In Honor of those who Served · 4:12pm Nov 11th, 2014
November 11th, 1918 marked the end of combat in the single largest conflict the world had ever seen. It was called the War to End All Wars. A complex series of alliances lead to Europe being plunged into a war that no one was truly prepared for. Modern industry and innovation, machine guns, flame throwers, barbed wire, poison gas, rapid fire artillery, aviation and tanks all combined to create a war that had no parallel in history.
In the opening of Fallout Ron Perlman famously intones 'War, war never changes'. The reasons may not change, the terrible price paid by the poor bloody infantry may not change, but the Great War changed the way we fight. Gone was the massed formation, the cavalry charge. In its place was the trench and the massed artillery barrage. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to huddle in a trench, waiting for the bugle to sound, waiting for the signal to charge across no man's land into the face of the massed might of the enemy.
I cannot fathom the war from a grand scale, so this past month I have focused on one man.
Fred Willard was a farmer's son from Ohio. He joined the army before 1916. He was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas. In March of 1916, America launched the Mexican Expedition, chasing Pancho Villa. While the expedition was largely fruitless, it was the trial by fire for Gen John J Pershing. Our man Fred served in this time as a truck driver, he likely was never near any of the limited fighting that took place. However during this time Fred visited New Mexico, Arizona and Chihuahua Mexico. After Woodrow Wilson withdrew the American forces, Fred transferred to the newly formed 37th Infantry Division of the Ohio National Guard, nicknamed the Buckeye Division. He was transferred from logistics to artillery, he would finish his service as an artillery trooper.
In 1917 American troops began to train for the war in Europe, Gen Pershing insisted that his troops be fully trained before they deployed.
Fred served with a gun battery of French 75's, a quick firing field gun that was favored by the French and American's for it's ability to support infantry. It is said that the best crews could fire almost thirty rounds a minute. I don't know what role he had on the gun crew, but it is likely he was one of the 6 men who directly crewed each gun.
I cannot determine when Fred first deployed to Europe, the first battle I know he participated in was the Battle of Chateau-Thierry. American forces launched a daring raid of Imperial German lines without a preparatory artillery barrage, instead the troops charged behind a rolling artillery barrage, they actually managed to outrun their own supply train and field artillery.
His other battle I can confirm was in was Battle of Saint Mihiel. This was one of the first American solo offensive of the war. This battle was part of the larger Hundred Days Offensive. The attack ultimately failed in it's objective to capture the fort at Metz, but did displace the German lines and was part of the effort that pushed them back to the Hindenburg line. In the end much of the success at St-Mihiel is attributed to initiative on the part of individual commanders, including Colonel (future General) George Patton.
The Ypres campaign is famous for the mass use of chemical weapons, and this is where Fred's story in the Great War ends. His battery was either hit or suffered a near miss by a barrage firing mustard gas. He inhaled a dose of the poison, enough to make him sick for the rest of his life, but not enough to kill him. Fred was one of the lucky ones.
Fred finished the war in a French hospital. He obtained a pair of 75mm shells, similar to the ones used by the guns he serviced
He commemorated the battles he fought in in these two pieces of trench art. Apologies for the poor photo, it was the best I could manage with my cell phone.
Once Fred returned home, his doctor told him he would never fully recover in Ohio. He prescribed clean, dry air. Fred moved to Arizona.
I like to imagine that Fred followed the second world war closely, while there is no family anecdotes that he ever knew George Patton, but in my imagination he would elbow his neighbors and say 'I knew him in Mexico' whenever Gen Patton was mentioned in the newsreels. Three of his sons served in the Second World War, a fourth served during Korea, his grandson enlisted before the end of the Vietnam war but never deployed before the war ended, his great-grandson served during Operation Provide Comfort (during the Bosnian/ Serbian war) and Operation Northern Watch, enforcing the no-fly zone in northern Iraq.
Perhaps some karmic debt protected his family, all of his descendants have returned from their service without any grievous injury.
Fred Willard is my great-grandfather, his choice to move to Scottsdale shaped my life, as did the values he imparted in his sons. The impact he had on his family is still being felt today. He struggled with the injuries he suffered in France until his death in the 1960's.
Fred was never a hero. He will never be remembered in the annuls of history. Much of what I have gathered here is based on the accounts of my family members who knew him, cross referenced with online sources and using the few clues in the artifacts we have of his. In another generation his name may be forgotten, and all that will remain will be the two shell casings engraved with the year 1918, one with the name of the town of St. Thierry, the other with St. Mihiel.
This is not the full extent of what I learned, but creating this is my way of remembering. There are millions of Freds out there, they serve quietly, and often, suffer just as quietly.
Lest we forget
This was, in a word, awesome.
Thank you for sharing, especially on 11-11.
- Sparks
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Thanks.
I still have a lot of research to do, for example his artillery battalion was detached from the 37th Division and assigned to the first army, but I haven't found which regiment he served with. I also think he enlisted sometime around 1912, and Mexico was the end of his initial service. This is supported by his formal unit being a national guard division.
The other fact I left out was that by 1930, he was legally deaf. It's why I believe he was part of the six men who crewed the guns rather than the 34 men who supported them (each battery was 4 guns and 160 men). Hearing loss is not a family trait, so his disability was likely environmental.
I was also tempted to put in a joke about not being related to the comedian, but i wanted to be respectful of my great -grandfather's legacy.
Ultimately, I intend to create a packet, basically the story of his service that I will store in the shells. I don't want his story to be forgotten.
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Another note: as far as I can tell, his descendants where never drafted. All of us have been volunteers.
Gorgeous.
Your blog really inspires me.
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Thank you. It was a labor of love, his story, means a lot to me.
Stormy, if you do come up with any additional information in your research, it would be great if you could post it online as I'd be interesting in hearing it. It's really amazing to think of what small choices influenced us being where we are today - or even being born! For example, perhaps it was the Battle of Ypres (which influenced where Fred moved to after the war) that led to your living where you are today.
The closest item in my own family history that I can think of is when my cousin found the steamship ticket that took my great-grandfather from the harbor in Palermo, Sicily to New York City in (IIRC) 1908. Had he caught a different boat - or decided never to use the ticket - perhaps my family history would be wildly different!
Definitely food for thought.
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Absolutely. There is a direct link from his being wounded in France, moving to Arizona and my being here. His Grandson, my dad, joined the Marine Corp in 1973. He was given a scholarship in preparation for officer candidate school, but the war ended in 1975 before he graduated. The Corp pulled his scholarship and released him from his commitment. He transferred to a school in California, where he met my mom.
It's a fragile web, each strand tying back to one man and a muddy battlefield in France. A large part of this influence is the importance of service.
The next step is nailing down his movement in France, the records are out there, I just need more information on his units. Ultimately, I'd like to find the hospital where he was treated.
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Considering some of the shenanigans pulled at Ellis Island, which line he got into could affect things in a major way. One of my friends is the descendant of immigrants who came through Ellis, the customs official transcribed his family name as Elwell. Later that year, his brother immigrated and his last name was recorded as Ellway (Irish family, tbey likely had a thick accent). Both brothers kept the names they had been given.
These kinds of artifacts are links into the past, they help us to keep history alive. For example I would be interested in researching what it was like in Sicily in 1908, or what it was like to be Sicillian in New York at that time. Even knowing what town his steamship left from can help learn obout the forces and events that shaped your families story in America.