Tag Archives: Spanish flu

VANCOUVER BARRACKS NATIONAL CEMETERY REVEALING HISTORY OF THE FORT AND MORE

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The post cemetery for Vancouver Barracks became established in 1857.  The Army maintained the cemetery until recently. In 2020, the cemetery became part of the National Cemetery Administration – Department of Veterans Affairs – renamed the Vancouver Barracks National Cemetery.

Graves laid out – view from the south or the top of the “heart”.

Vancover Barracks National Cemetery.

Fort Vancouver was built in 1824 to serve as a central hub of business for the Hudson Bay Company in the Oregon Country. The company had its way in the region until the late 1830’s when American settlers began to arrive.  Attempts by the company to meet this influx with colonists of their own came to naught and the Oregon Treaty of 1846 set the border far to the north at the 49th parallel.  The fort, left deep in American territory though the company continued its operations.  However, those operations became more unprofitable and difficult as more and more settlers came into the picture.

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LIVES LOST BEYOND THE MEDALS at MEUSE-ARGONNE ABMC CEMETERY

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View from the Visitor Center across the Large Pool and at the Chapel on the hill at Meuse-Argonne ABMC Cemetery.

The mass of the graves at Meuse-Argonne ABMC Cemetery belong to men who did not win medals but still did their duty. They made up the main throng of the two million strong American Expeditionary Force in France during World War One. In two previous posts, I talked about the stories of the men honored with the Medal of Honor or some honored with the second highest Distinguished Service Cross. In this post, some of the other stories found among the graves at Meuse-Argonne come to light. The stories are mostly of officers for their lives were generally a little longer and better recorded than the greater numbers of young enlisted men just starting out in life.

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AISNE-MARNE ABMC CEMETERY – AMERICA ENCOUNTERS THE GREAT WAR HEAD ON

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1919 panorama of what would become the Aisne-Marne ABMC Cemetery.

From the US 2nd Division website.

The Spring Offensives of 1918 rocked the Allies to the core.  For a moment, it appeared the Great War could actually be lost.  Enter America and the American Expeditionary Force – AEF.  General John J. Pershing had been pushing against the desires of his fellow Allies to insert American troops as they became available into the ranks of the French or British armies.  In the emergency of spring 1918, Pershing finally relented, agreeing to allow American divisions already present into the front lines as needed.  The Aisne-Marne ABMC – American Battlefield and Monuments Commission – Cemetery is a result of that decision. 

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OISE-AISNE ABMC CEMETERY – AMERICAN SPIRIT AT THE SECOND MARNE

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Walking the cemetery with former Cemetery Superintendent Jeffrey Aarnio at Oise-Aisne ABMC.

People not acquainted well with the First World War might be surprised there was more than one Battle of the Marne.  The first battle was by far the more famous, but the second proved to be as decisive, if not more, than the first.  In this campaign, American units fought for lengthy periods of time in division sized units in a truly international campaign.  The bulk of the effort was French, but there were British and Italian troops fighting alongside the Doughboys, throughout.  The American efforts in the Second Marne are remembered in the ABMC – American Battlefields and Monuments Commission – Oise-Aisne Cemetery equidistant between the town of Fère-en-Tardenois to the west and Nesles to the east – about 1 kilometer either direction.

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ST MIHIEL ABMC CEMETERY – HISTORY RELIVES A HUNDRED YEARS ON

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World War One was not the first time American soldiers died and were left on foreign soil.  The Great War did leave by far the largest number of dead Americans outside the native country, however.  To establish and maintain cemeteries outside the United States to honor the sacrifices made by so many, the American Battlefield and Monuments Commission was set up in 1923 headed by no other than General John Pershing.  There are 28 cemeteries falling under the guise of the ABMC today.  Here is the ABMC St Mihiel Cemetery filled with soldiers many falling during the first offensive campaign fought by the US Army as a cohesive unit – St Mihiel.

St Mihiel Cemetery
Taken from the postwar Michelin Guide to the Battlefields is a early photo of the cemetery at St Mihiel.
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