"Men of the 132nd US Infantry, 33rd Division, in a front line trench looking toward the valley of the Meuse, where it is estimated 70,000 men lie buried."

US Official Photo America's War for the Humanities

Interior of Church at Vaux with troops of 317th & 319th Ambulance Co's. 305th Sanitary Train at organ singing.  Vaux Ardennes, France.

Vaux capture was led by the 23rd Infantry, joined by the 153rd and the French 39th Division.  The capture of the town of Vaux helped to wind down the battle of Chateau-Thierry.

National Archives photo 32158, courtesy of Indiana War Memorial

Evansville Courier article quoted in the Son's of Men, by Heiman Blatt

"A gang of seven Evansville boys in Pfaffendorf, Germany, wrote to the courier under the date of January, 28 as follows:

"Here on the banks of the Rhine in a little town just across River from the city of Coblenz, are seven boys from old E-Town. We enlisted at the same time, were sent to Fort Oglethorpe and later transferred to Camp Jackson, South Carolina.  Here we made a party of the First Corps Artillery Park, the first organization of its kind in the U.S. Army.  It is composed of six truck companies of 150 men each, a depot company of 305 men, (the biggest company in the Army) and ordnance company of 57 skilled mechanics, and Headquarters Company of 48 men and a medical detachment of 1910.   After a little over two months of strenuous training, we moved to Camp Merritt, New Jersey.   Here we received our first overseas equipment and on May 22 sailed on the Great Northern.  After a dandy trip, not even getting a peek at a sub, we landed in Brest, France, on decoration Day.  We hiked to the city out to the old prison camp of Napoleon Bonaparte.  In this delightful (?) camp we spent almost a week and that we were loaded on the 'quarante hommes or haute chauvaux" cars and the following day we were pulled into St. Nazaire.

"Our home here was a French rest camp but while we were resting, we were taught the art of unloading ships.  But we only had five days of this and were again ordered to move, this time on fourth class coaches.  This was a four-day ride through the most beautiful part of France.

"On July 13 we left for the Château-Thierry front and prepared for action.  Having about 300 trucks, we were ready to start handling ammunition as we found out that would be our part in the great war. On July 14 we passed to Paris and saw the city decorated up for Bastille Day.  The next day we got into La Ferte and started right into the action.   Then the great drive started on the Marne and then the big show was on.  Our trucks hauled ammunition day and night and our Depot Company opened several dumps between the heavy and light artillery.  We, the medical detachment, were stationed at different places in open infirmaries and first aid stations.  Our ammunition dumps were under shell fire at all times and Fritz tried his best to get us time after time with this Aero planes.  We passed to the city of Château Thierry while the dead were dying in the streets everywhere.  It was assigned we shall never forget. We had dumps at Bezu, St. Germain, Epid, Epaun-Bizu, Belleau Wood, Fere-en-Tardenois, and up as far as Fismes on the Vesle River.

"We came through this drive with very few casualties and considered ourselves very lucky.  On September 10 we were called out and all expected a good rest. We were loaded onto our trucks and for two days and nights, rode through the pouring rain.  The end of our trip found us in a woods near the city of Verdun with mud up to our knees.  After a few days rest and an attempt to rid ourselves of our numerous cooties, we started once more hauling ammunition.  We had a chance to see the city of Verdun and see some of the work of the Huns. On September 25, the real American drive started on the Argonne-Meuse sector. We had our ammunition dumps at the town of Germanville.  With several hundred French 75's and six-inch guns we put on one of the best barrages ever heard of. 

"Fritz came back at us with an awful gas attack but did very little damage.  Then in two days, our trucks were crawling over the roads the engineers were building over what had been 'no man's land' for four years.  We moved our dumps up through Esnes, Mallancourt, Cuisy, Sept, Serges and up along the Meuse River to Dun-Sun-Meuse.  In this drive, we had quite a few casualties and while we had our dump in the valley near Cuisy our dump was shelled day and night, they came near putting us off the map several times.  Then just as the drive was at its height, one of the fellows from E-town, John Webster, after dodging shells and bombs for a month, took the 'flu' and several days later died and is resting a little American cemetery in a quiet town behind the lines. 

"As a reward for our good work we were made part of the Army of occupation. On December 14, we crossed the Rhine and Coblenz being the first whole unit across that river. We have now passed to Coblenz and have seen about all there is to be seen.  The YMCA has taken over the Festhalle in Coblenz and has good shows in dances almost every night.   Last night we had the pleasure of seeing Miss Gould and she sure made us think of the good old USA.   The question here is, 'When do we get home?'

But all the real fighting divisions are here, including 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 26, 32, 42, 89, and 90 so you may know we will make some excitement when we do get home. Here's hoping it won't be long."

John E Sitzman, Louis R. Bohrer, Edgar J Mentzel, O. Vernon Weldon, Fred A. Heeger, E. W. Janderbeaur and A. S. Moutichka,

the Evansville "E-Town Gang.

View of a destroyed bridge over a waterway [believed to be the Marne River] at Château-Thierry, France, during World War I. Caption on back reads: A destroyed bridge at Chateau Thierry”   US Signal Corps photo