45 – War and Peace

Intro

In the blog post Surprise, I introduced my great-uncle Louis E. Kenyon, who had written many letters home during his war experiences from 1917 to 1919. I had compiled those letters into a book in 2011, and had an interest in visiting the areas where Louis had been stationed.

Louis Kenyon, somewhere in France

In 2015 my wife Patti and I were in Reims, France, and had an extra day, so we visited the area where Louis had taken part in the Aisle-Marne offensive, and visited a couple of the WWI monuments in the vicinity. The war memorials in Europe dedicated to Americans who died in the two 20th century world wars are impressive; populated with the bodies of thousands of dead soldiers, they are a peacetime reminder of the tragedy of war. They seem to engender patriotism more than a reminder to fight harder for peace, commemorating battles won more than the mistakes that preceded the wars. They are not Holocaust museums, but bold and orderly exhibits of strength.

Monument at Chateau-Thierry, commemorating WWI American sacrifices, 2015

Three years later, in June 2018, we returned, along with my sister and her spouse, for a 100th anniversary trip commemorating the Armistice ending World War I, and our great-uncle Louis E. Kenyon's part in that war.  Louis had left a description of the places he had been stationed, and we tried to visit as many as we could. 

Louis E. Kenyon: travels in France and Germany

France in Wartime

Louis spent time learning French, and trained for a few more months before a first assignment in Alsace. One adventure caused him to remark on the wartime conditions in France, capturing a bit of the tragedy that war brings:

Several of us were wandering around this P.M., some one suggested that we go thru a large dense woods which we happened to be near, imagine our surprise when about half way thru, we came to the brink of what you might call a large glen, at the head of this glen was a magnificent chateau, it evidently was built during that period when French architecture was at its best. The grounds in front was terraced and in the center a beautiful fountain. Now try to imagine this large lawn, covered with a hundred varieties of rose bushes, nearly all in blossom, and a regular labyrinth of walks bordered by artistically trimmed hedges, at prominent points, were large stately trees.

Again try to imagine how this all would look, after four years of absolute neglect. The owner, a very refined lady, invited us in, and showed us about, was able to parley enough to understand that her husband and three sons were killed early in the war. Considering this once handsome woman, and her look of suppressed grief, then the ruin of that grand home, I called it tragedy personified, and that is practically France today.

Louis had served as a runner in company B of the 127th Infantry Battalion of the 32nd Division: he basically shuttled messages between command posts in this pre-wireless radio era. After training he did a couple tours in the trenches in Alsace, the earliest territory captured from the Germans; in one episode he narrowly escaped capture by an elite German squad. 

Hiking through remaining trenches overlooking the Alsatian plain

In July his battalion was redeployed and took part in the Aisle-Marne Offensive, with a series of battles; Louis was knocked out on July 31 by an artillery shell, just outside the small village of Cierges. A century after the war, the location of that large battle outside Riems is a bucolic countryside, with the small village of Cierges nestled in among numerous farms; the church in that town still exhibits damage from the battle, and shrapnel can still be found in the dirt roads leading up the distant hill from the town. Otherwise, there is no sign that this was a strategic area and site of a significant battleground.

The village of Cierges nestled into the countryside, 2018

On November 18, 1918, when armistice was declared, Louis wrote a letter home from a convalescent camp in France, where he had recovered from the battle injuries caused by that artillery shell in late July:

Dear Mother & Dad: Well, I haven’t traveled any since I wrote you last, so I wasn’t with the old company, when they were in at the finish. Would have given anything to be with them, but maybe I am just as well off.

At last this dam war is over, I suppose everyone in the States is rejoicing, you ought to see us. There is not a happier bunch of fellows in the world. Singing, yelling and parading and also wondering when will we be sent home. I suppose it will be several months before things are straightened up, and then back to the good old U.S.A.

I am in the best of health and hope to join the old outfit soon and sure will be one glad dough-boy when I do... Well I guess I’ll bring this to a finish for one can’t write much this night. We are all talking about what we are going to do when we get to the States. Will write again in a few days. Your son, Louis Kenyon Co B - 127 Inf., Amer E.F. Write soon.

Peace in Germany

Louis had written letters home almost weekly, describing his experiences in the war, and now those letters covered the first six months of the peace that followed, during which he was deployed back to his old unit and sent to Germany for the occupation.

As Louis moves on to Germany and the Army of Occupation, he gets to know the "enemy" and his letters reflect a new humanization of the Germans. In a December 30 letter, the first from Germany, he still uses epithets like "Jerry" and "Bosche" to refer to Germans, still dehumanizing them a bit:

Now we are a small portion of “Der Wact Am Rhine.” I imagine this is a bitter pill for Jerry, if so he carefully conceals his ideas, for they certainly treat us fine. For instance, three of us are billited in a house which by the way is the first house I have slept in since leaving the States, we sleep in the dining room at that, beside a large stove, which is another treat for me. Every evening, the old man insists on bringing in a lot of straw for our bed, it is all he has to give, and he says it is no more than right, as he was in the army that occupied France during the seventies, and they compelled the French to give them good beds.

This is sure one beautiful country, one might say that is just one enormous park, everything is clean and neat. The buildings and farms are laid out in such an orderly precise manner. But what greatly impressed me on my trip up here was the enormous amount of rolling stock, aeroplanes and other war material that was being delivered to France. Now that they have got the Bosche down, they are putting the boots to him good and plenty. 

A few weeks later we learn he is now billeted in Hartenfels, and continues to be a bit suspicious of the native Germans:

Will try to write you a few lines but there isnt much news. We have moved a few kilometers to this village, the natives are friendly and accommodating. I dont know if this is national, or prompted by the knowledge, that we could easily shell hell out of them, if they started something. I have a fine billet, and wonder of wonders a real bed to sleep in, that with five hours per day drill and a little guard duty occassionally, isnt such a bad life after all.

Hartenfels, Germany, 2018

And in a February 2 letter:

Absurd as it may seem, I am not wild about coming home, of course I would like to see you and all that, but life here isnt so bad. Have a bed to sleep in, my clothes are washed and ironed every week, we dont have to drill very much, so I am almost satisfied.

And by March 9 Louis is professing a preference for Germany over France:

With us life is a routine affair, so much guard duty, so much drill, nothing of intrest occurs ay more. You probably know that we are slated to come in May, well I hope so but I doubt it very much. I believe that we will stay here until the affair is finished one way or another. Well I dont care if we have got to stay over here, would much rather be in this country, than in France.

By the end of April Louis was on his way home, to a peacetime America. The year and a month in France and Germany had matured Louis; he was no fan of war and its costs, and had experienced the allies as well as the enemy both in battle and in the subsequent peace. 

At WWI war memorial outside Reims, 2018, with book of Louis' letters