Friday, April 16, 2010

Utah in World War I-- Part 2 -- "Goodbye Boys. They've Got Me."

During the war, there was much reporting done on events at Fort Douglas. Some of these stories:

MAY 30, 1917-- there was to be an increase in enlisted pay from $21 to $36 a month.

AUGUST 30, 1917-- The 42nd Infantry was making seven miles of trenches like on the Western Front. Soldiers will begin training in bomb and grenade throwing, sapping and mining, bayonet charges, machine gun firing, counter charges and periscope work.

I will write about sapping and periscope usage later. By then, the Western Front had ground down to trench warfare so this was a very useful thing to train troops bound for it. I wonder if any of these trenches still exist.

From 1917 to 1920, the fort was used as a prison for German soldiers (Naval), civilian internees and conscientious objectors, one of three such camps in the US.

After Raymond F. Crow was hit, his last words were "Good-bye boys. They've got me." The Germans had been shelling the camp and Crow had been getting his men from the mess hall back to a dug our for safety. reports say he was literally riddled with shrapnel from the shell.

Utah at War. --DaCoot

No comments: