I recently discovered my great-grandpa's WW1 service record. Problem is I know jack shit about ww1 and can't really decipher it.
It says he was in Company A of the 9th Infantry. The problem is according to wikipedia the 9th Infantry Division was never deployed in WW1. Was there another 9th Infantry unit?
What does GSW mean? Gunshot wound I'm assuming? Anybody know what the US army was doing around Oct 3 1918 that would get him shot?
Also would be cool if you could point me to any info about the battles it lists. Wikipedia has surprisingly little about the Meuse Argonne and the St. Mihel Offensives.
>HQ image of the record because 4chan only allows 4mb:
http://sli.mg/LzQLG9
Also general WW1 thread.
>>74590359
Thats from 1919, retard.
>>74590508
Did you even read the record?
>inducted July 6th 1917
>Member AEF 7-18-18 to 8-1-19
>St. Mihel Off. Sept. 12 18 to Sept 14 18
>Meuse Argonne Off. Oct. 3 18 to Oct. 9 18
>GSW oct.-3- 18, Right shoulder.
>>74590359
Here you go my great grandfather, survived both wars. Got his officers sword in my attic, should dust it off really.
36th infantry division
>>74590972
You better dust that thing off when it's ISIS slaying time.
>>74591147
Nah it's shit for use, I recon it would break easily, just for pomp n ceremony purposes. Should I hand it in, into the next knife amnesty?
>>74591380
>>74591427
>>74591380
>Should I hand it in, into the next knife amnesty?
Yes and then promptly kill yourself.
>>74591488
>>74590359
>>/his/
>>74590972
Better keep it there or the police will come to collect.
>>74591380
>Should I hand it in, into the next knife amnesty?
The fuck is a knife amnesty?
>>74591507
Lel, nah they'd have to take it from my tasered hands.
>>74591621
And I got his air rifle, am I fucked?
>>74591638
I'm guessing it's a place where good little britcucks hand in their knives.
>>74591638
It is when the police allow good goys to hand in bladed articles without fear of being arrested. We also have gun amnesties too kek.
>>74591820
Bingo.
>>74591723
Frontpage of your paper in a few weeks:
>Local man sentenced to 30 years for possession of military-grade arms stockpile.
Says here your grandpa was dishonorably discharged for sodomy.
>>74590972
You better bin that knife, ahmed.
>>74591911
I'd laugh but you're probably not far from the truth
>>74591616
I tried but no one replied to my thread...
Yabut really, Americans really didn't fight in WW1. They just swooped in after 1917 to get XP after Germany was already dead mostly.
Canadians and Aussies were the real WW1 heroes. Sorry if this triggers you.
>>74592040
Should I also confess to another silly bong law?
>>74592160
You haven't paid for your TV license?
>>74592130
I think taking a bullet in the shoulder counts for something.
Also he participated in the Meuse Argonne Offensive.
Here's what the Chief of the German General Staff had to say about Meuse Argonne and the American contribution to the war in general:
"So I must really say that the British food blockade and the American blow in the Argonne decided the war for the allies."
I will admit that you Canadians and Aussies were very good at dying for no gain.
I've got another 14 of these if anyone wants me to keep posting them? If not I'm out.
>>74592410
Keep posting m8
>>74591558
>Kultur
Patrician bantz
>>74592383
>Meuse Argonne
>Key battle in the war
>Nothing on Wikipedia
You think that makes sense?
All fucking around aside, your grandpa was an unlucky bastard to be shot 8 days before the end of the war when most of the fighting had already stopped.
![800px-Übersicht_Ehrenkreuze[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/WOvntoT.jpg "800px-Übersicht_Ehrenkreuze[1].jpg")
Only thing from WW1 I have is a medal issued in 1934 for everyone who fought in WW1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Honour_Cross_of_the_World_War_1914/1918
I have the one in the middle form my great-grandfather or grandfather.
The whole thing is folded and looks like it belongs to a service ribbon (?) indicating there is at least another medal in our old house.
>>74592440
Ok.
>>74592308
I never returned my army cadet uniform, it goes against MOD rules apparently, or that's what I was told.
>>74592679
This is cool shit. German Empire stuff is awesome.
>>74592650
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse-Argonne_Offensive
It doesn't have nothing, just not much compared to the size and importance of the battle.
And there was a lot of fighting up to the last day of the war. Something like 5000 allies were killed on the last day November 11 1918 and that was basically a half-day as the cease fire took affect at 11am.
And yeah he was an unlucky bastard. Shot near the end of the war that was absolutely pointless for the US. We had nothing to gain from fighting the war. We should've just kept selling shit to both sides and taking more of Europe's precious shekels.
>>74592383
>Meuse-Argonne offensive
...deadliest battle in U.S. History. And you talk shit about Canadians and Aussies dying. Congrats, you're the reason people think us burgers are retarded
>>74592679
Neat
>>74593014
A victim of modern education.
>>74590359
>The problem is according to wikipedia the 9th Infantry Division was never deployed in WW1.
9th Infantry Regiment, part of the 2nd Infantry Division fought at St Mihiel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)
>>74593014
It's just banter m8. I understand the Aussie and Canadian contributions. I've seen that Mel Gibson movie. It's just a little back and forth shit talking.
Also the Roo drew first blood.
>deadliest battle in U.S. History.
Damn, I had no idea, but it seems you are right. 27,000 KIA, beats out Gettysburg. Fucking ashamed that I hadn't even heard of it till I found this record.
Last page of the magazine
Oh and this lose piece of paper was also in it.
>>74593357
You have any war stories handed down from your great grandpa?
>>74593458
Thanks for posting.
>>74590972
>>74590972
>>74593637
No problem, I have a few RAF and US Air Force manuals/guides from WW2 from my grandad, but they're a bit chunkier, so I'm to lazy to scan them in yet.
>>74593609
No, according to my mother he never talked about it. He apparently had a pretty bad experience and suffered from PTSD for the rest of his life.
My mom's earliest memory of him is hearing him wake up in the middle of the night screaming from nightmares.
The only thing I knew about his service before I found the record was that he hated the Army and was gassed in France.
>>74593350
>>74593350
Thanks for being the first person to actually help. And I'm pretty sure you are right. They were at Meuse Argonne too.
Searched it on google and the 9th Regiment historical association even has a detailed regimental history.
Here's what they have listed for October 3rd, the day he was shot:
>H-hour was 5:50am 3rd October. After five minutes of Artillery preparation, the first battalion led off (as per instruction of the french) covering about half of the regimental sector. In first battalion, C and D companies were in front, A and B in support. They encountered a heavy volume of machine gun fire but closed up on the barrage which was moving at a rate of 100 meters per 4 minutes and followed it to the objective- Medeah Farm- Pylone. The Germans (saxon troops) stayed by their guns and fought to the end. There were light machineguns in the treetops and well organized positions and machine gun emplacements.
>After the objective was reached, the First Battalion extended over to cover the whole front. The Second Battalion went to the trenches on the ridge in the rear and the Third Battalion dug in behind the crest. The Boche combed the ridge with 88's and larger, with an observatory and concrete emplacement and old trenches as special targets. Considerable artillery had been left in place. The Marines advanced on the left and reached the objective at practically the same time as First Battalion. Snipers in woods of Somme-py-Medeah Road and in front of the positions kept hard at work, enfilading all the gaps in the woods.
>>74593897
Thanks. Kek, I thought it was that way up but fugg me
only thing I have from WWI is a Prussian helmet only without the eagle on it (basically pick related)
>>74594047
>pick
>pic
>>74594047
That's pretty dope. Is it war trophy?
>>74593929
My granddad was in WWII. Used to tell cool as shit stories about his time in the Navy and how he modified depth charges with shrapnel to take out low flying Japanese planes. He was a fucking hard man for sure. I wish he didn't die so soon.
>>74594179
yup
no story behind it though and everyone who may have heard it is likely dead
>>74594204
That's pretty badass.The world is definitely losing something with all the WW2 generation dying off now.
My granddad was a B-17 navigator in Europe. He only died last year so I got to hear a lot of stories from him.
The coolest one was about how on one Bombing mission near the end of the war, their plane was damaged by flak, and they thought it was too crippled to make it back to allied lines, so they had to land at a Soviet airstrip.
Apparently they were trying to delay them from returning so they could study the plane and after a few hours my grandpa's pilot basically said fuck this and took off without Soviet permission.
>>74593987
You're welcome. It would be cool if you could find a muster roll to find out which battalion his Company A was assigned to. If it was 1st Battalion he must have went through hell that day.
>>74594204
I was talking to my old man about his dad who was an engineer in WWII in the RAF. My granddad told me he was colour blind so he couldn't be a pilot. My dad said that was shit kek. He was a based jack of all trades and master of all.
Great granddad got gassed in the trenches but was ok. I was told after the trenches he used to like catching flies, and pulled of their wings and kept them in match boxes.
>tfw your great grand uncle died assaulting the Siegfried line
>>74594971
Another place in the record it does say Comapany A was first battalion. Also makes sense logically. A,B,C and D are first. E, F, G, H are second etc.
Also found the regiments casualty report for October 3rd to October 7th:
>Between October 3rd and October 7th, the regiment suffered 115 KIA, 798 Wounded, and 23 MIA. During that same time they took 1369 prisoners including 60 officers and 1 colonel. In addition they captured 120 machine guns, 20 artillery pieces and 10 minewerfers.
That's a hell of a lot in 4 days.
Lurking. This is a good thread.
Somewhat related, despite all the bitching about the dindu on the cover of BF1, I'm glad it's getting normies interested in WWI. Something has to.
>>74595298
It really is remarkable how little it is talked about. It's arguably a more important war than ww2, yet it gets about 1/1000th of the commentary. Plus it's the 100th anniversary of the war right now.
>>74590972
Why do bongs sit sideways on the wall?
Is this part of your culture?
>>74592615
Lel, just looked up those words
>>74591638
>>74595459
It is our way of honouring humpty dumpty
>>74592679
You sure you don't have any of our crosses?
>>74594998
>I was told after the trenches he used to like catching flies, and pulled of their wings and kept them in match boxes.
>>74595415
Agreed. I remember being pissed in high school at how little information was taught. I got the impression that the instructor didn't even know much. And I doubt she did.
>>74594998
>the flies have no wings in Flanders field
>>74595823
Fucking women teachers are always terrible at teaching wars. They always want to focus on the fucking parachutes women were sewing at home rather than the actual men giving their lives on the front.
My Junior year history teacher spent like 6 minutes on WW1 and gave the usual "it was pointless trench warfare spiel."
Meanwhile she spent an entire class period on fucking Alice Paul's protest and imprisonment during WW1.
>>74596200
Yeah - all my War history was about how hard it was on the homefront.
Had nothing about tactics or anything. It was pathetic.
>>74595823
>>74596200
in my history class we pushed all the desks to the both ends of the room and tipped them on their side to simulate trench warfare
we then crumpled up individual sheets of paper to use as ammo and we threw them at the people coming out of the "trenches"
(kinda funny story my friend crumpled up like 10 sheets of paper into 1 heavy ball and threw intentionally tried to hit some crybaby girl in the other trench the whole time)
both sides basically got demolished in the first two rounds (I think you only were able to get hit three times with paper then you had to sit out) and I had managed to survive until the end with like two other people and basically the same on the other side.
Naturally I didn't want to storm the trenches at the end (so I could survive), but my teacher said I had to because that's how trench warfare worked. He was a pretty good teacher though and that's one of those days in class I'll never forget.
It was honestly the best analogy to the psychological toll war puts on soldiers.
>>74590972
Dude, clean the sword well, and oil it to prevent rust.
That thing should be a family heirloom.
Also, package that letter in acid-free folder, then bag it in a mylar bag, along with any other paperwork he left behind.
Treasure those items.
>>74596200
>>74596200
>>74596741
I've always entertained the idea of being a history teacher for the express purpose of doing into way more detail about the first half of the 20th century than I was taught, especially regarding WWI, the years following, and how different countries approached the depression.
All we get is "trench warfare was dumb, Hitler was evil, see communism can be good, and we btfo Japan"
There's so much more..
>>74597165
*Going
Fucking phone
>>74590972
How many German pigs did he slaughter??
>>74597165
>I've always entertained the idea of being a history teacher
I did too
but there's no money in it and I didn't want to get a doctorate so I became an engineer instead
>>74592679
You get rewarded for losing in Germany?
>>74596838
Hmmm I will take it out tomorrow and keep it in a better place, and thanks I will look into ways to preserve it.
>>74597376
Well, 2 years into college, time to decide for me.
Didn't mean to derail the thread. Carry on gentlemen.
>>74596522
Yeah I understand they have a lot to cover, but they find plenty of time to talk about goddamn flappers, the white man's evils, and every pet minorities' great contributions to peanut science, but never seem to have time to teach the most monumental events in history.
>>74597232
I have no idea but he went from pleb to sergeant in WWI and then he was a captain in WWII. He was in rifle a club before the war so I guess he did ok at holding his own. Will ask my old man on more war info next time we go for a beer.
>>74597232
Oh but I can tell you my granddad used to take naps in the cockpits of the planes he was fixing. Got to love your comfy times despite what's going on around now
>>74596741
>Naturally I didn't want to storm the trenches at the end (so I could survive), but my teacher said I had to because that's how trench warfare worked.
He should have "shot" you for cowardice and disobeying an order. Maybe even put together a firing squad with your peers. That would be a hell of a final lesson.
>>74590359
The battle of Blanc Mont Ridge occured on October 3rd 1918
>>74598302
Paths of Glory re-enactment.
More hands-on history would be cool. And would get the children to stop playing with their smartphones in class.
>>74597925
>>74598244
The old man could have been a killing machine and didn't tell your dad anything. The unfortunate reality of WW1/2 vets is many seem to keep it to themselves because they viewed it as something necessary.
>>74598302
>He should have "shot" you for cowardice and disobeying an order
Ultimately I did end up running out and getting killed
>>74598302
>He should have "shot" you for cowardice and disobeying an order
Spot on. Even if it's a shitty situation you don't become a special snowflake and abandon your your mates. Individualism in times of battle is more dangerous than the enemy.
>>74598498
>That full gear the teacher is wearing
He must be a cool dude
>>74598498
that's fucking badass if it's actually apart of the Italian school curriculum
>>74595415
It gets less commentary in the US because the US wasn't really involved, and nothing really changed in the US afterwards.
It's still a big deal in Europe, seeing as it destroyed a generation of young men, collapsed governments, and redrew the map.
>>74598485
I think this is the actual battle he was in. I found out from another poster that he was in 2nd Infantry Division under French command on october 3rd. According to wikipedia 2nd ID was at mont Blanc.
Also the regimental history says the unit was engaged in "champange" on that day which is where mont-blanc was.
>>74598823
>It gets less commentary in the US because the US wasn't really involved
tell that to the British
and that's when we were formally neutral
>>74598651
I think you are correct, I don't think it was something he was ever proud of, shit just had to be done
>>74598651
Oh shit you are right, just remembered my great uncle was in Greece in WWII, but that's it, guess he never wanted to share either
>>74598809
Luxemborg borders France, Belgium, and Germany dude
>>74598823
>US wasn't really involved
4 million US soldiers participated
They took 116,700 Casualties, including my great-grandpa
Yeah we didn't lose millions like you or the British, but to say we weren't involved is ridiculous.
Also here's a nice quote from Paul von Hindenburg on the American's "lack of involvement"
>So I must really say that the British food blockade and the American blow in the Argonne decided the war for the allies.
You're Welcome Pierre.
>>74599359
It was just a pic I found, not my own photo.
>>74598665
For King and country then, your blood was not spilt in vain!
>>74595459
Underfuckingrated
All I know of my family in the wars is that my Great Grandfather killed an SS guy who wanted to surrender and my Great Grandmother's sister was raped by a German and had a child. I don't know much about other sides past my grandparents so would have to ask around for information on them.
>>74591616
Oh fuck off. Like we're so full of Bernie shill threads to not have room for some OC.
OP what the other anons have said about care of the items is absolutely correct. Take care of that stuff.
If you want to make his other descendants happy and keep all of this available for the future, create an entry on Find-a-grave and upload the documents. You might also have a lot of luck on familysearch.org (Mormons). Lots of Texans out there care about this stuff. Good luck.
>>74590359
Very fucking cool OP
>>74599438
wait so people on here actually FIND pictures rather than create or take them themselves?
I thought you could be banned for copyright infringement
>>74598724
Uhh it's more about conveying the historical reality of that war in which desertions, shellshock, national morale, etc. were serious problems on both sides, and for the first time the use of executions both summary and post for cowardice was called into serious question after the war.
While summary execution for cowardice is still a legal action for officers in most modern armies (including the U.S.), it is basically never used for several reasons -- 1. All-volunteer armies with more focus on extensive training and discipline, 2. Lower troop dispersion and emphasis on fighting from cover in combat, 3. Shitloads of internal investigation from JAG officers with nothing better to do.
Post-combat executions for cowardice were no longer the rule in WW2 and became extremely rare to nonexistent in the U.S. after.
>>74596200
While I'm certain this is generally true, I had a teacher (in 5th grade!) That knew more about the civil war than anyone on this board.
I didn't even learn math at all in 5th grade, really set me back, but I had a huge folder detailing every battle, commander, and strategic consequence of the entire conflict.
I do live in Fredericksburg though
>>74591488
Not only are you obviously descended from great stock, but you've obviously not lived up to what should be the expectations.
Your parents are divorced, right?
It was that your maternal ancestor?
>>74600310
AFAIK there was only one execution for cowardice in the US military during ww2. And it came during the morale nadir that the US forces had during the battle of the bulge.
A poor fuck named Eddie Slovik got it. They chose him because he had criminal record and was basically a nobody with little surviving family. He was just an example to discourage future desertions.
>>74598823
>It gets less commentary in the US because the US wasn't really involved
My great grandfather lost his brother and his leg at Argonne, pushing the Germans out of your worthless fucking country and bringing an end to the war.
You're welcome.
>>74601317
And people wonder why we hate the french. Ungrateful fucks.
The Americans contribution to the war was such that it enabled France to go on the offensive. The British took the brunt of the German attacks in early 1918 whilst the French were still recovering from the mutinies in 1917. June 1918 is the turning point. Fresh US troops allowed France's burden of war to be shared.
>>74600402
>detailing every battle, commander, and strategic consequence of the entire conflict.
These straight-up facts, along with memorizing dates and kings and capitals, have not been the focus of history classes for decades, because if you're interested in that stuff you can study it much more efficiently on your own. History classes, in which you can discuss concepts with others led by an adult, are to understand the major social and political changes, their causes, and their consequences. There are two basic schools of thought on this: one is that great individuals and single political events effect the majority of such change; the other is that the larger evolution of the popular base drives change. Modern history curricula are designed so that subjects cover a little bit from both schools of thought, which is why the fads of the general citizenry are talked about in the 1920s as well as the political corruption and Prohibition.
>>74590359
Looks like you great grandpa was absent without leave at some point. Probably got him a fine or some days in prison.
post a bigger picture, can't hardly see that one.
>>74602003
She literally taught us the entire civil war.
I dunno man, I think she was pretty based.
She was also fucking the only male teacher in the school
>>74591380
>Should I hand it in, into the next knife amnesty?
You live in Britain so yes, that is a good idea.
>>74591638
>The fuck is a knife amnesty?
It's when you can freely hand in any knives you own without being arrested.
>>74590359
>WWI
>WWII
>Present day..
All you need to know is that germs are the cancer of europe.
/thread
>>74602888
