Bodies of War: World War I and the Politics of Commemoration in America, 1919-1933

9. Republican Motherhood Thrives

85 9 republican Motherhood Thrives on a rainy November in 1917 three Americans serving with the U.s. 1st Division were brutally murdered in their dugouts during a German raid within a supposedly quiet sector east of verdun. That night, Private Thomas enright, Private Merle Hay, and Corporal James Gresham became the first U.s. Army combat fatalities in the war, but they are now all but forgotten at home and most certainly in France.1 At that time, the event was honored by both nations in a small French cemetery near Bathelémont, close to where the men died. The French military arranged a dignified burial for the soldiers with an honor guard ceremony presided over by French general Paul Bordeaux. Looking back on that day, Pershing recalled “the common sacrifices our two peoples were to make in the same great cause.”2 General Bordeaux thanked the three who gave their lives and vowed that the local citizens would erect a monument over their graves.3 His promise was kept in 1918. Within days of the soldiers’ funeral, letters began arriving at the War Department from the men’s families asking when their sons’ bodies would be returned. in Pittsburgh, Private enright’s relatives were particularly anxious to retrieve his body and managed to persuade their congressman , Guy Campbell, a former spanish-American War veteran, to write secretary Baker on behalf of the town. Campbell was asked to endorse a resolution drawn up by county commissioners for the return of enright’s body to Pittsburgh so that his people could honor his memory. The congressman penned his request accordingly: “While i appreciate that as the casualties increase, it will be impossible to forward the remains of stricken soldiers . . . it would be a fitting and just tribute to the first of the fallen to return their bodies to their friends, for burial at home.”4 Before these first American casualties occurred, Quartermaster General Henry G. sharpe had written to the secretary of war, recommending that a definite burial policy be adopted and made known to the public; nevertheless, it seems the government was caught unprepared. General 86 Republican Motherhood Thrives sharpe was forced to explain to Pittsburgh officials that it would be “impracticable to comply” with their request.5 some people in the town were pleased with the War Department’s response , chiefly parents of other soldiers, who wasted no time voicing their disapproval of the preferential treatment being considered. one woman, identifying herself simply as “a very patriotic Pittsburgh Mother,” thought it unjust that “Young Mr. enright” should receive “special priviledge [sic] when he only did his duty as was expected of him.”6 This mother, whose own son was also serving in France, claimed that she would not think for a minute of asking the government to bring him home. in a rather disdainful tone, she recalled the attention afforded “young enright’s people” and relayed to secretary Baker in detail the town’s commemorative plans. Apparently, arrangements were already in progress for a grand military funeral, and petitions had been drawn up to have a local street named in enright’s honor. While implying that others would not receive the same treatment, this patriotic mother reminded the secretary that if he agreed to return the body, his office would be besieged with more requests, and families “would be justified in making them.”7 Funeral of Thomas enright, Merle D. Hay and James B. Gresham, the first three American soldiers from the 16th infantry regiment, 1st Division, to be killed in action near Bathelémont-lès-Bauzemont, Moselle region, France, November 1917. (sC Photo 111, No. 67133, rG 92, NA) Republican Motherhood Thrives 87 Years of post–Civil War ceremonies, speeches, parades, and grave decorations influenced collective efforts to mark the loss of loved ones in battle. By the early twentieth century, a soldier’s death had shifted from being an occasion of mournful private seclusion to one of communal respect within a triumphal context. Pittsburgh’s anonymous mother recalled such an occasion when the body of the first local boy was killed at the Mexican border during the Punitive expedition of 1916–1917. “When . . . young DeLowry was brought home,” she explained, “st. Mary’s church . . . made a gala day out of the funeral.” on that occasion, local dignitaries attended a parade for the benefit of cameras that were filming the event, and then later...