Clifton Flagler

Submitted by: Bradley W. Flagler {Grandnephew}

Clifton Flagler born around 1895. Clifton Flagler served in World War 1 with the United States Marine Corps. The enlistment was in 1917 and the service was completed in 1918.

Story of Service

Private Clifton Flagler, United States Marine Corps, 55th Company and his Gold Star mothers quest for information about the death of her son.

Clifton Flagler was the sixth son of James Enos & Irene (Salisbury) Flagler. The eighth of ten children, he was born on October 28, 1895 and grew up on his parents farm in Reidsville, Albany County New York.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps on July 18, 1917 in Albany for "the duration of war". On his entrance physical he was noted as being 69 1/2 inches in height, weighing 152 Lbs, having blue eyes with 20/20 vision, light brown hair and a ruddy complexion. At the time of his enlistment he was 21 years, 8 months, 20 days of age and his occupation was listed as that of a teamster. Being that blue stone quarrying was a significant business in Reidsville at the time and there were some connections through his mothers side of the family to this enterprise,his work likely engaged him in transporting heavy loads of stone down steep, winding roads by horse and wagon from the Heldebergs of western Albany County to the city.

He entered active duty on July 28, 1917 at the Marine Recruit Depot, Port Royal, South Carolina, whereupon he was assigned service number119434. With the core function of a Marine being that of a rifleman, his military service records show he qualified as marksman on September 22, 1917, undoubtedly with a Springfield M1903 30 caliber bolt action rifle, the standard issue at the time. As Christmas approached that year he was given the opportunity to take some time off. He was on leave from 19 to 31 December 1917 and most likely went home for the holiday. If this assumption is correct, it would be the last time his family would see him alive.

On January 8, 1918 Clifton was assigned to the 133rd Company, 1st Replacement Battalion at Marine Barracks Quantico, Virginia. During the war additional training was given to Marines at Quantico prior to overseas deployment. The training was most intense and made to approximate as nearly as practicable the real conditions they would experience in France, With special focus given to the various tactics of offensive and defensive trench warfare.

After Quantico, his overseas voyage began on February 5, 1918 at 4:30 PM when he embarked aboard the Von Steuben in Philadelphia. The vessel, actually a German ship that had been seized by the United States, set sail the following morning at 8:30 AM. Nine days later, , on February 15 at 3:00 PM, he disembarked in Brest, France. Located in the western portion of the Brittany Region on the Atlantic coast, Brest is about 375 miles west of Paris. Historically a naval seaport, it was used as the disembarking point for many of the troops coming from the United States during the war and thousands of such men passed through on their way to the front lines.

Following his arrival in France Clifton was assigned to the 55th Company, which at the time was organized under the 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 5th Marine Regiment, 2nd Division of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and located at the Bourmont Training area. The 5th regiment was among the earliest units of the AEF to deploy overseas. Having arrived in France in late June and early July of 1917, most of it’s time since then had been devoted to training and preparation for combat.

Being that he arrived in Brest as a member of the 133rd Company, 1st Replacement Battalion, Clifton was a "replacement" Marine and hadn’t been a part of the Training the 5th Regiment had underwent since arriving the prior summer. Therefore, most of his fellow Marines in the 55th Company were more experienced in France; they having been there and trained for 8 months, Clifton having received only his recruit training at Port Royal and additional training at Quantico. During the war Marine replacements received little or no training in a training area in France As most of them were moved into defensive positions or hurried straight into the fighting upon arrival.

By mid March the 5th Regiment had left the Bourmont Training Area and taken up defensive positions in the Verdun Sector. More movement followed shortly after that. Clifton’s service records show he occupied front line trenches from April 9 to April 22, 1918 in the vicinity of Chatillon (sur Marne), located in the Champagne-Ardenne area, now part of the Grand Est region.

From a broad perspective, what was developing during the Spring of 1918 was that the Germans were mounting an offensive against the allies on the Western Front; they being battle weary after nearly four long years of trench warfare and indecisive fighting. In March, with significant manpower freed up by the Russian collapse on the Eastern Front, the Germans shifted their forces and launched a series of attacks on the Western Front, pushing their way toward Paris and hoping to defeat the Allies before the American Forces could be fully deployed.

In May an offensive was launched against the French and British between Soissons and Reims, known as the Third Battle of The Aisne. In response, the 2nd Division was moved into various defensive positions near Paris. On the morning of May 27, the Germans began a bombardment of the Allied front lines at Chemin Des Dames, which was followed by a poison gas drop. Once the gas had lifted, their assault began. With their defenses spread thin, the allies were unable to stop the attack and the German army advanced through a 25 mile gap in the Allied lines. Reaching the Aisne in under six hours, the Germans Plowed through the allied lines between Reims and Soissons, pushing them back to the river Vesle As they drove unchecked to Château-Thierry On the north bank of the Marne River, just 59 miles from Paris.

On the afternoon of May 30th the Marines were at the Chaumont en Vexin rest area north of Paris, when they received orders to "stand by for Camions." At about 4 o'clock the following morning, With Captain Lester S. Wass commanding the 18th Company, Captain Charles Dunbeck the 43rd, Captain Lloyd W. Williams the 51st and Captain John Blanchfield the 55th, the 2nd Battalion, under Lt. Col. Frederick M. Wise, at about a thousand strong, boarded trucks to help intercept the Germans in their advance on Paris. Passing through Meaux along the Paris to Metz road, many refugees were seen and as the convoy continued through clouds of dust into the afternoon, more and more were to be met.

In his memoirs of World War I, U.S. Marine Lieutenant W. B. Jackson recalled of that day:

“From Meaux on we passed an unbroken line of civilians going the opposite direction. Many were pushing wheelbarrows or carts loaded with household effects; old people tottering along on canes and even crutches; Mothers carrying babies and maybe leading 2 or 3 small children; now and then a cow or goat etc. The people were exhausted and looked completely broken. This was the only time I saw refugees fleeing before an advancing enemy. It was a pitiful sight. Practically no young or middle aged men. One very old lady gave up and sat down in the road on her bag. About that time a 2 seat French staff car came down the road towards Meaux. The passenger was a French officer with a bloody bandage around his head. They reached the old lady, the car stopped, the officer got out and loaded the old lady with her bag in the seat. The officer sat down on the car hood and away they went. Gallantry was still alive. As we had passed through Meaux the balconies on the houses were filled with women and girls. They blew kisses at us and showered our trucks with flowers. But many were weeping, apparently wondering what the future held but hoping against hope that "Les Yanks" could and would handle it.”

Undoubtedly Clifton was among his comrades on one of these trucks and bore witness to this trail of misery and human suffering. After getting off the trucks and marching about 7 miles, the battalion bivouacked in and around a small deserted village and overnight enemy planes bombed the town. Victory seemed near for the Germans who had captured thousands of Allied soldiers and hundreds of guns by May 30, but by advancing so quickly, they were beset by numerous problems, including supply shortages, fatigue, lack of reserves and many casualties.

On June 1 Château-Thierry fell, at which time the German advance turned towards Vaux and Belleau Wood. That morning the 2nd battalion continued to march along dusty roads, meeting new streams of refugees, quite a number of French troops, and many walking wounded. After an all day march, the battalion bivouacked that night at Pyramid Farm, just outside Marigny en Orxois.

On June 2, the 55th Company, along with the rest of the Second Battalion received orders to proceed Through Marigny en Orxois about one and a half kilometers and take up position. An exerpt from the official record of the history of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, approved by Captain Charles Dunbeck, who commanded the 43rd Company throughout the Marines entire involvement in the war, states; "The morning of June 2nd at 10:00 A. M., the Battalion broke cover and drawing ammunition on the march, proceeded hastily through Marigny to back up the overtaxed French. By now, there were scattered shells falling and every man was looking forward with a grim kind of pleasure to an encounter with the enemy."

That day a line was established from Hill 142 to the northeast corner of the Bois de Veuilly. The 55th Company was positioned at and around Les Mares Farm, with the 51st on the right, the 43rd on the left and the 18th further to the left. That night and into the next day, the Germans pushed forward while the French continued to fall back through the line of Marines. Clifton’s service records state that By June 3 he “occupied front line trenches and took part in various engagements.” Actions of the 55th Company at Les Mares Farm over the next few days were significant, in that it was the point at which the Germans advance toward Paris was stopped, it being the closest they ever got to the city.

Several awards of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, the Silver Star and the French Croix de Guerre were bestowed upon members of the 55th for their gallentry in action during this engagement. What Clifton's role was at Les Mares Farm can only be imagined, but unquestionably he was exposed to intense enemy fire in those early days of June.

Then on June 6 the Battle of Belleau Wood commenced. The initial plan called for a coordinated assault by two battalions of Marines to capture Belleau Wood. Then Both battalions would seize Bouresches and two hills just north of the village aided by another battalion of Marines. Casualties sustained on this day were 1,087, the highest single day figure in Marine corps history up to that time. One of the losses on this day was Clifton's Company Commander, Captain John Blanchfield, who was killed in action. Throughout the month the battle ebbed and flowed as losses mounted, but the Marines repelled the continuous German assaults and slowly advanced. Further reading into the Battle of Belleau Wood brings to light the intensity of fighting that took place and the sheer destruction of human life that occurred. It is somewhere in the vicinity of Bouresches and Belleau Wood, amidst the chaos, confusion and fog of war on June 8, 1918 that Clifton Flagler was killed in action, giving his life for the cause of freedom, liberty and the defense of a nation.

Less than a year after leaving home and before even reaching the age of 23, Clifton was dead. It's not known how long he laid on the battlefield while the fighting raged on. Typically there was little time on the front lines in the midst of battle to look after the dead and sometimes they laid where they fell for days. Once time permitted, many of those killed in action were hastily and unceremoniously buried in shallow battlefield graves and the locations noted. Later, most were re-interred in temporary cemeteries after the war was over.

An October 21, 1918 report by Colonel J.W. Grissinger, Chief Surgeon, First Army Corps, AEF, France stated well the aftermath of the battlefield:

"During active open operations burial of the dead becomes a sanitary matter of the greatest importance. During the Chateau-Thierry campaign many bodies of men and animals lay on the battlefield for days after their death. During the warm weather prevailing then, they soon decomposed and formed most unsightly and unsanitary objects. The stench was terrific but the worst feature was that of fly breeding. The bodies of both men and horses soon became a mass of maggots and flies bred by millions - the surrounding country was infested with them. The result was a widespread outbreak of enteric disease that fortunately carried with it no mortality. Men were usually sick only a few days and were not seriously ill. A few however showed blood and mucus in the stools and were real dysentery. Bacteria logically, Flexner and Shiga bacilli were isolated as well as paratyphoid. It is therefore apparent that a serious outbreak of real dysentery was narrowly averted. It is not certain that flies were responsible for this outbreak but the presumptive evidence is strong."

The first word of Clifton’s death reached his family back in New York in the form of a condolence letter sent by Lieutenant Lemar Lyle of the 55th Company, dated June 27, 1918. In part, he wrote:

“You have probably been notified officially of the death of your son on the field of battle but I wish personally and in behalf of 55th Co. to offer our deepest sympathy for this loss. your son gave his life to further the first great victory of Am. Arms. He gave it in a glorious manner, advancing against the enemy beside his comrades, and died seeing the cause for which he fought victorious."

For Clifton's parents this news must have been excruciatingly painful. Previously they had been struck by tragedy, having lost a daughter at age 19, 2 sons plus a granddaughter in infancy, and now Clifton was dead in a foreign land across an ocean 6,000 miles away. With another daughter confined to a wheel chair and three other sons serving in the military during the war, these were certainly troubling times for the family.

Philosophically, it evokes the question of how great a burden is a parent to bear? A new struggle was beginning for the family, particularly for Irene who would endure over 3 years of grief, anguish and lack of information about the death of her son Before his remains would be returned home and permanently laid to rest.

Being that the family hadn’t yet officially been informed of Clifton's death, Irene sent a letter of inquiry dated August 6, 1918 to Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington DC, wherein she wrote;

"Dear Sirs;
Will you kindly write me in regards to the death of my son Clifton Flagler, 55th Company, 5th Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps as I am in receipt of a letter stating he was killed in battle during the month of June 1918. Kindly write me stating the particulars and if such is the case, and the date of his death and cause. Awaiting your reply
Yours very truly,
Mrs. James E. Flagler"

It didn't take long until the response came. The family received a letter from Washington dated August 21, 1918 stating the following;

" Madam:
In reply to your letter of August 6th, relative to your son, Private Clifton Flagler, you are informed that no official information has been received in this office to the effect that your son has been killed in action. If such information is received you will be promptly notified.
Very respectfully,
C. A. Ketcham, Special Assistant to the Major General Commandant"

In the face of such conflicting and heart wrenching information, the level of emotion and distress felt by James and Irene must have been overwhelming. The family was certainly wondering, how could it be that more than 2 months after Clifton had been killed that Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington knew nothing? Was he still alive? Was the June 27 letter from Lieutenant Lyle merely a hoax? One can only speculate about the thoughts that were racing through their minds, but for the family it was obviously clear that something was wrong.

Then a month after the August 21 letter Clifton's death was confirmed by the Marine Corps. A telegram dated September 23, 1918 sent to James E. Flagler from Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington stated:

"Deeply regret to inform you cable gram from abroad states that Private Clifton Flagler, Marine Corps was killed in action august sixth. Remains will be interred abroad until end of war. Accept my sincere sympathy in your great loss. Your son nobly gave his life in service of his country.
George Barnett, Commandant, United States Marine Corps”

The telegram informed the family Clifton had been killed in action, but the August 6 date of death was a problem because Lieutenant Lyle had already informed the family of his death in his June letter. In reality, his date of death was June 8 (6/8/18) but in the telegram the month and day were transposed to August 6 (8/6/18). At the time though, no one knew it. Ironically, the date of Irene’s letter to Washington in response to Lieutenant Lyles letter and the date of death stated in the telegram were the same; August 6, 1918.

As reports of servicemen being killed in action throughout 1918 were received by families, letters and telegrams began arriving in Washington asking when their remains would be coming home. Until the late 19th century authorities did little to identify and repatriate the war dead. There was a growing public sentiment to return them, regardless If the men had died an ocean away or that the war was still going on. What to do with the fallen became a matter of opposing views between the public and the government. Influential figures in the United States and much of the military leadership, including General Pershing, asserted that burying servicemen on the battlefield with their fallen comrades offered the greatest glory. Thousands of Americans were opposed to this logic and power. They demanded that the dead be brought home and contended that the government had an obligation to do so. A mother from Brooklyn wrote “My son sacrificed his life to America’s call, and now you must as a duty of yours bring my son back to me.” The call to bring them home would not abate.

On November 11, 1918 the Armistice was signed in a railroad car outside Compiegne. After 4 years of fighting the Great War ended in Europe. For the United States it was at a cost of 116,516 service members being killed in less than a year. Never before had the United States such a large number of war dead overseas. At the time, the allies were appalled at the idea of Americans digging up their dead and shipping them home. Stating its position that France had to initially concentrate on rebuilding, removal of bodies from the country was banned.

By far and away there were more questions than answers for the family as a result of the September 23 telegram. What were they to believe about Clifton's fate if the date of death was already in question? Obviously an explanation was required.

In response to the telegram, Irene sent letters right away to Lieutenant Lyle and the unit Chaplin asking for information. Throughout October and November the family waited for responses, but they never came. Steadfast in her pursuit for answers, Irene sent a letter dated December 7 1918 to Major Charles S. Pierce, head of the Graves Registration Bureau, AEF, France asking for information. She wrote:

"Dear Mr. Pierce:
Can you, and will you tell us the exact location of grave and all available information as to death of our dear boy Clifton Flagler, 55th Co., 2d Batt. 5th Reg. U.S. Marines, AEF. Our last letter was written forepart of May. June 27, his 2d Lieut. Lyle of 55 Co. wrote a letter of condolence. We wrote to Marine Headquarters but they knew nothing of it. Now lately they sent a notice that he was killed August 6. How could his Lieut. report it in June? We wrote at once to the Lieut. also to the Chaplain of his Company. All in vain: No word from anyone. It seems little, when we give our all to let us know where he fell and is buried. He was the youngest of four brothers all in Our Country's service, and He was all I had to depend on in my old age, "My Boy." Please let me hear from you soon as possible. And may God bless you and bring you safe home to your loved ones is the prayer of an aching Mothers heart.
Mrs. James E. Flagler"

Into 1919 Irene continued to persist in her quest for answers. Having not received a response to her December 7 letter to Major Pierce, she sent her next letter to Graves Registration Services in France, dated January 31,1919 as follows:

"Dear Sirs:
Can you kindly give me the place of Burial identification Number of Private Clifton Flagler, 55th Co., 5th Reg., U.S. Marines. Killed in action either in the month of June or August, I don't know which month as the records gives it as Aug. 6th, but I received a letter saying he was killed in June.
Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain Yours very truly.
Mrs. J. E. Flagler"

Still without responses and no answers, Irene relentlessly persevered. Her next letter was dated February 21, 1919 and was addressed to “Effects, Quartermaster, Hoboken New Jersey.” She wrote:

"Dear Sir;
Will you kindly inform me as to the personal effects of my Son Clifton Flagler of the 5th Reg. 55th Co. U. S. Marines Corpse, killed in action August 6th 1918 somewhere in France as I am his mother and heir to his effects. awaiting your reply I remain yours respectfully.
Mrs. James E. Flagler"

Despite the family not receiving responses and getting answers, Irene’s letters were having some effect in France. A February 12, 1919 telegram from HQ 2nd Division to Graves Registration Service Tours, France stated:

"Number four naught one naught RE Yours Feb'y eighth fifth Marines Advise no BURIAL INFORMATION REGARDING PRIVATE CLIFTON FLAGLER 119434 FIVE FIFTH COMPANY FIFTH MARINES BOX OAK JUNE EIGHT Lejeune."

The telegram offers some insight as to why the family wasn't receiving responses, as it becomes rather evident the records regarding Clifton’s death simply couldn't be located. Throughout the rest of February, March and into early April, subsequent telegrams between GRS Tours and GRS Soissons show the case was being looked into, but to no avail.

Finally a reply to Irene’s December 7, 1918 letter addressed to Major Charles Pierce of the Graves Registration Service in France was received. The response, dated April 14, 1919 stated:

"1. In reply to your letter of inquiry, I am very sorry to have to inform you that my field force has not as yet succeeded in obtaining any definite burial information regarding this soldier. You may rest assured that every possible effort will be made to locate the grave, and, if necessary, a special search will be made of the area where he died and is, no doubt, buried.
2. Careful note is being made of your name and address, and immediately the burial information is received, you will be informed.
3. The records at these headquarters show Pvt Flagler to have been killed in action on August 6th, 1918, and his identification number to be 119434.
CHARLES C. PIERCE, Lieut.-Colonel, Q.M.C., U.S.A.
MAURICE B. DIX, Captain, American Red Cross Representative assigned to Graves Registration Service."

How frustrating and painful the lack of information in the response must have been. In short, Irene had been sending letters for eight months and the result was nothing. Three quarters of a year after being informed Clifton had been killed, the family was no further ahead in trying to find out when he died, and even worse, no one could tell them where his remains were located. Why the information wasn’t available at the time isn’t clear, but it may well have been a case of the "system" simply being overburdened. The Graves Registration Service (GRS) was faced with a monumental task in performing its mission of accounting for the dead. Likewise, it's not known if a special search of the area where he died was ever actually conducted. Ultimately the wrong date of death became embedded in Clifton's records and it wasn’t until 1927 that the Marine Corps confirmed a correction had been made.

To lose a son in battle and still know nothing about his demise three quarters of a year later is an agonizing hardship indeed. Thankfully though, her sons Roy and Howard had returned home by mid March 1919 from their service in the Army and Coast Guard, while her son Homer continued on active duty in the Army after the war ended. The lack of information from the government was undoubtedly an emotional strain on the family. Irene’s pain only worsened, when on June 30, 1919 her husband James died at age 67. Now she would have to bury her husband and continue the search for answers to her sons fate as a 58 year old widow. Correspondence between Irene and military officials over the summer and into the fall of 1919 is lacking. Understandably so, as the impact of her husbands death brought about the sorrow of yet another loss and created a whole new set of matters to attend to. By December she had left the farm in Reidsville and moved to Berne.

Documents in Clifton’s service records show that sometime in 1918 his remains were exhumed from an isolated grave on a Hill east from Bois-Belleau and reburied into "grave 72, Myers, Plot 66, Cemetery 580, near Bouresches, Aisne." The month and day are not listed. Exhuming battlefield graves was the initial effort by the Army’s Graves Registration Service (GRS) to consolidate the dead and begin cleaning up the French country side, a process that would take several years.

A Report of Disinterment And Reburial (GRS Form 16) prepared by Provost Unit B, GRS stated Clifton’s remains were disinterred on June 3, 1919 from grave 72, Plot 66 Myers, near Bouresches, Aisn, coordinates 261.55N - 176.65E, and reburied in the National Cemetery at Belleau Wood on the same day into grave 114, plot 3, Section A, coordinates 262.60N - 176.04E.

Throughout 1919 voices of the public demanding the dead be brought home continued to be heard in Washington and nearly a year after the armistice was signed a compromise was reached. Despite the French ban on removal of bodies from the country being in place, in October the War Department announced it would contact each fallen service members next of kin and give them the choice of having remains brought home or buried in newly created American military cemeteries in Europe. In light of the announcement, Irene received a letter from Marine Headquarters in Washington Dated December 8, 1919 to this effect. They wrote:

"Sir Madam:
'the War Department has completed arrangements for bringing back to the United States the bodies of deceased soldiers and marines buried in France (outside the zone of the armies", and also those buried in the British Isles, Italy, Germany and Russia. It is requested that you notify this office at once on attached form (in duplicate) of your wishes as to the disposition of the remains of your son Private Clifton Flagler, Marine Corps, in Order that we may so inform the War Department.
It is expected that bodies buried Outside the zone of the Armies will be brought to the United States during the coming Winter months, but as yet no arrangements have been made for Removal of bodies buried in the zone of the armies, the French Government having disapproved the project because of sanitary and economic reasons. Their objection will delay removal of course, but no suggestion of a permanent prohibition has been made, and the American Government is still carrying on diplomatic negotiations with the French with the view to early removal of our dead buried in the zone of the armies.
Very respectfully
C A. Ketcham
Special Assistant to the Major General Commandant"

In response, Irene conveyed her wishes to have Clifton's remains returned to the United States and not interred in a National Cemetery.

Without a doubt, the people and government of France were grateful for the United States assistance in turning the tide of the war and bringing it to a close. To that end, Irene received a letter from the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Major General George Barnett, dated April 20, 1920 informing the family the French government had bestowed a meritorious citation on the Marine units that participated in the battle of Belleau Wood. The text of that letter reads:

“There are transmitted herewith Copies of the Citations received by the organization to which Clifton Flagler, U. S. Marine Corps was attached during service with the Second Division, American Expeditionary Forces in France. In awarding these Citations the French Government gave only one copy to each of the units awarded. The original of all Citations received by the Marines in France are framed and are on exhibition in the Office of the Major General Commandant, Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. In order that the next of kin of the men who served in the units so honored by the French government may have a record of the wonderful work done by the units to which their deceased relatives were attached, these exact copies have been made and are transmitted with the appreciation of the undersigned for the valorous service rendered by Clifton Flagler, , and with regret that in serving his country so well he was obliged to make the supreme sacrifice. The excellent work accomplished by the men of the Second Division has added much to the prestige of the Marine Corps.
George Barnett”

The translated version of the citation from the French government reads:

“The 4th AMERICAN BRIGADE under command of Brigadier General James G. Harbord, composed of: The 5th Regt. of Marines under command of Colonel Wendell C. Nevin; The 6th Regt. of Marines under command of Colonel Albertus W. Catlin; The 6th Machine Gun Battalion under command of Major Edward W. Cole; Was thrown in full battle on a front violently attacked by the enemy. Immediately asserted itself as a unit of first order. On its very entry on the fighting line, broke down, together with the French troops, a violent attack by the enemy on an important part of the position, and began, on its own account, a series of offensive operations. During the course of these operations, thanks to the brilliant courage, the vigor, spirit and tenacity of its men who overcame all hardships and losses; thanks to the activity and energy of its officers; and thanks also to the personal action of its chief, General J. Harbord, the 4th Brigade found its efforts crowned with success. In well coordinated action its 2 regiments and machine gun battalion realized, after 12 days of incessant fighting (from the 2nd to the 13th of June 1918) on a very difficult terrain, an advance varying from 1200 to 2000 meters, on a front of 4 kilometers, capturing a large amount of material, taking more than 500 prisoners, inflicting on the enemy considerable losses, and capturing 2 objectives of first importance; the village of Bouresches and Belleau Wood.
(Order No. 10805 "ID")
At Great General Headquarters, October 22, 1918.
The Commanding General-in-Chief
(Signed) Petain)”

Interestingly, the letter from Major General Barnett wherein the citation was sent to the family was dated April 20, 1920, a year and a half after the date of the citation itself (October 22, 1918).

Continuing through most of 1920 it doesn't appear there was much communication between Irene and Marine Headquarters in Washington. Reconstruction was under way in France and it was simply a matter of waiting for diplomacy to run its course before remains of the fallen would be coming home. Meanwhile, the military services were still busy with updating records and conferring honors to those who had served or their next of kin. Irene received a letter from Washington dated December 9, 1920 informing her of awards and decorations bestowed on Clifton. The text of that letter reads:

“My Dear Mrs. Flagler:
I am directed by the Major General Commandant to forward to you herewith Victory Medal with ribbon, together with battle clasps, stars, etc., as indicated below, to which you are entitled as next of kin of the late Private Clifton Flagler, 55th Company, 5th Regiment U.S. Marines:
1 Aisne Defense Battle Clasp
1 Defensive Sector Clasp
2 Bronze Stars
It is hoped that this insignia, which is awarded you as the mother and next of kin of the late Private Flagler, reaches you in good order, and I know that you will ever cherish it's possession in precious memory of your dear son, who made the supreme sacrifice in the cause of LIBERTY.
Very sincerely,
F.A. Barker,
Major, Assistant Adjutant and Inspector”

In addition, several Certificates from the U.S. and French governments honoring Clifton for his service and to his memory were also received by the family bearing signatures of President Wilson, General Pershing, General Barnett, French President Raymond Poincaré and General Petain - Commander of all French Forces. They were rolled up, placed in tubes, and mailed to the family.

In late 1920 France lifted its ban on removal of bodies from the country, and with this, coordination efforts to return remains began. Over the next several months the logistics of this immense undertaking took shape and the United States would spend the next two years recovering its dead. On February 25, 1921 the Major Commandant of the Marine Corps provided disposition instructions for Clifton’s remains to the Chief, Cemeterial Division, Office of Quartermaster General of The Army, that they be returned to the United States.

On July 10, 1921 General Pershing was on the docks at Hoboken New Jersey to greet the first transports bringing home the fallen . Caskets with the remains of 7,264 men were lined up on the pier for a quarter mile. Even the General seemed to come to terms with the idea of returning war dead to their homeland as he spoke at a ceremony honoring them. Standing straight and tall, he delivered an emotional tribute, speaking of men who deserved great glory because they had fought for freedom. He said “They gave all and they have left us their example. It remains for us with fitting ceremonies, tenderly with our flowers and our tears, to lay them to rest on the American soil for which they died.”

Clifton’s remains were not among the first group to be returned to the United States. Rather, it was about the time when General Pershing spoke in Hoboken that his long homeward journey began. A “Report Of Disinterment, Preparation, And Shipment Of Body” prepared by the GRS states that on July 15, 1921 Clifton’s remains were removed from "Amer. Cty. 1764, Belleau Aisne, Gr. 114-A-3" and placed in a casket by Group McGourty Unit ec6 that day. The report described the site as "5ft. earthen grave, Marine uniform, pine box" and the body as "Decomposed, unrecognizable" with the lower jaw missing and left arm shattered below the shoulder,. Identification tags were present on the body and grave marker.

It doesn’t appear an official cause of death was ever provided to the family, but based on this report One can perhaps visualize just how violent and horrific it was. The casket was shipped to "railhead" 2 on July 16. On July 22 it departed via train to Antwerp Belgium and arrived there the next day. Subsequently it was loaded aboard the USS Wheaton and sailed for the United States.

An August 15, 1921 War Department Telegram sent to Irene by Graves Registration Service in Hoboken informed her his remains would be arriving there about August 25th and shipped to Voorheesville, New York. In the message she was asked to confirm the shipping instructions via return telegram at government expense. It appears she did so because a Telegram sent to Irene two days later by Graves Registration Service confirmed arrangements, stating "Ship body of Pvt Clifton flagler to Peter Appleby undertaker Voorheesville NY." On September 9 his remains were shipped by train from Hoboken to Voorheesville with Army Private Krimski serving as escort. Peter Applebee was authorized to receive the body and signed for the casket on September 10, 1921.

Shortly thereafter, Clifton’s remains were interred in their final resting place in the Reidsville Cemetery. More than four years after leaving home and losing his life in the name of liberty and service to the nation, his journey was over and closure was brought to a weary, grieving mother.

Post Script:

It doesn't appear Irene ever received a clear answer to her numerous inquiries about the date of Clifton's death. Years later a January 8, 1927 investigators report acknowledged the error, stating June 8, 1918 was the date of death and that the records were corrected. Today, the inscription on Clifton’s gravestone bears no date of death, only the year of 1918.