Greetings All,
This past Saturday, I was visiting a ceremony for PVT Fred Ashley being held in the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial. Fred was the last KIA for the US Army’s 2D Cavalry Group during WWII. An article on Fred’s long journey home may be found here Access Denied Saturday’s small ceremony involved placing a bronze rosette next to Fred’s name on the wall of missing Soldiers to indicate his remains had been identified. The small ceremony was well attended by the local populace and the town’s mayor placed the rosette at the end of the ceremony.
Since I knew I would be attending Fred’s ceremony, I would already be in France. As such, I decided to see if I could figure out where my Grandfather had been stationed at the time of WWI’s Armistice. If possible, I thought it would be fitting to go there for the Armistice’s Centenary (this past Sunday). My Grandfather C. DeWitt Dyckman had served in the Headquarter’s Company for the 102nd Regiment of Engineers, 27th Division as the company supply sergeant. A New York National Guard Division, the 27th had been placed under British command (along with the 30th Division) and fought in British Zones.
In the 27th Division’s unit history, I found a map showing the disposition of the 27th Division as it was in a rest area centered on the town of Corbie, France (having just come out of the front lines). Corbie is located 17.5 Kms due east of Amiens. The map clearly listed the 102nd Engineers as being in the town of Hamelet. I then remembered a small photo album my Grandfather had made with his wartime pictures and found several pictures of artillery damaged houses and a Church listed as being in the town of Hamelet. Obviously, Hamelet was my area of interest (see red circle below).
After a four hours’ drive and a good night’s rest, I drove from my hotel into Hamelet and found the church that my Grandfather had photographed. Yes, there have been improvements, expansions, and of course, repairs made, yet it is clearly the same building as in my Grandfather’s picture. With the bell tolling, at 1100hrs, I stepped in front of the camera for the 2018 image below. There were no speeches or bands, just a drizzle soaked Grandson humbled by his Grandfather’s service.
Best,
V/r Lance
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