A week ago, Clarence Dunnivant had been a boarder at
the home of Virgil and Ann Hendrix in Huntsville, Alabama; but today he was on
a train headed for South Carolina and worlds unknown. He had been a little
apprehensive when he’d registered for the draft, but this was the real thing.
Now, he was officially part of the United States Army, and the country had been
a part of the war in Europe for a little over a year.
2 His mind was racing as the train rolled across the
Southern countryside. He was headed for a place named Camp Sevier, somewhere
near Greenville. What would it be like? How long would he be there? Would the
other boys be as scared as he was?
3 It was only May, but it was already getting warm all
over the American South. Even so, the drop of sweat that rolled down the back
of his neck as he stepped off the train was more attributable to nerves than to
the weather.
4 As the anxiety and anticipation mounted, Clarence
was a little relieved to see that he wasn’t going to be the only new person
here. In fact, there were groups of newly arrived men milling about and being
sorted and organized everywhere he looked.
5 “John Lynch,” one man said as he extended his hand
to Clarence. “Bob Dunnivant,” Clarence smiled – making a split decision to use
his middle name here.
6 “There’s a rumor going around that there was a bad
train wreck when they moved the unit to this location,” John revealed after
they’d gotten better acquainted. He looked worried. “I heard that a bunch of
guys were killed and injured,” he continued. “Not a good sign. If you ask me
this whole thing smells like it’s headed in the wrong direction!” “That sure
don’t sound good,” Clarence agreed.
7 Nevertheless, despite his friend’s misgivings, Camp
Sevier was a beehive of activity over the weeks that followed. If the
enterprise was doomed to failure, it wouldn’t be for lack of preparation.
8 They began training and drilling almost immediately
after they arrived. Lieutenant Colonel Frank Halstead wasn’t ready to throw up
his hands in defeat just yet. In fact, if the commanding officer of the 321st
Infantry had anything to say about it, they would be more than ready to fight
the Germans.
9 Time, however, was not on the Colonel’s side. The
order to move the troops to Long Island, New York came early in July. While the
unit was busy preparing to do just that, Ernest Clayton Jones was born back in
Alabama on Saturday, July 13th. The train for Camp Upton left Camp
Sevier the next day.
10 They arrived at their new camp the morning of the
16th, but anyone who had been expecting a chance to rest before
being sent to Europe was soon disappointed. The drilling intensified.
11 The preparations were continuous and unrelenting.
The reviews were constant. “By God, you’re going to have to do better than
that!” Colonel Halstead shouted.
12 Then, at the end of the month, they were loaded on
to ferryboats and taken to Hoboken, New Jersey. From there, they were marched
aboard one of three old English passenger ships (The Walmer Castle, Scandinavian
and City of Glasgow).
13 “This smells like shit and rotten potatoes,” the
man next to Clarence observed. “It does smell pretty bad,” he agreed.
14 They were packed aboard like sardines in a tin can.
Over the course of the twelve-day voyage that followed, every one of the young
men aboard those ships who made it home would recall years later that it had
been one of the most miserable experiences of their lives. Stomachs, patience
and morale were sorely tested; but somehow, they all survived the ordeal.
15 The ships docked at Liverpool, England on Sunday,
August 11th, but they only remained in the city long enough to get
everyone and their equipment off of the boats. From there, they marched to
Winchester and then on to Southampton.
16 “We sure ain’t waistin any time, are we? Clarence
asked John. “That’s for sure,” his friend replied.
17 They crossed the English Channel just as the sun
was setting on the 13th. “Well, I sure never thought I’d see
France,” one of the soldiers declared as the coastline came into focus.
18 After everyone had disembarked, they all assembled
with their packs on their backs and prepared to march to the “rest” camps that
awaited them a few miles inland. As Clarence approached the camp, what looked
like a sea of tents came into view. It stretched out endlessly before him in
all directions.
19 When they stopped marching, the sergeants began
dividing them into groups of sixteen and leading them to the tents where they
would be “resting” before moving out. They smelled musty inside, but at least
there were some boards spread out on the ground to serve as a floor and keep
them out of the mud.
20 “We will all be given an opportunity to shower,”
Corporal Dooley announced. “Just remember though, there are too many of us to
allow each man to have more than a few minutes under the water. So, it is
essential that you be quick. Don’t linger!”
21 The opportunity for a shower was too good to pass
up. Clarence hurriedly grabbed his toiletries and jumped into the line headed
for the showers.
22 When his turn finally came, he rushed inside, laid
down his effects and stripped. The water was cold, but he didn’t waste any time
in getting lathered up. He was shivering by now and hadn’t had a chance to
rinse all of the soap off of his body when the water suddenly stopped. “Hey!”
the cry arose all around him.
23 “Next!” the sergeants barked. “Step lively, men.
Your buddies are waiting to take a shower too!” they shouted.
24 Clarence attempted to wipe away the suds with his
towel and surprised himself with how quickly he was able to get dressed. He did
not, however, feel very clean and refreshed.
25 A few days later, they were marched back to the
coast and loaded onto a train. Once again, they were packed in like sardines;
but, this time, the tin cans were box cars. What’s more, it was immediately
apparent that they had recently been employed in the capacity of cattle cars,
because there was manure all over the floors and walls.
26 They were supposed to stop at Flogny, but the train
continued on to Tonnerre. As a consequence, they had to march the ten miles
back to Flogny.
27 They set up camp in a grassy meadow beside an old
chateau. Although the place was peaceful and beautiful, their pup tents seemed
a little out of place there.
28 Nevertheless, that did not prevent Colonel Halstead
from inaugurating another round of intensive training. This final session
lasted about a month.
29 Then, suddenly, the news which they had all been
dreading finally came. “We’re going to the front!” Private Bob Reese excitedly
announced. A few minutes later, Corporal Dooley told them that Colonel Halstead
wanted to address everyone, and that they should immediately assemble in the
open space before the chateau.
30 As they waited, Clarence was about to whisper
something to John when the Colonel began to speak. He said:
“Before we leave for the front, I wanted to say a few
words to all of you – to have a little ‘man to man’ so to speak. I don’t want
to talk about military drills anymore. The time for those is over. I do,
however, want to give you a better understanding of what I’ve been trying to
accomplish with all of those drills and convey something of my feelings for all
of you. 31 I haven’t had very much time to make soldiers out of you, but we’ve
done the best we could in that respect. Germany, on the other hand, has had
thirty years to prepare for this war; and they’ve been fighting it for four
years now. Nevertheless, I want you all to know that I don’t consider you to be
inferior to the average German soldier in any way! 32 We’re assembled here
today to go to the front, and to do our part beside our brother soldiers. We
may make a few mistakes along the way, but I am confident that you will make
the Germans wish that they had never left hearth and home before this is over! 33
I know that your packs are heavy. I know how hard you’ve been training. All of
this has prepared you for what’s ahead. I’m proud of all of you. You are part
of the best regiment in the best division of the best Army in the world! 34
Men, we’re about to get into this thing. Remember to keep your heads and follow
orders. Nothing will prevent a real man from performing his duty. No Good-bye,
just Good Night; and I wish you a pleasant journey.”
35 Clarence swallowed hard as the full weight of what
lay just ahead of them began to sink into his mind. “Will I ever see home
again?” he wondered. “Will I ever have a chance to get married and have a
family?” As he looked around at the men surrounding him, he knew that many of
them were asking themselves the same questions.
36 They left for the front the following morning.
There were more cattle cars, and the weather had turned considerably cooler.
37 From late September to mid-November, they occupied
the trenches in the Raon l’Etape Sector. Each company of the 251st
took their turn in the trenches – anywhere from ten to twenty days at a time.
38 During that time, the Germans were continuously
shelling their positions, and the explosions were both unsettling and
dangerous. Nevertheless, the lice, rats and mud proved to be even more daunting
than the explosions.
39 “I hate these cooties!” Private Willie Rice
exclaimed as he rubbed his back against one of the wooden posts used to
reinforce the walls of the trenches. Clarence shook his head in agreement and
stared into the darkness.
40 “This guard duty ain’t much fun neither,” said
Rice. “Yeah, I’ll be glad when this whole damn business is through!” Clarence
agreed.
41 Willie looked at his comrade with some shock and
surprise. “Alabama Bob, that’s the first time I’ve heard you use a curse word
since we’ve been here!”
42 Just then, a shell exploded near them, and a shower
of dirt rained down on them for several seconds. “Hoo-wee, that was close,”
Clarence whispered. “Closer than I like ‘em,” Willie agreed.
43 On October 16th, they were finally
relieved by French troops. From there, they covered over fifty kilometers in
two days with heavy packs on their backs. As they marched along, Clarence
thought again about home and all of the other American soldiers who were over
there with him. They came from all over the country and from many different
walks of life.
44 Of course, he had no way of knowing that another
young man from Alabama had been gassed here and had already been sent back
home. His name was Hardy King, and he was from the same Brindlee Mountain that
had been the old home place of the Hendrix family.
45 Clarence was also unaware of the presence there of
a young man from Kentucky. His name was Dick Reynolds, a man whose sister was
destined to give birth to the mother of the man who would one day tell his
story to the world. He, likewise, certainly had no idea that the little boy who
had waved hello at another Clarence and subsequently became his son was at that
moment marching around the quad at Oberlin College in Ohio as part of a reserve
unit of the same army in which he was currently serving.
46 He was also oblivious to the fact that the man who
was responsible for much of the planning behind this current offensive, Colonel
George C. Marshall, was himself a distant cousin of the Hendrix family.
Nevertheless, despite his ignorance of these subterranean connections, Clarence
did feel connected to the people of his country (and the world of which it was
a part) in a way that he never had before the war.
47 At the beginning of November, they were in
Sampigny. From there, Clarence and his comrades marched to Verdun through the
rain and darkness of night. By the evening of the 6th, they had
moved into an entrenched position at Fort Vaux.
48 The next morning, Clarence and his buddies got
their first look at the surrounding countryside. “I’ve never seen anything like
it!” John proclaimed. “That must be what hell looks like,” Clarence agreed.
49 The ground was desolate all around them. There
weren’t any trees. The hills were barren, except for the bones of German and
French soldiers that were scattered everywhere.
50 The order to move up to the front came early on the
morning of the 9th. The fighting was intense everywhere. Events were
moving very fast now.
51 On the morning of the 11th, Clarence and
his fellow soldiers went “over the top.” They left the trenches behind and
attacked the Germans with a ferocity that matched the men of the great heathen
warriors who had preceded them in battle. Then, just a few hours later, the
news came that an Armistice had been concluded, and the battlefield fell
silent.
52 John, Bob and Willie were dead. Corporal Dooley had
been severely wounded. Indeed, a great many men on both sides lay motionless or
bleeding across the front. Clarence, however, had somehow managed to survive
the carnage.
53 At first, he didn’t know what to feel. He took
turns laughing and crying. Everyone was exhausted, including the young man from
Alabama.
54 That evening, they bivouacked on the battlefield.
There were campfires everywhere, and the sound of laughter could be heard
emanating from the men surrounding them on all sides.
55 “It’s finally over. I’m going to get to go home,”
Clarence thought. “What are you smiling about, soldier?” someone asked him.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he chuckled. “Yeah,” the other soldier smiled and slapped
him affectionately across the back.
56 They had participated in one of the most important
battles of the war. Later generations would call it the Meuse-Argonne
Offensive, because much of the battle had been waged along the Meuse River and
in the Forest of Argonne. However, for most of the American soldiers who had
been a part of the fighting, the entire experience would simply be referred to
as “THE War” for the rest of their lives.
57 Over the months that followed, there were plenty of
reviews and ceremonies to keep them occupied. King Albert of Belgium and
General Pershing paid them a visit in March. By the end of April, Clarence and
his buddies had grown weary of strutting and preening for the seemingly endless
parade of dignitaries who wanted to celebrate their victory. It was time to go
home.
58 In May, they traveled by train to Le Mans. In early
June, they moved on to St. Nazaire. Clarence lost track of how many times he
was deloused, bathed, examined and inspected.
59 Then, on June 9th, the 321st
Infantry marched aboard the U.S.S.
Manchuria for the trip home. A French band played “The Marseillaise” and
“The Star-Spangled Banner” as they boarded the ship. There was a horrible storm
on the eighth day out from France, but the ship made it safely back to
Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads with its precious cargo.
60 When Clarence finally made it back to Huntsville,
he once again took up residence at the Hendrix boarding house. He gave Hayden
his letter from King George V of Great Britain, and he asked Anne to hold on to
his letter from General Pershing for him. “I’d be honored to keep it for you,”
she replied.
61 He also noticed that little Eva had turned into a
beautiful young woman in his absence. She had breasts now, and those beautiful
brown eyes! Why hadn’t he noticed them before?
62 “Boots!” she said as she pointed at his feet. He’d
forgotten that he was still wearing his army boots. The nickname stuck. He
would forever after be known to the Hendrix family as “Boots,” and he and Eva
were married at the end of the following January.
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