Herbert James

Submitted by: Harry L. James {Great Nephew}

Herbert James born around 1895. Herbert James served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The enlistment was in 1917 and the service was completed in 1919.

Story of Service

Herbert James was born on January 13th, 1895 in Bethlehem, Kentucky. In September of 1917 he was drafted into the Army at Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky.

From September of 1917 to July of 1918 he passed through a series of training units starting at Camp Taylor then Camp Shelby in Mississippi as part of a Regular Army round out of a National Guard Division. At Camp Shelby Herbert along with 1000 other soldiers were then formed into Replacement Companies and transferred to Camp Merritt, New Jersey where they departed for France on the 11th of June, 1917 on the SS Corsican.

The Corsican docked in Liverpool, England on the 24th of June. From there Herbert and his fellow soldiers were sent on a troop train to Southhampton and finally to combat training at the Depot Division, St. Aignan France. Once he completed his final training he was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment, 5th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division on the 26th of July, 1918.

His introduction to the war was as part of the Corps Reserve for the US IV Corps in the battle to reduce the St. Mihiel Salient. From August 29th to September 17th, 1918 his unit marched over 100 miles but did not directly participate in any combat operations. With the end of the St. Mihiel operation his Division was made part of the concentration of forces for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

The 3rd Division began the offensive on the 26th of September, 1918 as part of the US III Corps reserve, but by the third day of the battle (September 29th), they were re-assigned to the US V Corps and told to move up and relieve the 79th Infantry Division just north of the town of Nantillois.

From the 30th of September until the 4th of October, 1918 Herbert and his fellow soldiers sat in open shell holes waiting to move forward to the attack. During that time the unit history noted, “….our position was not enviable, for the ground on which it was located was absolutely open…and the Germans could observe our slightest movement and harassed us considerably with machine gun fire and artillery fire.”

On the 4th of October 1918 at 5:30am, they started the brutal process of reducing the fortified machine gun positions spread across the wooded heights south of the town of Cunel. By the 7th of October what was left of Herbert’s Regiment was relieved after what was described as “..three heroic attempts…in the face of murderous machine gun fire …” to capture the Bois de Cunel. They were moved back to the town of Montfaucon and were prepared for the next phase of the fight.

On the 12th of October the 3rd Division was re-assigned to the US III Corps and moved forward to the front lines on the northern edge of the Bois de Foret, east of Cunel. On the afternoon of the 13th of October the Germans attacked with a determined artillery and infantry assault in an effort to break the newly arrived units.

Herbert was wounded multiple times during the attack. It took over two days for him to be moved from the front line medical stations to Mobile Hospital # 5 at Blercourt. From there, he was transferred to Paris and Base Hospital # 41 located at St. Denis. He remained there until the 16th of December, 1918 when he was finally transferred to the Hospital Camp at Kerhuon outside of Brest, France to await transport home.

Herbert James boarded the SS France and headed home on Christmas Eve, 1918. He was discharged at Camp Zachary Taylor on the 21st of January 1919.

On October 23rd, 1965 his war finally came to an end and he was buried in the cemetery at Pleasureville, Kentucky near his home.

I believe that the poem entitled November Eleventh, by Private Hilmar R. Baukhage, AEF , From Yanks AEF Verse, Published 1919, best expresses how his spirit felt on that day.

NOVEMBER ELEVENTH

We stood up and we didn't say a word,
It felt just like when you have dropped your pack
After a hike, and straightened out your back
And seem just twice as light as any bird.

We stood up straight and, God! but it was good!
When you have crouched like that for months, to stand
Straight up and look right out toward No-Man's- Land
And feel the way you never thought you could.

We saw the trenches on the other side
And Jerry, too, not making any fuss,
But prob'ly stupid-happy, just like us,
Nobody shot and no one tried to hide.

If you had listened then I guess you'd heard
A sort of sigh from everybody there,
But all we did was stand and stare and stare,
Just stare and stand and never say a word.

HlLMAR R. BAUKHAGE,
Pvt., A. E. F.