Remembering the Doughboys of Cascade County

To write a complete history of the part played by Cascade County men in the Great war would be a compilation of data and statistics which would cover every branch of service in all of their separate engagements, for scarcely a unit of the army, navy or marines, or a skirmish on any of the widely scattered fronts but that Cascade County men were engaged. Likewise, to truly portray such a story one needs must be gifted an immortal pen, for truly those words as fall to common usage but illy depict such a struggle. Our language is strangely lacking when it comes to expressing real, human emotion.

From an historian’s point of view it is unfortunate that Cascade County men could not have gone to the front as a unit, for then their history could be far more complete; but while the story of their exploits may be traced on printed page, the history of their deeds was written by the points of their bayonets and by their blood on many foreign fields. And as these boys of ours fought for accomplishment rather than for glory, for democracy rather than for self-exploitation, for America rather than for themselves, it is well that they served their country wherever she chose to place them.

John Berger Jr.

John Berger enlisted in the American Field Service in August, 1917. He drove trucks of ammunition from the trains up to the front lines. Berger was the first of the five Great Falls, Montana men to come home, returning about a year after he left. His health deteriorated after he suffered from shell shock and “an attack of diabetes”. Berger was sent to New York before returning to Cascade County. He was said to be one of the first 25 people treated with insulin. He was later known as the oldest living diabetic as well. He saw many German prisoners in his section and brought home a collection of war souvenirs purchased from German soldiers.

Irving Colgrove Cooper

Irving Cooper departed for service November 19, 1917. He served in France until April, 1918 when he was sent to Italy for 6 months. He returned to France after and enlisted with the US Army as an engineer. He saw heavy fighting in the Argonne Forest. He returned to the states in March, 1919 and stayed in a hospital in New Jersey for a month and half. He was treated for shell shock and influenza before he was released. The war did not end for Cooper. In 1927, he was put in a veteran’s hospital and remained there until his death 44 years later.

Henry Montgomery Hamilton

After graduating from Dartmouth University in 1917, Henry Hamilton was recruited by the American Field Service (AFS.) Hamiton’s degree in French made him a valuable recruit.

Hamilton’s Ambulance unit was attached to a French division. When the French division moved to the front, the ambulances went with it. the Germans shelled the roads heavily during the day, which required the ambulances to run at night. Wounded men had to be driven 15 miles back to an aid station.

After the American Army absorbed the AFS, Hamilton worked in Italy for the Red Cross. Hamilton later enlisted with the French Army, but by the time he had finished artillery school and got to the front again, the war was over.

Hamilton led the 1920 Great Falls Armistice Day Parade in his French uniform. When he got home, western artist Charlie Russell was on the phone, wanting to paint Hamilton in his uniform. Hamilton kindly declined; he had enough of the war.

Ira Mose Kaufman

Ira Kaufman, along with Leon Singer and John Berger, went to New York to sign up with the American Field Service, but because their parents were born in Germany, they had trouble getting visas. Kaufman went to Washington D.C. where he had an interview with the French ambassador who approved his service. Kaufman went over with the youthful idea of adventure, but the reality of war put things into perspective. “War is nothing but waste,” he said, “a waste of lives, a waste of property, and a waste of land.” He originally signed up to drive ambulances but ended up driving a supply truck. As he made his trips he felt compassion for the refugees as they fled the fighting, leaving with only what they could carry. “It broke your heart to see them,” he said. When the US Army came, Kaufman was put in charge of a Supply Depot until the war ended. Kaufman got the chance to travel to Paris, Nice, and to other European cities once the war ended.

Leon Frederick Singer

Leon Singer went across the Atlantic with Ira Kaufman and John Berger in the summer of 1917. They all arrived together, but on Singer’s second day in France, he was sent up to a unit just behind the newly established front lines. “We are camped right on the battlefield and trenches are all around us,” he wrote home, “This afternoon several of us took a walk and were in what was formerly the French first line trenches.” After the Armistice, Singer joined Kaufman to travel Italy. After Kaufman left, Singer stayed a few months longer, acting as a French-American interpreter.

At the end of 1916, the Second Montana Regiment returned from a successful campaign on the Mexican Border. They had a short rest, but tensions grew in America as Europe tore itself apart. Labor unions within the United States added to the anxiety with their constant threat of strikes. The Zimmerman Telegram pushed the U.S. over the edge in March 1917. On March 25, National Guard units were called up to federal service across the U.S., including the Second Montana Regiment. On April 6, the United Sates officially joined the war.

Over the next week, over 1,500 men reported to Fort Harrison for duty. Their main mission was to protect and guard utility facilities and other crucial points around the state. Company D was sent to Great Falls to protect the dams, utilities, and the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Now with the U.S. in the War, labor strikes could cripple or even lose the War. During the summer of 1917, two of the most famous events out of Butte caused upheaval: the fire at Speculator Mine and the lynching of Frank Little.

In July, the Guard was told to prepare for overseas service. They were combined with units from Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming to become the 82nd Infantry Brigade of the 41st Division. Montana was redesignated form the Second Montana to the 163rd Regiment. They were sent to Camp Green in North Carolina to drill with regular army troops. They transferred to Washington D.C. and then to New Jersey before boarding a ship to England. Unfortunately, this was the last time the Montana battalions were together, as the 41st Division was relegated to replacement and depot status. Around 3,000 soldiers were split up and sent to replace others in various units at the front like the 42nd and 91st Divisions. There were Guardsmen in every major battle the Americans participated. After the Armistice, many troops served in occupation posts in German territory. By March 1919, the 41st Division returned to the United States. By August 1919, all American soldiers had left Europe.

Great Falls Tribune January 28, 1918:

Great Falls Boy Writes in France

Tells of Trip on Boat and of the Landing on French Soil for the Big Fight.

Machinist Walter W. Hillstrand of Company M 163rd infantry, American Expeditionary Forces, who was formerly of The Tribune composing room and who enlisted in Company M, Second Montana, last spring, has been heard from in France, hist mother, Mrs. C. A. Hillstrand 2616 First Avenue south, having received two letters from him in one enclosure.

The first was written on board ship on the day of its arrival in port, Monday, December 24, and the second is dated January 2. Both letters were considerably mutilated by the shears of the censor, but what is left of them is reproduced as follows:

“This blooming boat is at last standing still so will take this advantage to write you a few lines. We are just a little way out of the harbor waiting for the tugs to come and pull us in. No doubt you read in the papers the morning before Christmas of our landing safely. We had a very pleasant trip (Scissored). Very few of the boys were seasick. I felt kinder dizzy for a while, but it soon passed over. I did not miss a single meal (deleted). We had our Christmas dinner yesterday, Sunday, December 23. It was a good feed, too, turkey, mashed spuds, corn, gravy, cranberry sauce, asparagus, mince and apple pie, bread, butter, and coffee. I sure got all I wanted. Ate about three pounds of turkey, two cans of corn, big stack of spuds and five pieces of honest-to-God pie. They fed us fine all the way over. (Deleted).

“We had to go to our bunks at 4 in the afternoon and stay there until 8 the next morning. There were no lights from 4 to 8, so we could not see to read or write. We’d just sing, tell stories and one thing another in the dark. We are not allowed to tell what boat we came over on, but you can make a good guess. Do not worry about me. We are just having a nice little tour of the world”

His second letter, dated January 2, reads:

“Just a few lines to let you know I am well, and everything is O.K. We are now somewhere in France. We spent Thanksgiving in New York, Christmas in England and New Years in France and expect to celebrate the Fourth of July in Berlin. It is colder than in England, but we are pretty well fixed to stand the cold. There is no snow here yet. There are men from five different countries in the Y. M. C. A.” (Balance Deleted).

Great Falls Tribune August 11, 1918:

James J. Morris

Mont Prichard, France, June 30, 1918.

Dear Folks:

By the time this letter reaches you, I suppose you will have already learned that our pal Walter Lux has passed away – a complication of Spanish Fever and Pneumonia is responsible. All of his comrades united efforts and made his last rites a beautiful affair. We gathered flowers from the whole country round about (and such flowers as only Franc can produce) until the little chapel was fairly filled. The procession was an imposing military funeral procession – the Montana Band led it. Then with his cassion carriage drawn by four black horses and riders on which was the casket was covered with the American flag and piled about and over with roses of France. Then followed the pall bearers which were Olsen, Anderson, Lambert, Fousek, Steel and myself. And then the whole of the first battalion of the old Montana. After these came the French population nearly “en masse.” A wonderful tribute to the dead American soldier. Walter’s greatest grief will probably be that she was not here in this far off country to have laid him away, but said it was wonderful. Our regret among other great ones was that Walt could not have given his life at the front. We know it should have been Walt’s desire, but it was written otherwise. Walter was a sergeant of our company, was liked by all and he was a soldier from the word “go” and the most conscientious worker I have ever known. Walter’s brother who was in Paris was telegraphed but could not get here in time for the services. Traveling permission is practically impossible at the present time in France, especially at a day’s notice. All of the rest of the boys are in the best of health and pink of condition after a little epidemic which affected almost everyone. I am on guard today walking post because we have had no one but non-coms here until today when we received a couple of hundred per company – alas, the work commences again.

With love,

JIM

The following link will take you to a compiled list of soldiers and sailors from Cascade County. The men listed lived in a Cascade County town at the time of their enlistment. Not everyone who went to war had an enlistment card, nor did they all fight in an American army - some chose to join an army overseas.

A note about Towns:

Some of the towns included in this list are currently not part of Cascade County. The towns of Geyser, Raynesford, Hughesville, and Spion Kop were separated from Cascade County into Judith Basin County in 1920.

A note about Comments:

• Deserters were not always dishonorably discharged. Many people who deserted left immediately after the war was over, assuming their duty was done. This was common during the Civil War as well.

• “Enemy Aliens” were often inducted into the military but then discharged due to their origin country. Some were citizens of neutral countries.

• The original enlistment cards had a space designated to mark if the registering person was white or “colored.” “Colored” could mean African American, Native American, or Asian American. The armed forces were segregated at this time in history.