- 33rd Infantry Division

“The Prairie Division”
Vol. 27 No. 2 June 2012
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!
33rd Infantry Division
A NEWSLETTER FOR VETERANS OF “THE GOLDEN CROSS”
ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD REGIMENTS SERVED IN WWI
Members of the 132nd Infantry Regiment (formerly 2nd and 7th Regiments, Illinois National Guard), 33rd Division, in front
line trench, taking advantage of the camouflage left by the Germans. The German line is about 1,200 yards from this point. The
Meuse separates the lines. (Forges, Meuse, France 3 October 1918) Photo courtesy National Archives.
May 18, 1917, Congress adopted
the Selective Service Act for ages
21 to 31 and in August 1918, raised
the ages to 18 to 45. Before the war
ended, 24 million men had registered;
2 million were drafted. The government raised $21 billion for the war by
selling Liberty Bonds.
Admiral William S. Sims commanded the American Fleet in European waters which laid a 230-mile line
of mines across the North Sea from
Norway to the Orkney Islands.
President Wilson appointed John
J. Pershing Commander-in-Chief of
American Expeditionary Forces, with
the first landing in France June 1917.
By November 11, 1918, there were 2.1
million American Soldiers in France.
The Americans built many docks
and 1,000 miles of railroads; they
landed 17,000 freight cars and 40,000
trucks.
Germany’s last bid for victory
started on March 21, 1918, hitting
American lines in various locations.
Two weeks later, they had gained
1,500 square miles and had inflicted
160,000 casualties.
On May 28, the Germans were
stopped as the U.S. Army took Contigny. Three days later, the 3rd Division, only 40 miles from Paris, helped
the French hold the Germans at Chateau Thierry.
At Belleau Wood, the Marines held
the Germans in six days of fighting.
The Germans failed in their last bid
on July 15, 1918 to halt the Allies and
began to fall back. About the same
time, French Marshal Foch launched
a massive drive along the same line.
By September, a 500,000 man
American force, commanded by General Pershing, began its offensive at St.
Mihiel. Three days of savage fighting
put this front under American control.
Then the Americans turned toward
Sedan, a highly fortified position. U.S.
troops fought there for 47 days.
The Meuse-Argonne Allied Offensive involved 1.2 million combatants,
with the Americans alone suffering 120,000 casualties. During this
intensive action, the Germans were
pushed back 30 miles with 28,000 of
their troops captured along with large
quantities of materiel.
Troops of the WWII 33rd Division inherited a priceless tradition of
aggressive action and group fortitude
from their World War I predecessors
who were activated at Camp Logan
in Texas in the fall of 1917 for initial
action along the Mexican border.
General of the Armies Pershing
paid a soldier’s tribute to men of
the 33rd with one simple sentence,
(continued on page 2 )
continued from page 1
capping a Division commendation:
“The 33rd Infantry Division was still
advancing when hostilities ended with
the Armistice.”
Military histories carry in sober
records the gallantry of the Illinoisans: successful campaigns at Chipilly
Ridge and the Hamel Woods, climaxed
by the gigantic Meuse-Argonne drive;
9 awards of the Medal of Honor and
194 awards of the Distinguished Service Cross; in excess of 4,000 German
prisoners taken; and finally, friendly
casualties of 887 men killed in action with 5,499 wounded during four
months of combat.
Editor’s note: We chose to dedicate
this issue of the 33rd Infantry Division
Newsletter to our 33rd comrades who so
gallantly fought and died in WWI.
The statistics in this article are staggering. My father died of injuries
received during WWI as did my wife,
Irene’s dad. We have five generations of
Endicotts who have served their country.
War is hell and we must never forget those
who gave the last full measure of devotion
in any war- their very lives for the cause
of freedom.
We know that today not much is taught
in some of our public schools about what
happened in any of the great and terrible
wars in which our men and women fought
and died for their country.
We suggest you show this issue to
your children, grandchildren and great
grandchildren.
World War I
33RD VETERAN OF WORLD WAR 1
REMEMBERED BY HIS SON
Samuel E. Casaga proudly wore the
medals that he received for his World
War 1 exploits. As a scout who served
with the 33rd Division in France, he
was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the French
Croix de Guerre, the Purple Heart,
the Victory Medal and the Army of
Occupation Medal. But, the medal
Sam wanted most eluded him until
his death.
Samuel Casaga was 94 when he
died on Easter Sunday of 1989. The
Medal of Merit he received from
President Reagan in 1988 made him
feel proud, too. However, many felt
that his valor in combat against the
Germans should have merited our
nation’s highest honor.
“I had 20 documents,” Sam said,
“from the different generals praising me for my work.” The evidence
seemed quite substantial. But that also
was the stumbling block. Those and
other documents, as well as the testimony of his comrades who survived
the war, have faded with time.
With the exception of some war
memorabilia Sam had, including a
watch he took from a German officer
to prove his capture, the witnesses to
his bravery all died long before him.
He was told that what didn’t die with
bygone veterans burned in the 1973
Date: 28 July 1914 - 11 November 1918
Clockwise from top:
Tr e n c h e s o n t h e
Western Front: a British
Mark IV tank crossing a
trench; Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible
sinking after striking a
mine at the Battle of the
Dardanelles; a Vickers
machine gun crew with
gas masks, and German
Albatros D.III biplanes
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fire at the records center in St. Louis.
Samuel Casaga was a great storyteller. His audiences loved him.
School children would send him
drawings and letters after an appearance. The person, though, who loved
this aged warrior the most was his
son, Bill Casaga, who lives in San
Bernardino, CA.
Bill says the story his father told
most often was the one when he was
on patrol in Germany and saw four
Germans in a machine gun nest. “My
father snuck up behind them and said
in German ‘get out!’ Eventually the
Germans came out, apparently thinking he was one of their commanders.
He captured them single-handedly.”
Evidence of Bill’s devotion was
the 25-foot flagpole he erected in
his yard flying the United States and
California flags. This memorial to
his late father was a tribute that Bill
feels is equivalent to any medal his
father received.
As a postcript to this story, a few
days following this article in the San
Bernardino Sun, Bill awakened one
morning to find that both flags had
been stolen. The theft did not deter
Bill Casaga. He reported recently that
the replacement flags are flying and
those words are a comfort to veterans
of any war.
Treaty of Versailles signed 28 June 1919
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye signed 10 September 1919
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine signed 27 November 1919
Treaty of Trianon signed 4 June 1920
Treaty of Sevres signed 10 August 1920
Location: Europe, Africa, Middle East, Pacific Islands, China and off the coasts of South and North America
Information courtesy of Wikipedia
Army’s Last Surviving Medal of Honor Winner From WWI Dies at 94
Thomas A. Pope Had Served With The 33rd Division
HINES, ILLINOIS - Thomas A. Pope,
94, the U.S. Army’s last surviving Medal
of Honor Recipient from WWI, passed
away June 14, 1989 at the Edward Hines
VA Hospital. He was a 23-year old corporal in Company E, 131st Infantry, 33rd
Division, when he stepped into history at
Hamel, France on July 4, 1918. It was his first day of combat when he charged
and knocked out a German machine gun nest, killing one gunner and knifing
another. Later the same day, Pope and his platoon captured 100 Germans.
For his heroism, he received the British Distinguished Conduct Medal and
the Medaille Militaire and the Croix de Guerre from France.
Pope was admitted to Hines VA facility in this west Chicago suburb on
May 31 of that year where he died in June of congestive heart failure.
“At 94, he had lived a good life,” daughter Marguerite Bugarewicz, Batavia
IL, told the newsletter. “He did what he wanted and accomplished everything
he wanted to do. In his later years, he helped a lot of veterans, even after
retiring from the VA Claims Department.”
Another of his daughters, Jacquelyn Stone, Woodland Hills, CA, recalled
for the Associated Press her father’s feeling about winning the medals: “It
wasn’t anything super special as far as he was concerned. He knew that his
buddies were going to be killed and that was what he had to do, so he did it.”
Thomas A. Pope is also survived by another daughter, Betty Jayne Schmitt
of Greenville, RI.
Pope was a life member of his VFW Post in California and active in the
American Legion, the DAV and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
(The newsletter wishes to thank Marguerite Bugarewicz, Pam Surges of
the Edward A. Hines VA Hospital and 33rd veterans, George Villielm and
Roland Pritikin who called the passing of Thomas A. Pope to our attention.)
A Glimpse at the Role of Women in World War I
In World War I, thousands of women worked in munitions factories, offices and large hangars used to build aircraft.
They knitted socks, prepared food and volunteered in several other capacities. For the sake of their families, they not
only had to “keep the home fires burning,” but took on paid employment as well. Nursing was the one and only area of
female contribution that involved being at the front and experiencing the horrors of war. More than 25,000 U.S. women
served in Europe in WWI. They helped nurse the wounded, provided food and other supplies to the military, served as
telephone operators (the “Hello Girls”), worked as journalists and entertained the troops.
American Elsie Janis performed for British and French troops starting in 1914. Women entertainers were treated
courteously and with great respect. American women were “put on a pedestal” of pure admiration. Seeing Sarah
Willmer perform, a soldier wrote, “I shall never forget as long as I live the blessed white dress she had on the night she
recited to us. We had not seen a white dress in years. There we were, with our gas masks at alert, ready to go into the
line, and there she was, talking to us just like a girl from home. It sure was a great sight, you bet.”
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The 129th Infantry Regiment
The organization of the regiment known as the 11th and 12 Regiments, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, took place 16 April 1861. The combined regiments, now comprising
the 129th, were mustered in 31 July - 1 August of 1861 and mustered out in July of
1865. The outfit was reorganized 1868-1873 as independent companies of the Illinois
State Guard. Then reorganized again in 1875 as the 3rd and 4th Infantry Regiments,
Illinois State Guard.
Again responding to the call of its country, the outfit was mustered into Federal
service 7 May 1898 at Camp Tanner, Springfield as the 3rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry
and served in Puerto Rico.
Next came the problem at the Mexican border and again it was mustered into Federal
service 29 June 1916 at San Antonio and 21 February 1917 at Fort Sheridan.
With WWI at its most intense, the unit was drafted into Federal service 5 August
1917 as the 129th Infantry and assigned to the 33rd Division 12 October 1917.
5 March 1941, all four regiments of the 33rd Division were federalized, comprised
of the 129th, 131st, 130th and 136th Infantry Regimets. Throughout its history, the
division served with distinction in WWII in the Northern Solomon Islands and Luzon
on the final push on Baguio. (courtesy of 33rd Division historian Charles Munie)
The 131st Infantry Regiment
The organization known as the First Illinois Infantry originated in Chicago
August 25, 1874 as mostly Civil War veterans. In 1898, the regiment volunteered
to fight in the Spanish-American War. June 30, 1898, they embarked on their first
overseas duty holding the line between Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” and the first
District of Columbia Volunteers. Following response to the Mexican emergency in
1916, the regiment was ordered to Camp Logan, Texas October 1, 1917 and renamed the 131st Infantry, U.S. Army, a unit of the 66th Brigade, 33rd Division.
May 9, 1918, the 131st left for the east coast where it boarded the ship Leviathin
May 20. May 30, the ship was attacked by four German subs. Two subs were destroyed, one surrendered and there is no account of the fourth.
Men of the 131st spent their first night ashore May 30, Memorial Day in Pontanexen barracks, near Brest, where Napoleon once billeted his men.
The first action took place the night of 3 July, 1918 in a surprise attack on the
Germans which was completely successful. In August, the regiment engaged in
battles in Picardy, Hamel, Albert, Varden Line and Baizeux. Then came the regiment’s historic engagement at the battle of Gressair Wood and Chipilly Ridge,
where it fought side by side with the British and Australians.
The 131st was the only American unit involved in this action and was victorious at Chipilly. The victory at Gressaire Wood was a decisive stroke in the Somme
Offensive which is considered the crucial campaign in the final stage of WWI. On
September 26, the regiment started its attack on the so-called impregnable trench
system of the Germans, facing Verdun and “Dead Man’s Hill.” It swept through the
entire length of the trenches and took Gercourt and Drillancourt unassisted.
The regiment crossed the Meuse River under heavy artillery fire while also being
bombed and strafed by enemy aircraft. Here the regiment faced artillery fire, poison
gas and hostile aircraft in theretofore unexperienced proportions.
Through WWI and WWII, over the decades, the 131st Regiment is one of which
both Illinois and the nation are extremely proud. (courtesy of 33rd Division historian Charles Munie)
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Taps
Day is done,
gone the sun
from the lake
from the hill,
from the sky.
All is well, safely rest
God is nigh.
Ray Funk SVC/122FA
Raymond F. Funk, 90, of Morton, IL,
passed away June 7, 2012. Ray and Dorothy were married August 3, 1948 and she
survives along with their daughters, Susan
and Lynn, son David, six grandchildren
and nine great-grandchildren. Our heartfelt
sympathies to Dorothy and the family.
Roman L. Wesolowski B/123
Donald Summers E/136 - 2011 - Summersville, WV
Charles Bechtel H/123 - 2012 - Tuscola, IL
Roman Wesolowski B/123 - 2012 - Romeo, MI
Raymond Funk SVC/122FA - 2012 - Morton, IL
God saw you getting weary,
He did what He thought best;
He put His arms around you
And whispered, “Come and rest.”
He opened up His Golden Gates
On that heartbreaking day,
And with His arms around you
You gently slipped away.
It broke our hearts to lose you
And you did not go alone
A part of us went with you
The day God called you home.
We offer our sincere condolences to the
families of our departed comrades. Note: If you
know of a comrade who has answered the Final
Roll Call, please let the newsletter know so we
can honor them. Thank you.
The 33rd has lost a true patriot and dear friend. Roman
passed away at home Thursday, May 10, 2012 at the age of 91.
Roman was born August 1, 1920 in Warren, MI. He and Jennie
were married June 12, 1954. Roman served in WWII with the
men of The Golden Cross, 33rd Infantry Division. He earned
a Silver Star, Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon w/2 Bronze Battle
Stars, the Philippine Liberation ribbon w/1 Bronze Battle Star
and the Purple Heart Medal.
Roman loved his country, he loved his family and he loved
the men with whom he served. He was always faithful to keep
in touch and to encourage his compatriots and brought his two
sons, Larry and David to 33rd Division Reunions. All of us
mourn his passing but are thankful for the joy and love he always had for everyone he met. We will miss him and send our
deepest condolences to the family.
Publisher’s Statement: The 33rd Infantry Division Newsletter is posted quarterly on the Internet. Go to: 33rdinfantrydivision.
org. Scroll to “newsletter.” Send mail to: 33rd Division Newsletter, 617 143rd St. NW, Marysville, WA 98271-8132,
or e-mail: [email protected]. Newsletters are posted on the Internet March, June, Sept. and Dec. Edited and
published by Bill and Irene Endicott. Phone: 425-218-2391. Copyright 2012 by the 33rd Infantry Division Newsletter.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Soldiers and the Quality of the Human Spirit
excerpted from a story in Army Magazine, November 2002
by LTG Frank Sackton, U.S. Army Ret.
March 1945 - Men from the 130th Infantry Regiment tending
to the baby boy found in the fight for Aringay WWII (Photo by combat
photographer Henry van Westrop)
At the conclusion of the battle for Aringay, the usual daily
message was received by division headquarters from the regiment in contact with the enemy: number of friendly casualties,
number of enemy dead, wounded, captured and the limits of
advance. The message ended with the sentence, “Baby doing fine.” I ignored the baby reference as an aberration in the
transmission of the sender.
In subsequent days, the operations report always carried a
brief reference to “the baby.” My curiosity aroused, I sought
more information from the local commander by radio. The
answers I received were vague and clearly evasive, so I decided
to visit the unit to see what this was all about.
The lead unit was the 130th Infantry Regiment, the origin of
the cryptic reports. The commander revealed that Company G
of the 2nd Battalion had an infant “in custody.” When I arrived,
I found an infant boy not more than four months of age, being
cared for by a squad of eight men who had found the baby in the
ruins of Aringay. Although they had searched for the parents,
all the residents of the barrio had fled.
The squad had cared for the baby for six days. The men had
been resourceful. They made a crib of an ammunition box, lined
it with a blanket and had converted their undershirts into diapers.
For food, the soldiers’ C and K rations were out of the question so they scoured the area around Aringay and captured a
goat. The staple food for the baby for almost a week had been
goat’s milk, mixed with some crushed chocolate. There was
no baby bottle, so the infant was fed with a spoon. The baby
was thriving and I learned that it seldom cried.
When I came upon the baby and the squad, I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of what they had undertaken in a
combat zone. Everybody in the company and the battalion had
showered their affection and helped in every way they could.
In an environment of death and destruction, the baby had
become a symbol and reminder of “back home.” I immediately
sought a combat photographer, requesting he take a picture of
the baby and the five members of the squad who had the duty
of caring for him that day. The result was a photograph I have
treasured for 67 years.
Now the question: what to do with the baby? Obviously,
we could not let it remain in the combat area. As the division
operations officer, I had many problems to solve but none like
this before or since. I recalled that our unit had befriended
a nunnery shortly after we landed on Luzon. The nuns were
grateful for the food, supplies and soap provided. The decision
seemed clear. We would turn the baby over to the care of the
nuns if agreeable to them.
The nuns, when informed of the situation, responded enthusiastically. We trucked the solders of the squad and the baby to
the nunnery. There was a brief ceremony as the squad leader
handed the baby to the nun in charge.
At that moment, all eight men, combat-hardened soldiers,
guardians of the baby for one week, men who had poured all
their love and care into this tiny infant, broke down and cried.
And I learned a lesson in compassion and the quality of the
human spirit.
Thanks to Ray Timmer of 123A for this moving story of compassion in war. Reproduced by permission. Frank Sackton taught at
an Arizona university and has written many articles on the division
and WWII. Most memorable is his account of the battle for Hill 40
on Morotai.
Thanks to Our Webmaster
Our friend, Steve Dixon grew up
a “military brat.” He says, “My father served in the Air Force 20 years.
My paternal grandfather served with
Company C/270th ECB of the 70th
Infantry Division during World War
II on northeast France and on into
Steve Dixon
Germany. My grandfather and grandmother divorced after the war and she married Opie
James, my step-grandfather. He served with Company I
of the 130th Infantry Regiment of the 33rd Division, so
there you have my connection.
I am 55 years old, married and a Marine Corps veteran
having served June 1975-June 1979, achieving the rank
of Sergeant and having earned two meritorius promotions, a meritorious mast and the Good Conduct Medal.
I worked as an aviation electrician on F-4J Phantom II’s
with VMFA-251. I went to Valdosta State University and
three years later, received a degree in Philosophy. Currently, I am with Newscorp at FOX 5 in Atlanta, serving
as web producer. My wife is Lisa, also a VSU graduate
and we have two daughters, Sarah and Deanna and one
son, Brian, 12.”
We are grateful to have such a pro and a really nice
-6- guy post our newsletter for us. Thanks, Steve!