Chester Acton – WWI – in Europe

It was called the Great War. People wouldn’t use the term World War I until there was a Second World War. In France the Western Front had been a stalemate for four years and the entry of the US into war was a turning point. Chester Acton, a farmer from

Chester Acton

Boone County, Indiana, was one of the young men sent overseas to fight.  He was assigned to the 308th Army Engineers, mostly an Ohio unit with a few Hoosiers thrown in.  Americans were sent to Europe quickly. Chester was inducted on April 25, left the US on June 4 and was in France by June 18, 1918.

An engineer unit was called upon to construct or repair roads and bridges, build barracks, dugouts, build stockades for prisoners, remove barbed wire and other construction projects. The 308th made sure that the First Army Corps could move east in pursuit of the Germans. The unit repaired shell craters in roads, sometimes only to repair them again after an overnight shelling.

One job at which they excelled was building bridges. They had a range of bridge types they were trained in: ‘ponton’ or pontoon, light bridges, simple truss, trestle bridges, strutted beam bridges and more. A youtube video shows the efficiency and teamwork of WW1 engineers (including the 308th) spanning rivers. The 308th has the distinction of constructing the first bridge built by Americans over the Rhine River.  If you watched the youtube to the end, you saw that horses were crossing the bridge. In some ways the Great War was a modern war but remember this: they were still using horses to some extent. “Between Dungenheim and Kehrig another difficult hill was encountered but by using eight horses on some of the wagons all the vehicles were satisfactorily brought up the incline,”  and “satisfactory quarters were procured for the men and shelter for the animals.” — With the 308th Engineers from Ohio to the Rhine and Back, p. 97 and 98

The signing of the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918 had little effect on the operation of the unit – except they could work without machine gun fire or shells flying overhead! They continued building roads and bridges. They were assigned to occupation duty and continued their march into Germany, reaching the Rhine and the town of Neuwied  on December 14. Their progress was met with little interference by the population of the defeated German nation. “It is to be noted that the movement of the troops into

Memento from Neuwied, Germany, dated 1919.

Postcard Chester sent home

Germany was made without incident. . . Large numbers of people watched the troops going by but no hostile attitude was apparent- merely one of curiosity. In the towns used as billets for the men, the town officials conformed directly to all directions of the commanding officer and furnished everything required. . . The burgemeister remarked most favorably on the actions of the soldiers during their stay and even contrasted their good behavior to that of the German troops who had just vacated the town.” —With the 308th Engineers from Ohio to the Rhine and Back, p. 99

Chester’s 308th insignia and WW1 victory ribbon

Finally, they were relieved of duty in May and by June 11 were on their way to America. Chester was mustered out on July 4, 1919 and returned home to the family farm.

Connection: Chester Acton was my grandfather.

Chester Acton – WWI, 1918 – in Washington, D.C.

Serving in the military often takes young soldiers far from home. Twenty-four year old Chester Acton had probalby never traveled more than a hundred miles from

WWI inductees in front of Boone County, IN courthouse. Chester is 2nd row, 3rd from left.

home before he was drafted in World War I. He entered the Army on 25 April 1918 in Lebanon, Indiana. His unit  trained at Camp Taylor, Kentucky before being sent to Washington, D. C. His brother Wallace submitted one of Chester’s letters to the local newspaper.

Chester Acton Now At Washington Barracks

Has Been Transferred from Camp Taylor – Tales of the Trip to the East

Walter Acton of R. R. 2 has received the following letter from his brother, Chester Acton, of Company D, First regiment engineers at Washington Barracks, D.C.:

Dear Brother: As I have changed my home again will try to write you a few words. We did not know we were going to Washington until Saturday night. I would have telegraphed to some of you if we had come through Indianapolis but I guess the closest place home was Columbus or Richmond.

We left Camp Taylor Sunday morning about 9:30, went to Louisville, then north to Richmond, to Columbus, O., then to Pittsburg, Pa., and arrived there in the night. It is some town. The railroad appeared to be above the town. The factories and electric lights made it look like a big Christmas tree. We came through part of Virginia, then to Baltimore, Md., stayed there about one hour, then to Washington and got into the station about 3:00 p.m.  Monday was the first time I had been out of the coach. I was selected with about a dozen soldiers to help load the suitcass and barrack bags. When we got them loaded we got on the truck and started. The first thing we did was to go around the corner of the capitol. It looked just like the picture. I expect we went about a mile before we got off the truck and then marched about half a mile, then about 700 of us were put on a flat boat. We were pulled down the Potomac for half a mile and then waited til our names were called. By the time we were assigned to our tents and had supper it was aobut 11:00 p.m.

Just before we got on the boat I saw a biplane and before we got off had seen three or four. We could look to the west and see the Washington monument or I suppose that is what it was. It looked just like the picture. Washington certainly is a beautiful town and I guess there are several barracks around it for one of the corporals told me that there were about 200,000 soldiers around about it. I did not drill much today. They took our measurements for a new suit. I guess I will get my gun in a few days. This place makes me think of the Shades [state park in Indiana]. We are up on a hill in the woods, or surrounded by the woods. We have a good place to drill.

WWI camp outside Washington, D.C.

How are you getting along farming? You surely are as far along as the farmers I saw on the way over. I only saw three or four fields of corn up so you could see it down the row. Boone county is as good as any of them.  After you get about to Columbus, O., and then out a little distance it is a good deal like Boone. But to take the rest of the states they do not look like they are worth much for farming. I saw some oil wells in Ohio and expect I could have seen more in Pennnsylvania if it had not been dark. I would like to have gone through there in the daytime. This camp is fixed like a real army camp. You live in a tent, wash in the river and eat out in the open. Some of the boys do not like the way we have to live, but I think it is a great experience for a fellow. I have seen more country and learned more in the last three weeks than I would in a year in school and I expect to learn a great deal more.

I am not writing this letter to you alone. You can let Robert take it down home for them, then Ray can read it and anybody else that wants to. I could write three of four more pages then have some left but there is always somebody to talk to and then I would about as soon drill one hour as to put in the time writing. Do not worry about me.  I am not worrying any. – from Lebanon Reporter, Lebanon, IN 28 May 1918

Seeing Washington, D.C. and biplanes was just the start of the adventure for Chester. He would serve with the 308th Army Engineers in France and Germany before returning home in 1918.

Connection: Chester Acton was my grandfather.