 1918. Looking back, I’m tempted to be embarrassed that I didn’t pay more attention in 2012 to the notation that he was a private with the 115th Ammunition Train, 40th Division of the U.S. Army. The pay record also gave his service number but it didn’t seem to help with searching records. On the other hand, I don’t feel quite as bad now that I know the transport records I found in 2018 weren’t digitized and indexed until 2017. And therein lies a lesson about genealogy: Never give up.

Here's the final payment records I received. He is on lines 3 and 4. I've cropped and enlarged the images below. 

Albert Sesma, final pay record.

Cropped/enlarged portion of above page. Shows Albert as private with the 115th Ammunition Train and that he enlisted June 26, 1918 at Hanford, Calif.

Albert Sesma, final pay record. Mostly interesting because of his signature and to see his pay of $97.10

Cropped/enlarged section of above page.

The 40th Division Training and Albert's Movement to France

  The 40th Division was known as "The Sunshine Division." Their insignia was a golden sun superimposed on a blue circle. The 40th Division as organized in September 1917 was composed of units from the National Guard from various southwestern states — California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Maj. Gen. Frederick S. Strong commanded the division from the time of its organization.

   They trained at Camp Kearny in San Diego. In classic family history irony, Mike and his family would live less than 10 miles away starting in 1959. I don’t think Albert’s son (Mike’s father Ramon Albert) ever knew his father had trained there. Camp Kearny would become the Miramar Air Station, shared at times by the Navy and Marines. The famous Top Gun training was located there — think of the movie “Top Gun.”

   After training at Camp Kearny, according to my research, the first units embarked for overseas on August 7, 1918 and the last units arrived in France on August 28th, 1918. Albert's transport sheets tell us he left Brooklyn on the "Briton" on August 15. My research indicates they usually landed at Liverpool, made their way by train to Southampton and then left for France. (These are hard to read here so I hope the cropped images will help.) 

Albert Sesma, leaving Brooklyn on the Briton, August 15, 1918, with the 40th Division, 115th Ammunition Train.

Cropped/enlarged top of above form.

Cropped/enlarged section showing Albert as Pvt with Company A, with mother Dolores as contact.

   The page below is sheet 5 of 6 pages of a "roster" of Company A, 115th Ammunition Train, 40th Division leaving Southampton aboard the "SS Charles" on August 24, 1918. Sheet 1 of the roster lists Caption Norman L. Myers who was captain of Company A and is also listed on transport sheets when Verne returns in 1919. The six pages for Company A list 136 names. Albert is on line 115.

Transport record of the SS Charles, August 24, 1918, leaving Southampton for France.

Albert Sesma, Pvt, Co. A, Dolores Sesma, Hanford, California

   Upon arrival in France the division was made a "replacement division" and was ordered to La Guerche (Cher) and became the 6th Depot Division. The division was then broken up and its personnel were used as replacements for combat divisions at the front. According to one source, Albert’s 115th Ammunition Train operated with the 65th Field Artillery Brigade and the Horse Battalion and Motor Section were detached further.   

   None of the various unit histories I've read have helped me figure out exactly where Albert spent his time between August 1918 and his return in 1919. However, both his outgoing and incoming transport records list him with Company A, 115th Ammunition Train, 40th Division. I noted that Captain Norman L. Myers is listed on both transport records. So it's possible that Albert was not used as a replacement in another unit. I found only four names of men from the 115th Ammunition Train when I searched the ABMC (American Battle Monuments Commission) site. Clearly they had lower casualties than some divisions, but even they had casualties. 

   I'll always wish I could find more, but I guess I'll have to be satisfied that at least we know he really did go to France; as his gravestone claimed. We can guess that as a member of an "ammunition train" he probably helped with moving ammunition to the front and then after the Armistice, they were likely tasked with "removing" it. Perhaps they assisted with transporting troops back to ships for return home. Without his personal records, it’s hard to say where Albert Sesma spent the time after arriving in and then departing from France. However, now that I have these transport records at least we now know he was in France. 

    According to the histories, most of the 40th Division returned home by February 1919 but for some reason the 115th Ammunition Train, and particularly Albert's Company A did not leave until June 1919. The transport record I found shows Company A left France from Bordeaux on the transport ship Scranton on 7 June 1919, arriving in Hoboken on 19 June 1919. It’s likely Albert took a train across the country to return to California. And thanks to the three pages received from NPRC, we know he made it to the Presidio in San Francisco to be paid and discharged on 30 June 1919. 

Return to the States transport record on the Scranton, June 7, 1919, from Bordeaux, France

Cropped/Englarged section of above transport record.

   Sometime after his return, Albert met Maria Chavez, probably in Fresno, California.  Their children Evelyn, Ramon, and Dolores were born in 1921, 1925, and 1927 in Fresno and San Jose California. Evelyn died in July 1935 from "acute rheumatic fever and septicemia" and then Albert died on December 25, 1936 at age 43 of “acute indigestion, acute cardiac event.” 

   It's tempting to think Albert may have died from a literal broken heart. For sure he left behind the broken hearts of Maria and his young son and daughter who were still grieving the loss of Evelyn. Somehow they carried on. Albert's son, Ramon Albert (Mike's father) would join the U.S. Navy in 1943 and serve for 34 years. He died in 1985. Dolores died in 1989. Maria was struck by a car in January 1959 and died from her injuries.

Albert Sesma, undated, with daughter Evelyn. 

The Grandfathers. World War 1. 1918. PART ONE

1918 through June 1918

I have worked on my husband’s Sesma, and my Adams family trees for more than 30 years and still have many mysteries to solve. But as the centennial commemoration of World War 1 comes to a close in 2018 (the Armistice was signed November 11, 1918) I’ve wanted to collect what I know about our grandfathers and what they did during the war. This is PART ONE covering their 1917 Selective Service registration or re-enlistment, to the end of June 1918.

On April 6, 1917, when the United States declared war against Germany, the nation had a standing army of 127,000 officers and soldiers. The first U.S. 14,000 U.S infantry troops landed in France at Saint Nazaire on June 26, 1917. These early troops did their training on French soil and entered combat on October 21, 1917. The U.S. needed more troops and they needed them fast! The Selective Service Act was passed May 18, 1917. June 5, 1917 was the first of three registration dates. (See https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww1/draft-registration)

THE GRANDFATHERS

My husband, Mike Sesma’s grandfathers

Mike’s maternal grandfather, Tokuju Suetsugu (Japan) lived in Japan and while I have no information about him, I assume he served in Japan’s military at some point.

Mike’s paternal grandfather Albert Sesma (born Alberto Sesma in Sacramento) lived in Hanford California when he registered on June 5, 1917.

Albert Sesma, WW1 registration card

(Registration card found on Ancestry. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.)

My grandfathers

I know the most about my maternal grandfather, Verne Russell, and have written about him twice here on Honeylights. See April 17, 1917 which is the story about getting gassed and his letter home; and February 27., 2018 which is the story about him shipping out to France.

Prior to World War 1, Verne Russell had already served one enlistment from May 21, 1914 to 1916. According to a service record document we have, he re-enlisted at Jefferson Barracks in October 1917. So we don't have a WW1 registration card for him. He didn't have to register. We also have this news article from 1965, saying before going to France early in 1918, he served as a non-commissioned officer and instructor at Jefferson Barracks. (I think he was trying to apply for veterans benefits, due to health issues, all related to his WW1 injuries. In that process he sent for verification of his Purple Heart awards.) This newspaper clipping below is from my mother's family history files.

From the Daily American Republic; Poplar Bluff, Missouri, December 1, 1965.

Finally, we have a document dated November 13, 1916 at Jefferson Barracks, MO that says Verne C Russell has been appointed Corporal in General Service Infantry in the service of the U.S. — signed at Head Quarters of the Depot at Jefferson Barracks MO. The Commanding Officer of the General Service Recruit Depot Infantry.

My paternal grandfather, Sam Adams (born Sotirios Adamopoulos in Greece) arrived in America in 1910 and lived in Ohio when he registered on that first registration date, June 5, 1917.

(Registration card found on Ancestry. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.)

THE STORIES

Albert Sesma

Albert Sesma in uniform, undated. From family history files.

We probably can assume that Albert continued working in Hanford between June 5, 1917 and June 26, 1918, when he “reported for duty” or shall we say it was the “date of acceptance of enlistment or place of notice for duty” — according to his final pay voucher that I received from the National Archives in 2012. That record also listed him as a private with the 115th Ammunition Train. An ammunition train is exactly that. Not always a literal train, but they moved ammunition from one location to another in support of troops. But I couldn't find much information beyond that. Until 2018.

Then, recently, I happened upon a record for Albert on a Army transport record that showed him on a ship leaving Hoboken for France in August 1918! I found this record while doing a sort of wild-card search for Albert’s mother’s name. Dolores Sesma showed up as Albert’s emergency contact! He was listed as Alberto.

So! Finally! After 30 years of Sesma research, I finally had new clues. Over the years, I’ve hired AncestryProGenealogists twice to research Albert and Maria Sesma and their origins. Thanks to that research I visited Bakersfield, California this Spring to followup on a few of their finds. Finally, though, this Army transport record showed he went to France during the War! Now I also know he was assigned to Company A, 115th Ammunition Train, 40th Division of the U.S. Army. I finally know what he was doing between June 26, 1918 and the date of his discharge in 1919 shown on his final pay voucher. I can do research about the 115th Ammunition Train and about the 40th Division. I can search for Albert on RETURN transports for that last data point before his final discharge. More about Albert in PART TWO.

Verne Russell

Verne Russell, probably 1916 1st enlistment, from family history files

Apparently, sometime after his October 1917 re-enlistment at Jefferson Barracks, Verne was sent to Leavenworth Kansas to join with Company C, Fifth Field Battalion, Signal Corps. On February 19, 1918 they left Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for Camp Merritt in New Jersey. 

   They departed from Hoboken on February 27, 1918 on the “Agamemnon”, arriving in France on March 9th. (see February 27, 2018 which is the story about him shipping out to France.) They arrived in Brest, France on March 11, 1918, where they were given a few days of rest to recover their “land legs” before moving on.

My information about Company C, Fifth Field Battalion, Signal Corps comes from the “The History of the Third Division" which gives an idea of the kind of work Verne did with the Signal Corps in preparation for the battles they knew were coming. Obviously, the work of the Signal Corps was essential for communication.

https://archive.org/stream/historyofthirddi00unse#page/288/mode/2up

  "March 16th, 1918, the battalion entrained at Brest, France, and proceeded to Marmesse, near Chateauvillain, taking “station at that point on March 19th, 1918, and reporting to the Third Division for duty. The following month was spent in the erection of Base Hospital 19. No other troops being present, this work devolved on the Signal Battalion, sixteen buildings of which institution were completed by this organization. The period from about April 15th, 1918, to the German drive from the Aisne to the Marne, was utilized in familiarizing the personnel of the battalion with the construction and operation of French equipment with which we were supplied. Elaborate trench systems were constructed and wired for an entire Division. An extensive overhead telephone system was installed, connecting the different elements of the Division with Division Headquarters.
   The battalion left Marmesse, France, on May 30th, 1918 (Company "C" from Essey-le-Ponts) by truck-train and disembarked at Viels Maisons, 2 P M., May 31st, 1918, taking station at la Charmois Farm. A line was immediately laid from Division Headquarters at Vieis Maisons to a provisional Brigade of mixed elements of the Third Division, under command of General Crawford, who were holding a general line between La Chapelle and Rozoy.
   On June 1st, the 7th Infantry took position at Manthurel and trunk lines were secured from the French to connect this organization to Division Headquarters.
   On June 2nd the 4th Infantry took position at Nogent-sur-Marne and was connected to Division by our own lines to Viels Maisons.
   These relative positions were maintained until about June 15th.
   About June 15th the Division took station at Chateau-la-Doultre; the Fifth Brigade at Bochage Farm and the Sixth Brigade at a small farm south of Courboin, the 4th Infantry at Grand Ballois, the 30th Infantry at Bois d'Aigremont, the 38th Infantry at St. Eugene.
   The 7th Infantry was detached from the Division and attached to the 2nd Division; the regimental headquarters was at La Voie du Chatel; this regiment relieved the 6th U. S. Marines and took over the regimental system in the 2nd Division system, performing its duties well. On June 15th, regimental headquarters and one battalion of the 4th Infantry crossed the Marne River during the night and were attached to the 28th French Division on Hill 204, west of Chateau-Thierry. A signal platoon laid a line from regimental headquarters on Hill 204 to Brigade Headquarters at Bochage Farm, swimming the Marne River at Nogent-sur-Marne and carrying the wire across from this point.
   All elements of the Division were connected to the Division board after June 15th, 1918, except the 7th Infantry, which was temporarily detached. This regiment joined the division on June 23rd and took station at La Roque Farm, where a direct line was laid to the 5th Brigade switchboard at Bochage Farm.
   This was the position of the elements of the Third Division on the night of July 14th, 1918, when the German drive began. The 125th French Division was on the right and a Colonial 10th, Senegalese Division on the left. Contact with the right and left Divisions and the right and left regiments of these Divisions was maintained by telephone and radio to the First Corps to the rear."

Sam Adams

Sam Adams, from a 1921 emergency passport while in Greece

(From Ancestry. Original data: Selected Passports. National Archives, Washington, D.C. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Volume #: Volume 003: Athens, Greece.)

When Sam Adams registered on June 5, 1917 he was living and working in Datyton, Ohio. According to records I’ve found, he “enlisted” or reported for duty on July 11, 1918 at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. We don’t know if he trained there, but his record in "The Official Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the World War, 1917-18" as well as other records, indicate that by October he was at Fort Barrancas Florida with the Coast Artillery. More about Sam in my next post, PART TWO.

The Grandfathers' status at the end of June 1918:

Mike's maternal grandfather Tokuju Suetsugu was somewhere in Japan.
Mike's paternal grandfather Albert Sesma was reporting for duty somewhere in California.

My maternal grandfather Verne Russell was in France with the Signal Corps; Third Division, Fifth Field Battalion, Company C.
My paternal grandfather Sam Adams was probably working in Dayton, Ohio; perhaps preparing to go to Fort Thomas, Kentucky to report for duty in early July.

Next up: More about Albert Sesma, Verne Russell, and Sam Adams through discharge and post-war.

February 27, 1918 Verne Russell Ships Out to France

When my grandfather, Verne Russell, left for France on February 27, 1918, he had already served one enlistment in the United States Army. He re-enlisted in late 1917. When he boarded the "Agamemnon" in Hoboken NJ he was a 24-year-old Corporal with Company C, Fifth Field Battalion, Signal Corps. The battalion arrived at Camp Merritt, New Jersey from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on February 23rd, and left for Brest, France on February 27.

Photo of Verne Russell.
From my mother's files.

The Agamemnon ship manifest below shows Verne on line 196. According to records I’ve found, the Agamemnon travelled in convoy with the “Mt. Vernon” and the “America” along with the cruiser escort, the “Seattle.”

Ship Manifest for the Agamemnon. February 27, 1918. From Ancestry.com: The National Archives at College Park, Maryland; Lists of Outgoing Passengers, 1917-1938.

Below is a description of the journey from "History of the Third Division United States Army in the World War for the Period December 1, 1917 to January 1, 1919." 

From: https://archive.org/details/historyofthirddi00unse

No special incident marked the journey, the weather being pleasant and the sea smooth. One member of company "C" died at sea on March 5th. On March 8th the cruiser "Seattle" escorting the convoy, fired on what was taken for a submarine, but which turned out to be nothing more than a sportively inclined porpoise. This caused a ripple of excitement, but it quickly passed, and the peaceful tenor of the journey was resumed.

Saturday noon, March 9th, a fleet of ten destroyers picked up the convoy and escorted it to the port of Brest, France, whence it dropped anchor at 12.00- noon.

The battalion disembarked at 12.30 P.  M. March 11th, 1918, and marched to Pontanezen Barracks, Brest, France, where a rest of four days was granted to recover from the effects of the journey across the Atlantic, and for the men to recover their land legs, likewise to disengage themselves of any nautical language annexed on the long journey.

And, finally, here's a photo of the Agamemnon, found here:  Via http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/1217300412.jpg

Halftone reproduction of a photograph taken in 1918-1919, showing the ship in port. Donation of Terri D. Lewis, 2005. Naval Historical Center photo NH 103101

I have written before about my grandfather, Verne Russell, and I hope to write more this year, about him and my other grandfather, Sam Adams, and about my husband's grandfather, Albert Sesma. They all served in the U.S. Army 100 years ago during World War 1. You can read my story about Verne Russell and the letter he wrote to his sister from a hospital in France in December 1918. Here's a link to that post.

http://honeylights.blogspot.com/2017/04/you-know-he-was-gassed-during-war-my.html

Girls, Pinewood Derby Cars and Awards

Me, as a Camp Fire Girl. Modeling my "ceremonial gown" before an end of the year "Council Fire" where we received our awards and honor beads for the year. We made our own "gown" and decorated them with our earned honor beads, pins, and patches. See below for some detail.

Last week the Boy Scouts announced their plans to “allow” girls to join and earn an Eagle Scout Award. Some of the reaction to the news was expected — the typical complaints about Scouts allowing gays to join “and now they’re inviting girls!” On the other hand, some of the reaction was surprising and irritating. In fact, I was surprised by my irritation with some reactions. So I took a little time to calm down. And then I started writing. Because that's what I do.

It’s not that I care all that much about the Boy Scouts as an organization. I’m not particularly impressed with them these days. I know "letting" girls do Eagle Scout Projects/Awards has been talked about at least since I was a Camp Fire Girl nearly 50 years ago. Given their recent history, the cynic in me sees this news as another attempt to change the narrative around Boy Scouts after recent years of bad press and declining membership. Still, good for them.

My problem, my irritation, is with the comments I’ve seen from women saying they always wanted to be a Boy Scout and participate in a soapbox/pinewood derby and be Eagle Scouts. Some complained about their experiences as a Girl Scout or Camp Fire Girl, claiming they couldn’t do cool stuff as a girl, a Camp Fire Girl or Girl Scout; or that their experience was “lame.” But I know that both of those organizations have always had ways to do whatever activity a girl wanted. So these complaints bothered me. Here’s what I wish I could say to each of them:

“If your experience wasn’t up to your standards or what you thought your experience would have been as a Boy Scout, I’d like to suggest you look to yourself first. What did YOU put into your experience? What did YOU contribute to your group or troop? Were you willing to try new activities and adventures? Were you willing to test yourself? Maybe it wasn’t Girl Scouts or Camp Fire. Maybe it was you. It’s sad and unfortunate if you didn’t have leaders like I had or if you lived someplace not served by Girl Scouts or Camp Fire Girls. If they had known you were there, waiting for them, they would have found a way to reach out to you. I know they work hard to break through all the noise from groups vying for your attention.”

Our fearless leader, Mrs. Haven "retired" so we gave her a silver platter. That's me, kneeling, to her right. We’re all wearing our ceremonial gowns.

I know why I was irritated. I feel like I was born a Camp Fire Girl because my older sister and cousin were members first and my mother was a leader. I became a member under my own name as a Blue Bird and was a Camp Fire Girl all the way through Horizon Club in high school, and then a camp counselor at CFG camp while in college. I was able to accomplish every goal I set for myself as a Camp Fire Girl. In fact, Camp Fire is where I learned to set personal goals. 

OK, here’s the truth. There are goals I did not accomplish. I still can’t sew. But I can build a roaring fire in a fire ring. 

I attended an all-girls high school and belonged to an all-girls organization. (Camp Fire is now co-ed.) I also participated in many other activities that influenced me and helped me develop into the adult I wanted to become. Was it Camp Fire, Junior Theater, or one of my volunteer activities that had the biggest influence? Hard to say. I only know that without Camp Fire, I’d be someone else. We chose “Indian” names for ourselves in Camp Fire that were supposed to describe who we were, or hoped to become. I have my doubts about the authenticity of the “Indian” words I used, but the meaning described the type of person I hoped to be. 

“Wi yo tanda: faithful, understanding, loving, respectful”

Camp Fire Girls can earn the WoHeLo Medalion. (Work Health Love. WoHeLo is used as a greeting, a farewell, and a wish to each other in Camp Fire.) Girl Scouts can earn Silver and Gold Awards. Girls earn these prestigious awards by completing self-designed service projects that are every bit as demanding and important to their communities as any Eagle Project I’ve ever seen. I’d say the work girls do to earn the Camp Fire Wohelo Medalion and Girl Scout Gold Award are equivalent to the work done for the Eagle Scout Award. 

Maybe I should have worked to earn the Wohelo Medalion. I know my work in Camp Fire’s Horizon Club was probably equivalent but I wasn’t interested in awards. Perhaps I’m not the only woman who doesn’t feel the need to claim they are better than others by bragging about being Eagle Scouts. Or perhaps it’s irrelevant — when employers and society in general don’t value the achievements of girls and women. I know there are former Camp Fire Girls or Girl Scouts, with or without Wohelo or Gold Awards, working every day to change the world and make it better. I doubt they continue to list their youthful accomplishments on their adult resumes. I stopped listing mine after my first couple of jobs. Once someone is an adult, I guess I’m less and less impressed by something they did when they were 16. I mean, we should always be proud of our achievements, as I am of mine, but after a while what I did at 16 or 18 doesn’t prove anything about what I can do as an adult.

Perhaps the real problem here is not Boy Scouts, or Camp Fire (which has been co-ed for decades) or Girl Scouts. Perhaps the problem is that our society doesn’t value the achievements of girls like it does the achievements of boys. I’m pretty sure there’s enough boys and girls to fill the ranks of all these organizations. Let’s let these boys and girls all rise to the highest level they desire in the organization they choose, and be recognized by their peers, future educational institutions and employers as EQUALS. This requires a change in our institutions and employers regarding the equal value of achievements by boys and girls when they become men and women. 

Still, good for the Boy Scouts. I hope it works out for them. As for me, I am a proud former Camp Fire Girl whose only achievement was hard work and sticking with a program I loved all the way through until I aged out. I am also a proud mother of three former Girl Scouts, one of whom decided to become a Lifetime Member and is now a troop co-leader while she writes her PhD dissertation. I’m proud of her for mentoring young girls. She’s not an Eagle Scout. She doesn’t have a Gold Award from Girls Scouts. She’s just a former Girl Scout -- correction, Lifetime Member of Girl Scouts  —  paying it forward.

What can I say? It was the late 1960's. Of course I made a peace sign with my Citizenship Honor Beads. We earned honor beads for activities accomplished in various areas. Business, Citizenship, Creative Arts, Frontiers (think science), Home, Outdoors, Sports and Games.

Finally; and by the way. You’re never too old to build a pinewood derby car and maybe start your own derby. Maybe find some young girls to mentor. All that cool stuff you think you missed as a Girl Scout? Go ahead! What’s stopping you?

http://campfire.org/volunteer

http://www.girlscouts.org/en/adults/volunteer.html

Or contact your local city or county volunteer offices and find a youth organization that needs you.

WoHeLo,

"Wi yo tanda"

This is my beaded headband that I made myself! I'm wearing it in the above photos. The pictographs were supposed to represent the names we chose for ourselves, but I think mine was just a pattern that I liked and was able follow on the loom. Thunderbird with geometric patterns. I have no record of why I chose the thunderbird or the patterns.

Two of my Camp Fire Books.