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Bayonets, Blood, and Beyond: A Single Day of Combat for a Marine Corps Rifle Company
- The Kent State University Press
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83 It is a quiet place today, with the only sounds heard made by caretakers in the adjoining Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and the occasional chirping of birds. In the center of the old hunting preserve that the French government in 1918 had renamed Bois de la Brigade de Marine stands a memorial to the U.S. Marine Corps. A polished black granite monument bearing a muscular, shirtless marine charging with his rifle and bayonet toward an unseen foe serves as the centerpiece of the memorial, along with flagpoles that bear the colors of the United States and France. Surrounding the monument are captured pieces of German ordnance, as well as a plaque that lists the names of the marines and a U.S. Navy dentist who were awarded the Medal of Honor for their exploits during the battle to conquer Belleau Wood. Although the events of June 1918 that occurred in that small, overgrown stand of trees and surrounding fields remain long buried, their memories still have meaning for Americans today. After nearly nine decades, the battle of Belleau Wood remains a central icon to the U.S. Marine Corps and represents the finest traditions of one of the world’s elite combat forces. Although few events of the First World War are imprinted on the American public today, there is a chance that when questioned about the conflict, the average American just might have heard about the battle of Belleau Wood—even if it is only because of Garth Brooks’s historically inaccurate song that bears its name.1 Bayonets, Blood, and Beyond A Single Day of Combat for a Marine Corps Rifle Company Michael Miller 84 / unknown soldiers Most of the reality of the battle has become overshadowed by myth and the accumulated lore of the intervening years. For example, few people understand the place of Belleau Wood within the Aisne campaign, much less the fact the U.S. Army Brigade of the 2nd Division was vitally involved during the month of combat, as were other Army commands, such as the 7th Infantry Regiment and supporting artillery and engineering units. Such facts have become something less than footnotes to most accounts of the battle, despite attempts by recent historians to shine the light of history on a more complete picture. Even histories of Marine Corps units that fought the battle seem to gloss over the actual events as they occurred on the ground. The fighting often is simplified to a series of bayonet charges across open wheat fields into relentless German machine-gun fire, followed by days of hand-to-hand fighting within the confines of the wood. The confusion of the fighting, the lack of detailed records, and the nature of the terrain all provide a cloud of mystery that historians have yet to adequately penetrate. Yet, there still exists a certain aura about the battle and the battlefield itself. Americans in increasing numbers visit France every year to simply walk the fields and wood paths of the Bois de la Brigade de Marine and honor those men buried in the nearby Aisne-Marne Cemetery. Modern-day marines make pilgrimages to the battlefield to gain inspiration from the ground and drink from the Bulldog Fountain in the village of Belleau. Legend states that should a marine drink from this fountain, he will add twenty years to his life. Lore aside, however, marines walk the ground to tread in the footsteps of the legendary marines of the past in order to feel the connection from 1918 to today. After a visit in 2001, First Lieutenant Charles S. Cisneros stated, “I think it is important that every marine, once in his career, makes the pilgrimage to Belleau Wood, the Mecca of the Corps.” After the same visit, First Sergeant Gilbert Contreras said, “It gave us all a new appreciation of what we do with our own life and how we live it, that being American marines.”2 What those marines of 1918 accomplished still resonates with Americans today, and the legends that have grown with the battle signify the importance of that connection with the past, much as happens when Americans visit Gettysburg to walk the fields where Pickett’s Charge occurred. However, when one strips away the myth to look at the reality, the ties become even stronger. As in most human events, the essential truth is far more poignant than the accompanying lore. The memories of those who were a part of such a soul-wrenching...