The Okie Legacy

Vol. 2, Issue 51 -- 25 March 2000, Saturday

Canadian Expeditionary,
WWI C.A.C. & WWII

It is sunny and the temperature is rising out there today (friday). They say we are suppose to have 70 degree weather this weekend with chances of another spring shower on Sunday, tuesday and maybe Wednesday. Northwest Oklahoma has been getting its share of the needed rain. Besides the trees budding and blooming, the farmer's crops, creeks and farm ponds are being fed with this much needed rain. Don't you just love Spring and the rebirth of all things growing!

Do you remembert WWI from your history books and family stories? WWI, Canadian Expeditionary, my Great-Uncle (grandmother's brother, Robert Lee Warwick) and a find in the family bible pressed between two pages. This is the find I'm speaking about. It is a rather delicate, worn and taped WWI Reservists Descriptive Card; a letter from Buckingham Palace; and a Canadian Expeditionary Force Discharge certificate (for R. Lee Warwick dated June 29, 1919). Only old yellowing scotch tape barely holding it together.

Robert Lee served in Canada Force Corps in France. He enlisted in the Canadian Corps, April 12th, 1917. The demobilization of the service was the reason for his discharge in Toronto, Canadian, June 29, 1919.

The letter from Buckingham Palace reads, "The Queen and I wish you God-speed, and a safe return to your homes and dear ones. A grateful Mother country is proud of your splendid services characterized by unsurpassed devotion and courage." signed by the King George.

Before Robert Warwick served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in April, 1917 thru June, 1919, He was with the "Coast Artillery Corps, 5th company, Fort Terry, New York." He enlisted at Fort McDowell, California, January 19th, 1914 and furloughed to the western department in Class A reserve, 18 January 1917, Fort Terry, New York. About four months later he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force under the name of Lee Warwick. (frontside of papers) || (backside of papers)

Back to the "Coast Artillery Corps" for a few minutes... When I found the WWI & Canadian service records of my Great-Uncle Robert Warwick, I also came across a photo of the 148th Co. C.A.C. where the company is seated on the steps of the company building and posed with baseball equipment. I believe that Robert Lee Warwick is among the group, but not knowing what he looked like... I'm not sure which one he is. If you know of anyone out there that might know of... or run across anything pertaining to the "148th Co. C.A.C., please E-mail Linda. Thanks!

Yes! I'm still working on Uncle Bob's WWII & military training from 1940-1945. As to Uncle Robert McGill -- "The XVIII Airborne Corps, with Headquarters at Fort Bragg, was originally activated as the 11 Armored Corps at Camp Polk, Louisiana, January 17, 1942. It was redesignated XVIII Corps October 9, 1943, at the Presidio of Monterey, California. The Corps celebrates it's birthday August 25, 1944, when the blue airborne tab was added at Orbourne, St. George, England. On this same day, the XVIII Airborne Corps assumed command of the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions. Within a month, Major General Matthew B. Ridgway, the first Corps Commander, sent his men into action in Operation Market Garden, the allied invasion of the Netherlands during World War II."

This may clear up some of the questions about why Uncle Bob was with an airborne group. They started out as the 11th Armored Corps at Camp Polk; were changed to XVIII Corps Oct. 1943 while in Monterey Calif; returned to Camp Polk as 18th Corps by Feb. 44; and didn't become an Airborne Corps until Aug. 44, when they were in England. Now, if we just knew what unit of the 11th Armored Corps Bob was with after he was reassigned from his attachment to the 86th Recon Bn. and after the Aug. '43 Armored Force School he attended at Fort Knox.

I'm always continually updating Uncle Bob's Timeline with new Tidbits & Treasures that I find daily. Check out "2 Feb. 1941" (Photo of lady friend caught unaware). Who is she? Where? Columbus, GA? Kentucky? Any Clues Welcome Here.

"9 Sep. 1944" WRFRTU(PR) G-116-26 & G-116-28 Grand Liaison Officers -- These are a couple of photos of Uncle Robert McGill with some other Ground Liaison Officers. (Click on photo to see the other photo). If anyone in this photos seem familar... or if anyone knows what "WRFRTU (PR)" stands for, feel free to FWD this portion to others who might know. I'm always looking for answers to unidentifiable pics & unanswerable questions.

Check out the "13 June 1945" letter to his mother when he was a Maj. stationed in Chalon & Marne, France. While you are at Uncle Bob's Timeline pages, scroll down to "28 April 1940."

We find Uncle Bob was still in school at Kentucky Univ. and living in the SAE Fraternity. The excerpt from a letter postmarked 8 April 1940, from Constance McGill, 817 Maple, Alva, OK addressed to Bob Lee McGill, S.A.E, Lexington, KY. tells us, "Sunday P.M... How about this war. Looks bad. The old boy had something when he said we would be in it. You must be studying hard... When is school out? What are your plans for summer, a trip to Europe?..." Page-1 || Page-2

Let me leave you with the following tidbit of info I found while browsing the library at the Oklahoma Historical Society. While I was waiting to use the microfilm reader in the Newspaper Archives to search for some info for a friend, I found a book, "History of Major County (Oklahoma)" and the following are excerpts of info I have added it to the "Major County Section" of my "OkieLegacy" listed under "Tailholt."

I found out that, "Chester, Oklahoma was named for Chester Long, U. S. Senator from Kansas. Chester is 5 miles north of Seiling, Oklahoma and it's post office was established April 8, 1895. In the Spring of 1895, Mr. Tedrick hired Ike Devore to build a two-story house on location one-mile north and two-miles east of present location of Chester, Oklahoma. The upper floors were the living quarters and the lower was the store and Post office. Mr. Tedrick named the Post Office after his son (Chester who lived in Ohio). It also goes by the name of "Tailholt" and "Cottonwood Corners."

OAKIE's LINKS & MAILBAG

Soldiers of the First World War - Canadian Expeditionary Force

Canadian Military Heritage Project - This site is dedicated to presenting Canadian military history ~ the wars, uprisings and conflicts in which Canadians participated. National Archives of Canada

Armed Forces and Wars. Listed by Canadian Armed Forces; U.S. Armed Forces; U.S. Civil War; Miscellaneous

The 193rd Tank Bn, Willie H. Wood, Staff Sgt. is seated front-center in one of these two pictures with a pencil cricled around him.. (Right side of photo) and (Left side of photo). If you recognize any of these fellow 193rd Tank Bn, please E-mail Bill Wood

"FORT MASON PORT OF EMBARKATION -- The Center is not part of the military installation. It has 13 acres of the original Fort. During WWII, about 1,750,000 military men shipped out from this port of embarkation to fight in the Pacific. Located on the San Francisco waterfront between Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate. In use by the military for over 200 years, Fort Mason was designated a National Historic Landmark for its important role during World War II and the Korean conflict as the embarkation point for troops and supplies shipped to the Pacific. By 1962, transport by air made Fort Mason obsolete, and it fell into disuse and disrepair. The Presidio of Monterey became a reception center for selectees, and for a while it housed III Corps headquarters"

"Ground Liaison Officer -- (DOD) An officer trained in offensive air support activities. Ground liaison officers are normally organized into parties under the control of the appropriate Army commander to provide liaison to Air Force and naval units engaged in training and combat operations."

"It was not complicated to escape," recalls former Afrika Korps Major Tilman Kiwe in reflecting on his many escape attempts from Camp Trinidad, Colorado, and Camp Alva, Oklahoma. About his third attempt,..." Major German Prisoner of War Internment Camps in the United States http://uboat.net/men/pow/index.html

"Linda, Check out this message.....
It is from a man named Jim Henderson. He states that Henry Clay Paris had a brother named James F. Paris and that they were the sons of Ezekiel Paris and Polly Bennett."

"Henry Clay Paris, along with his brothers Bennett, William, James F. and Isham Paris were all sons of Ezekiel Parris. Ezekiel married Polly Bennett in Clay Co., KY on 9 May 1816. Ezekiel was living in Madison Co., KY, in 1850, where he is listed in the Census, age 65. He had a daughter Elizabeth and sons Isham, Volney? (hard to read) and Henry living with him." for more PARIS info check out.

"Just as you thought, G-3 is the Army designation for the intelligence section of any size unit."

"1941 5 Oct United States Army activated Camp Cooke, California. Used during World War II as an armored and infantry training site. Now site of Vandenburg AFB. The year 1941 brought with it the beginnings of unprecedented change to California's picturesque Central Coast. Once a haven for wild game and cattle grazing, some 86,000 acres of open lands in the Lompoc-Guadalupe-Santa Maria triangle passed to the United States Army, and practically overnight became the site of a huge military encampment called Camp Cooke. As a training center for armored and infantry troops, young recruits assigned to Cooke were forged into combat-ready soldiers and shipped overseas for duty against German and Japanese forces. After the war and a short period of inactivation, the installation was called up again for the Korean War in 1950. Between the wars and as late as January 1957, the military reservation had reverted to its previous use for cattle and sheep grazing. Transformation of Camp Cooke into the nation's first space and ballistic missile operational and training base began in 1957 when it was transferred to the United States Air Force. In the proceeding year it was renamed Vandenberg Air Force Base.

290th Inf. Combat Diary... A more readable version of the Combat Diary is on the site Jay Puckett set up for his Dad.

My Scanned photos & pages of "290th Inf. Combat Diary"

Schofield Barracks Historic Guide - "In 1872, Maj John M. Schofield, Commanding General of the US Army's Pacific Division, visited the Hawaiian Islands to determine the defense capabilities of its ports. He concluded that a harbor could be formed at the mouth of the Pearl River and that it could be easily defended. After the 1898 annexation of Hawaii by the United States, military forces started moving to the islands."

"Keeping Watch in Valhalla - Though pagan in conception, there was something movingly human in the ancient Norse belief that Odin gathered to himself in Valhalla the souls of heroes slain in battle. There they might feast and rest; thence by 540 gates they might sally forth to fight again in some noble cause, die again, and return in a new resurrection."

I've recently come across a "Kemper Alumni Service Record in WWII" that Uncle Bob received sometime after WWII. I'm in the process of typing in the names of the Alumni that were in service in WWII (those who died and survivied). I don't have all the names in yet, but you can check out what I do have typed up so far.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
-- Emily Dickinson (Poem XCIX)

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