Memorial Day - William Shone Williams

Like millions of others all over the world, the First World War  would have a lasting impact on the Williams family. This picture is of my paternal Grandfather, William Shone Williams, in North Carolina, just prior to shipping out for France. Growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, my family never talked much about my Grandfather's experience in the War. As a matter of fact, I never even met the man. He passed away about 8 years before I made my entrance into the world. So, naturally, I have been fascinated by him my entire life.

Two years ago I began looking into his wartime service to see where he went when he joined the Army and the 27th Division in the spring of 1917. The story is still missing several pieces but this is a brief account of what I have discovered so far by using photos provided to me by my favorite Aunt Gloria.


He was in the 27th Division of the NY 107th US Infantry, under the command of Major General John F. O'Ryan. This was their insignia, composed of the letters NY in an arched fashion to closely resemble the constellation Orion, a play on the major's last name. It's handle also points to the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. They became known as the "Orion Division."

The 27th trained at Camp Wadsworth in South Carolina through the winter of 1917-18. While there they published a weekly paper called "The Gas Attack" and later this name was changed to "The Gas Attack of the NY Division". The first issue was published in November of 1917 and the last was on May 4th, 1918 as they were about to transfer to Norfolk. Another issue was put out in France at Christmastime 1918, after the war was over. Another was issued right before the Division came home to a huge parade in NY in March 1919.

In Spartanburg there were two colleges and the one most favored for dances etc was the Converse College for Girls. There are quite a few photos on line of soldiers on leave in Spartanburg during that time. I keep looking for my Grandfather.

This is a photo of Major General John F. O'Ryan. He is shown standing on a snow bank at Camp Wadsworth. My Grandfather must have recognized him and took the photo. They were at Spartanburg from Nov 1917 through May 4th 1918 when they shifted to Norfolk for deployment to England.

Interesting side note; Spartanburg was the only place in South Carolina that did not welcome the Northern Divisions. (See the NY Times Article dated August 31st, 1917.) It concerns the Mayor of Spartanburg and his venomous attack upon the presence of "Yankee" troops. Apparently, there was also an African-American Division there at the same time. Captain N.B. Marshall, an African American of the NY Bar Association was called a "dirty nigger" and thrown from a street car in one instance. When Frank De Broit, an African-American private, attempted to buy a newspaper in a hotel lobby, with the permission of his Lt., a man named Europe, he was knocked to the ground by the hotel clerk. About fifty members of the NY 27th Division jumped in, hell bent on murdering the hotel clerk when they heard the command, ""Attention!" called out by Lt. Europe, who then ordered the men to cease their action and file out peacefully two by two.(He was, apparently, an early version of Martin Luther King.)

Major O'Ryan wrote a book about the whole experience, from Spartanburg to France and then coming home again in 1919. It's called "The Story of the 27th Division" and can be found online and read for free. You can even download it as a PDF file. http://www.archive.org/details/storyof27thdivis02oryauoft

Once in England they trained jointly with the British troops and appear to have crossed the Channel at Dover to France and marched down South towards Paris. On the way he would have taken the photo of the "Ponts de la Soissons" which is the Bridge at Soissons. From there they would likely have gone on South to Paris to group up before starting the final offensive of the war, referred to as the Muese-Argonne campaign and included the Second Battle of Verdun. Verdun is on the west bank of the Muese River. This is where he allegedly stole the keys to the city and a mandolin, which my step-mother, Alice, still has in her kitchen. The campaign lasted from September 1, 1918 through November 11th when the Armistice was called.

On Sept 29, 1918 the 27th Division, under command of Maj. General O'Ryan, along with the 30th Division, and the British units (under command of General Haig) jointly "cracked" the St. Quentin Tunnel Complex which ran parallel to the Hindenburg Line for a distance of about 4 miles North to South, and was used for resupply of the German forces there.

Forming a "pincher" and advancing eastward, the combined forces broke through the Hindenburg Line, which the combined French and British forces had been unable to do for 3 years. The 27th crossed through Guillemont and Quennemont Farms just West of the line. There were 227 officers and men of the 27th killed that day and another 688 wounded.

This means that they likely did not go to Paris upon arrival "in country", but rather, that after they cross trained with the British they headed to St. Quentin, which is North of both Paris and Verdun.

After the action at St. Quentin they continued on with the British 4th Army under the command of Major Rawlinson through most of October on their way to the Selle River south of the fighting at LeCateau.From there they would have moved on to the Second Battle of Verdun. He was wounded by artillery sometime during all of this, as a result of which he had a metal plate in his head for the rest of his life. He was also gassed. I am still, at this writing, trying to find out where and when he was wounded. It would appear, by the mere existence of the photographs, that he was wounded late in the war, most likely right before the Armistice in November. After Verdun, the 27th "hunkered down" through March of 1919, when they were sent home.

This is a photo of the entire 27th Division taken in March of 1919, composed of all 10,000 officers and enlisted men just prior to leaving France. My Grandfather is most likely in this photo, but it's kind of like "Where's Waldo." And war is like that, millions of men, whose names often go unrecorded in the greater annals of history, do the heavy fighting, and pay the heavy price, while the select few garner the recognition of their sacrifices.

When he returned from the "Great War", as it was referred to at the time, he went on to become a Police Officer in New York City. When he died, at the all too young age of 43 years old, leaving a wife and 5 children behind, he became a belated casualty of that war.

The Fallen

                              

Some fell on the beaches, some fell from the sky.
Some died in the trenches, never knowing why.

They died for flags, they died in rags,
in clothes so battle torn,
Some died before they fully knew
why they were even born.

Some died upon the spots they fell,
and went quickly to their graves.
Some lived to tell their tales of hell,
wondering why they had been saved.

The best, the worst, dead last or first
they all died just the same.

Some had scars which couldn't be seen,
or plates worn inside their heads.
With lungs so scarred from gasses
they could hardly draw a breath.

But all of them died heroes,
on this we all agree.
They died deaths not for them selves,
but died for you and me.

Photo by Wm. Shone Williams
Circa July 1918 in France

Wm. Shone Williams died at age 43, with a metal plate in his head and lungs scarred from mustard gas. It took him 25 years to die. A belated casualty of "the War to end all wars." He was the grandfather I never knew.

Memorial Day - A More Complete History

You may have read the truncated version of the history of Memorial Day on line yesterday. It was dismaying; to say the least. Here is the history of Memorial Day as covered by Yahoo news;

“A few years after the end of the Civil War, May 30 was established as "Decoration Day" -- a day to decorate veterans' graves with flowers. May 30 may have been the selected day because flowers would be in bloom throughout the country, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.

In 1971, Memorial Day was officially declared a national holiday and placed on the last Monday in May, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website says.

In December 2000, the president signed into law The National Moment of Remembrance Act.”

That’s it. They left out some important pieces of how the holiday became Memorial Day: traditionally; before it was turned into just another 3 day weekend. Let’s examine the history of that tradition.

They are incorrect in stating that "a few years" after the Civil War had ended people began flooding the cemeteries to honor the fallen. In the South it began with the first anniversary of the wars end and was called “Confederate Memorial Day”. It was first celebrated in 1866 on April 26th. That date was chosen by Mrs. Elizabeth Rutherford Ellis. April 26th is the anniversary of the final Confederate defeat at Bennett Place, North Carolina. It was there that General Sherman accepted the sword of Confederate General Johnston. For most of the people of the South, this is the true date on which the military hostilities ceased; not in early April with Grant and Lee at Appomattox Courthouse.

That first effort in 1866 was organized by the Ladies Memorial Association of Columbus, Georgia.  A woman named Maryann Williams (no relation to me) was the Secretary of that Association and lobbied hard for the state legislature to pass an Act marking the date as an official observance. It was quickly accomplished. Within months all of the former states of the Confederacy had followed suit. The holiday is still marked in several of the former Confederate States on April 26th, rather than late May. In Texas it is also known as Defender’s Day. In North and South Carolina the holiday was observed on May 10th until about 15 or 20 years ago when I first arrived here. That has changed drastically with the influx of us "Yankees".

By 1868 the Northern states were clamoring for their own holiday to honor their fallen. General John Logan, Commander of the Union Civil War Veterans fraternity known as the Grand Army of the Republic, began the Memorial Day holiday which was observed for so many years on the 30^th of May. The General stated that “it was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the South in perpetuating the memory of their friends who had died for the cause they thought just and right.” These eloquent words; spoken so soon after the hostilities had ended serve to mark the deep respect which the Northern and Southern soldiers had for one another. The war had been brutal, and none knew that better than the veterans of both sides. 

After World War One had ended we got Armistice Day, which marked the end of that conflict. Then there was the problem of the two part victory over Germany in May 1945 (VE Day) and then Japan (VJ Day) in August of the same year, ending World War Two. So, we now had the need for at least 5 holidays to honor our nation’s war dead; plus any days which would be necessary to mark future wars we might engage in. Something needed to change. And, so it did.

By the early 1960’s most of the country was celebrating the holiday on the 30th of May; with the exception of the 11 southern states. They were still observing the holiday between April 26^th and May 10^th. That changed in the early 1970's.

But, in reality, the full story of the current tradition of Memorial Day is simply that the playing field got too crowded for a separate Day of Remembrance for each of the wars we fought; or were likely to fight, in the future. By 1971 it was declared a 3 day holiday; more out of a desire for a 3 day holiday than to honor the fallen.

It is interesting to note that some of the Southern states have held onto their traditional Day of Remembrance, while the rest of us have opted for convenience and an extra day off.  Well, no matter what date they choose, the fallen will always be honored in the “hearts and minds” of people like me who have the freedom to write articles like this about the nuances of honoring the things which they have actually done. We are lucky to have been the benefactors of their sacrifice.

"Customers Wanted" with Popeye the Sailor (1939)

This is a very good example of the results which can be obtained by re-dititizing an old film/cartoon. If you look at some of the other versions of this same cartoon on You Tube, you will see what I mean. This is one of the original Max Fleischer releases from the late 1930's. They were later re-released, in somewhat poorer quality, by Kings Features. This version begins with the King Features logo before the start of the original cartoon. When I was a kid there was no substitute for those closing doors at the beginning of these cartoons. The ones which only had the King Features logos were actually done in the 1950's, just as the art of animation was changing, and not necessarily for the better.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend, wherever you are headed off to. Don't rush, you have an extra day, so stop and smell the roses along the way. And sometime during the weekend, take a moment to think about those who have served, and fallen, in the name of freedom. Someday, peace will come. But it seems as if it's still a long time coming. That reminds me of a song I once heard;

Community School of Davidson - Holocaust Memorial Exhibit

This article appeared here 2 years ago and gave me quite a boost with the response I had from it. It was the first time I had ever gotten more than 35 “hits” in a day. I now average about 250. I was so impressed by the exhibit, and that these kids chose to take on such a topic as the Holocaust. The fact that it was being taught in school anymore was a real shocker to me. And, as a Jewish kid from Brooklyn, New York, the last place I ever expected to run into an exhibit like this was in North Carolina. So, I went in and took the tour. This is the original article from my 2010 visit. I plan on going tomorrow and see the newer, updated version of this accurate and sensitive portrayal of one of the darkest chapters in human history. That the Community School of Davidson chooses to shed light upon it brings great hope to a world that is seemingly crumbling all about us. Only through an understanding of the past can we hope to avoid the same mistakes. Harry Truman once said, “The only thing new is the history you don’t know.” Truer words were never spoken. Here is the original post;

I never know what I am going to do when I wake up each day. Aside from emergency situations that pop up here and there, I am largely at my leisure. When I read this morning’s paper I saw that the Community School of Davidson was having a Holocaust Memorial Exhibit for the next few days. It sounded intriguing so I figured I’d check it out.

To begin with, I was kind of surprised that the Community School of Davidson would be having this event. No real reason for my surprise, I just thought of them as an elite school and accordingly, and incorrectly as it turns out, to place no real emphasis on social issues. I love it when I’m wrong. Lesson learned.

These kids spent two weeks, or more, preparing the exhibit. Upon first entering you are given a guide, a 6th grade student at the school. These kids are animated and well informed in their presentations. The diagram shows the route and nature of the exhibits. The journey begins with Propaganda and moves onto Kristalnacht, the November 1938 “Night of Glass”, considered by many to be the beginning of the Holocaust.

From there the exhibit moves on to the Warsaw Ghetto, where in October of 1940 the Jews of Warsaw were restricted to a small area of the city and basically allowed to starve. The exhibit was done by creating a small alcove into a replica of a typical ghetto apartment. Remember, these kids were working with construction paper and magic markers, and yet the effect was claustrophobic. It was very effective work.

The Railcar was a particularly useful tool for realizing the cramped conditions and sheer inhumanity of the deportations. First there is a square foot marked off in the hall outside the exhibit into which you are asked to stand with 5 other people. That’s what the Jews experienced on their way to the concentration camps. It was unnerving for 5 minutes, think of the reality of it for an average of 2 days, without food or water. No sanitary facilities; stripped of all belongings except for the clothes on your back.

The Auschwitz Camp and Anne Franks’ hidden apartment were also displayed with great effect. The use of photographs and even laptops added to the availability of the presentations. The lighting was subdued and managed to add an appropriately tangible darkness to the subject.

There was a small exhibit about Oskar Schindler and Rabbi Gerber’s Red Shoes, as well as a section of children’s art depicting replicas of the art work done by the children interred at the Terezin Concentration Camp.

This exhibit was important in many ways, but chiefly it was comforting to know that the Holocaust will not be forgotten, it cannot be ignored. And these kids prove it. Many thanks to Davidson Community School for their efforts on behalf of tolerance. And thanks to the students who took their time to help create such an insightful tour. It was a job well done.

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all my freinds and fellow Veterans. Serving this country was the most eye opening experience of my life. My service was kind of like the guy in this Norman Rockwell drawing "On Leave." But others have served under more arduous conditions and this is for you.

Thanks to all those who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom. There have been times in which the cause was not popular, and that made the job harder. And there have been times when the mission was questionable, which made the job impossible. But there have also been times when the job was to defend the liberties which we all enjoy and you shined like a beacon.

To all those who have fallen, for a cause right, or even misguided, your sacrifice is not unnoticed and your absence is always with us.

The rest of you can just go shopping.