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The Arkansas National Guard headquarters staff, looking ahead, approved Corporal Charles T. Robbins, Company "E", First Arkansas National Guards, to attend a course in aviation at the

Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company, Ithaca, New York; on June 12, 1916. Then on March 22, 1917, the Arkansas National Guard staff appointed a State Board of Medical Officers to examine candidates for aviation service of the National Guard of the State. Emphasis was further placed upon aviation when Captain Almon Stroupe of the Second Infantry, Arkansas National Guard was detailed to attend the Signal Corps Aviation School at San Diego, California, in May, 1917.

In March, 1917, the Arkansas National Guard was in danger of having their Federal recognition withdrawn. The problem was scarcity of men and not, as it had been in the Mexican border duty, physically unfit men. Company "E", First Arkansas Infantry, Little Rock Company, had only twenty men and should have had thirty-two additional men. The reason for the shortage was the lack of interest of the business men of Little Rock. The business men would not let men off for training, thereby discouraging their employees from joining.

With the increased speculation of the entry of the United States in the war in Europe, plans for mobilization were published. In the same newspaper was notification of the War Department calling the First Regiment of the Arkansas National Guard into Federal service for the purpose of police protection. Meanwhile, Governor Charles H. Brough was planning to withold $25,000 of the State’s appropriation to the Arkansas National Guards, hoping that the Federal government would bear the financial burden of the Arkansas National Guard.

The Companies of the Arkansas National Guard were to proceed to Ft. Roots outside of Little Rock for mobilization when the companies had reached the minimum company strength of sixty-five men. The minimum strength was difficult to achieve because of new orders from the War Department mustering out guardsmen with families and those with previous orders. This released all men employed in government work. To counteract the men mustered out, companies were held at their home stations as long as possible to stimulate recruiting. It was known by guard officers that when a company leaves its home station the boys of the community lose interest in joining the guard the fear that they will not be assigned to their local company.

By April 4, 1917, the organization of the guard was in several stages. The First Arkansas Regiment was ready to move to Little Rock, and company commanders were ordered to report by wire the hour and date they expected to leave their home stations. New companies at Forrest City, Dewitt, Rison, and Fordyce were being organized with the idea of "beating Uncle Sam" and not being drafted. The Second Arkansas Regiment was on forty-eight hour stand by and had not received mobilization orders.

The first military operation the Arkansas National Guard was assigned was a "find and destroy" mission of a "spy" wireless station located somewhere in the Blue Mountains. After searching the area, they found the station on the highest peak in the Ozarks, Mt. Magazine. It was a forgotten and abandoned radio station used by the Government Geodetic Survey Corps. The second military campaign concerning the right of the governor to order a detail of Arkansas National Guards to Bauzite was fought on paper between Colonel James, Commanding Officer of the Arkansas National Guard, and Governor Brough. The need for troops at Bauxite was due to a German flag being flown by a grape grower. Colonel James refused to send troops on the grounds that he took his orders from General Pershing. The matter was settled when the flag disappeared.

Recruiting for the guard was greatly aided when Armour, one of the largest companies in Little Rock, gave the difference between salaries to its regular employees who had enlisted in the Arkansas National Guard before March 31, 1917, and were called into active service. Individuals also were exemplifying patrotism; one man upon learning the need of men for the guards left his work in the fields and walked thirty miles to enlist.

To equip the companies of the First Arkansas National Guard, U.S. Arsenals sent to Ft. Roots 2,000 rifles, 1,500 uniforms, 2,000 blankets, 1,000 cots, 2,000 pairs of shoes, and 100 pyramidal tents.

The active duty the Arkansas National Guard performed was that of guarding the State Capital. The Capital contained the arsenal of the guard. Troops were placed in and around the building. Company "B" (from Beebe), First Arkansas Regiment, was camped on the west side of the Capital, having the distinction of being the first company assigned guard duty. Only persons having passes issued by the Secretary of State, T. J. Terral, could be admitted to the Capital and grounds. Four nights later the men from Company "B" could claim another first for their company when two guardsmen fired eight shots and frightened off an intruder.

Policies were established to cope with men unable to pass physical examinations. It was determined that these men were to be mustered into Federal service, their status remaining the same as those men passing the physical examination. After being mustered into Federal service, the men who were unable to pass the physical examination were given discharges and furnished with transportation to their homes.

The First Arkansas Infantry was proud of its record of only 12 per cent being discharged because of physical defects. When the First Arkansas Infantry was mobilized for duty on the Mexican border 50 per cent of its men were rejected because of Physical defects.

April 17, 1917, plans for the Third Arkansas Regiment were formulated. Enlistments were to be for the duration of the war. The pay per month for the enlisted men was as follows:

To qualify for a commission in the guard an individual had to be a,former officer or private of the guard, officer on reserve or unassigned list, active or retired officer of the regular army, navy or marine corps; graduate of the United States military or naval academies or graduate of schools, colleges or university where military science under a regular army officer is taught are eligible for commission.

The age limits that were established for officers of the new units were these:

Rumors that the First Arkansas would be assigned to levee and bridge guard duties throughout the state proved to be false when the men were put to work clearing land for a new campsite for the First Arkansas. When 7,000 Reserve Officer candidates were sent to Ft. Roots, the First Arkansas gave up their barracks for tents. To add injury to insult the First Arkansas Soldiers were given anti-smallpox and typhoid fever vaccinations. The new duties for the First Arkansas was getting the camp in shape by clearing Out brush and trees, by working on post roads, and by performing guard duty for the camp.

On May 16, 1917, Little Rock was allowed to have a second infantry which was part of the Third Arkansas Regiment. Recruitment for men in Little Rock was carried out by seventeen girls wearing badges bearing the words, "If You Are A Real Man Enlist." The girls distributed buttonhole tags with, "Are You A Slacker?" The other side of tag read, "Are You A Man?" The girls worked until June 5, 1917, when the draft law became effective.

On May 18, 1917, the Arkansas National Guard was notified that on August 5, 1917, the guard as a whole would be called into Federal service. This announcement caused the First Arkansas to start military training. The First Arkansas had one-third of the men resume drilling and training while the other men completed the construction on Ft. Root.

It was not all work for the men at Ft. Root, however. The Arkansas soldiers were treated to dances and banquets by the citizens of Little Rock. The men of Company "B" of the First Arkansas solicited funds at the Capital and used the money to buy baseball suits and baseball materials. The men also enjoyed a "breezy" newspaper which was devoted to the interest of the Arkansas National Guard and called the Volunteer.

With the news that the Arkansas National Guard would help compose the Eighteenth Division, along with the states of Mississippi and Louisiana, came Arkansas’s responsibility of furnishing one regiment of infantry, one regiment of field artillery, and one outpost of company signal corps. The men of the Arkansas National Guard trained hard after hearing the news. Intensified cross county hiking, drilling, and maneuvering were evident when the men took sack lunches and marched into Little Rock for the Memorial Day parade with all other troops stationed at Ft. Root.

The regimental song for the First Arkansas was choosen by Colonel James. The song, "Arkansas," was composed and written by Mrs. J. W. Barrett of Little Rock. Colonel James said that the members of the regiment must learn to sing it. The mascot for the First Arkansas was Leo Ruff, who had gone with Arkansas National Guard to Dening, New Mexico, for border duty in 1916. At the age of fifteen Leo wanted to be permitted to go to France with the guard. On July 16, 1917, the Arkansas National Guard included the following:

On July 18, 1917, the Arkansas National Guard was assigned to Alexandria, Louisiana, for training as the Eighteenth Division. Alexandria, Louisiana, is the location of Camp Beauregard. The camp was named after General P. G. T. Beauregard, C.A.A.

Governor Brough of Arkansas wrote to the Governor of Louisiana asking that all liquor sales within ten miles of Camp Beauregard be abolished. Governor Brough stated that his boys were raised in a state where they had no access to liquor. In responce to the Arkansas Governor’s request on the ban of liquor sales around Camp Beauregard, a bill was introduced in the Louisiana house and promptly defeated. By July 24, 1917, Company "B" from Beebe was the only unit of the First Arkansas National Guard having a full war quota of Men after physical examination for Federal service. On July 26, 1917, the first guardsman was killed when James Voinche, Company I, First Arkansas Infantry, was killed by a streetcar in Little Rock.

By August, 1917, the First Arkansas had become proficient in firing rifles and had practiced with bayoneting dummies. The machine gun company went to Pinnacle Mountain for target practice. The chaplain of the First Arkansas was preparing to keep the regiment’s history. Because Ft. Root was designated a base hospital, the men of the First Arkansas were transferred from Ft. Root to Camp Pike, adjacent to Ft. Root, and were permitted to sleep in the barracks. The tents were packed by the men with hopes that they would not be unpacked until arrival in France.

The Second and Third Infantry Regiments were examined for Federal service on August 6, 1917, at Ft. Brough (located on the Capital grounds). The regiments, under the control of General Wood, were sent to Ft. Roots and moved to Camp Pike by August 24, 1917. The Commander of the supply company of the Third Arkansas received instructions from the Augusta Arsenal to go into the open market and buy mess kits to complete the needed equipment for the new regiments.

Arkansas was proud when the First Arkansas Regiment Band appeared in a War Department film. But Arkansas was doubly proud when the largest Southwest parade in over thirty years was held in Little Rock in which the Eighty-seventh Division, Arkansas National Guard, National Army, and the Iowa Field Artillery participated. This was the last parade in the state of Arkansas for many members of the Arkansas National Guard.

In late September, 1917, the Arkansas National Guard moved by train to Camp Beauregard in Alexandria, Louisiana. The trip took about fourteen hours. The Third Arkansas regiment used the following railroad equipment:

Sixty coaches, three standard pullmans, six baggage cars, twelve boxcars, and one stock car.

The Arkansas troops were demobilized after their transfer to Camp Beauregard, and reorganization of the troops was made under a new system of organization worked out by the commanding officer at Camp Beauregard. The Eighteenth Division was changed to the Thirty-ninth Division, U.S.N.G. Under the reorganization plans the First Arkansas Infantry became the 153rd Infantry, and the Second Arkansas Infantry became the 154th Infantry of the Seventy-seventh Brigade. The Third Infantry and part of the Second Infantry made up the 141st Machine Gun Battalion, Aummunition Train, Motor Transportation, Field Hospital, and Or-dance detachments.

The ability of the Arkansas to fight was soon proven when a free-for-all fight between soldiers from Louisiana and Arkansas developed in a dance hall. The combatants were placed in the guardhouse. A Louisiana soldier had brushed against an Arkansas soldier and caused the uproar.

When the Second Arkansas Infantry Regiment was changed to artillery, the blue hat cord was changed to red and the collar insignia was changed from the crossed rifles to crossed cannon. But the big change was from the rifle to the six-inch howitzer, which was used in shelling enemy positions. It took eight horses to pull one of the big cannons.

On October 31, 1917, the 154th Infantry, formerly the Third Arkansas, was divided with men going into heavy artillery units, cavalary organizations, machine gun outfits, and new infantry organizations.

Sickness was a problem for the men from Arkansas. Measles in the later part of October, 1917, kept the men from drilling. Regardless, in January, 1918, the National Guard Reserve was transferred to the active list. Also in the same month, Alexandria, Louisiana, was placed off limits, and soldiers could not visit other regiments because of an outbreak of meningites. To help matters, the soldiers were instructed in the use of deadly gases and then exposed to tear gas. The off limits lasted until March 6, 1918, for the soldiers concerning Alexandria. The soldiers complained about the bugs and were anxious to go to France. By March, 1918, the soldiers had received new Enfield rifles.

The 114th Engineers made an enviable record by building and improving the roads in and about the camp. By April, 1918, the roads built in the swamps and hills of "Dogville-in-the-Pines" (the nickname given to Camp Beauregard) were completed, and the men were taking physicals for overseas.

Arkansas troops passed in review for the first time in February for Arkansas Adjutant-General England, and the entire Thirty-ninth Division passed in review in April for the Governors of Mississippi and Louisiana. On the day after the parade, the Arkansas soldiers learned that they could not vote outside of the state of Arkansas. If they could return to their local residence before or on the voting date, they could vote according to the Attorney-General’s opinion.

Spring brought changes in camp life for the soldiers. The men had adopted snakes for pets. The Harlequin snake, banded with gold and black with a body of red, reminded the soldiers of the national colors of Germany. The snakes and spring rains had caused the men to give up their dugouts and to build dog-houses erected on piles about two feet from the ground. The April weather also started practice with high explosive shells, which gave the men a chance to get accustomed to shell fire.

The Militia Bureau of the War Department on May 3, 1918, authorized the Fourth Arkansas Infantry. The organization was not to be called into Federal service but to be kept complete and ready for any emergency. Men of draft age were not urged to join. The status of the Fourth Arkansas Infantry was the same as the Arkansas National Guard before its calling into the Federal service. On July 8, 1918, at the request of the sheriffs of Cleburne, Faulkner, and White counties, an officer and thirty men of Machine Gun Company, Fourth Arkansas Infantry, proceeded to the vicinity of Pearson, Arkansas, for the purpose of assisting the sheriffs of these counties in the apprehension of draft resisters, slackers, and deserters. The following day, an investigation team of Arkansas National Guard officers was sent to Heber Springs, Arkansas, in Cleburne County to investigate the disorderly conditions said to exist in the county and which the county authorities reported they were unable to suppress.

In May, 1918, privates were given the opportunity to volunteer for duty overseas. In the rush to help end the war officers resigned their commissions so they would be qualified for duty overseas before the war was over. Shortly thereafter, Private Robert Springer was the first state guardsman to give his life in France.

June, 1918, marked the arrival in France of 20 per cent of the enlisted personnel of the 153rd (old First Arkansas) and 154th (composed of part of the old Second and Third Arkansas) Infantry, the 142nd (part of the old Second Arkansas) Field Artillery, and the 141st (part of the old Second Arkansas) Machine Gun Battalion, U.S.N.G. The movement consisted of only 20 per cent of each organization, and the officers did not accompany their troops but remained at Camp Beauegard with the other 80 per cent still in training. At Camp Beauregard the division was brought to full strength by the arrival of troops from Camp Zachary Taylor (men from the states of Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky.)

August 13, 1918, the National Army and National Guard were officially abolished and both units called the Regular Army.

In a letter home a guardsman from the old Company "I" of the First Arkansas National Guard, described the fighting and sent a coat lapel which belonged to the best soldier for the Crown Prince. He stated that the German soldiers were best at running. About the same time letters were being received in Arkansas from soldiers of the old First and Third Arkansas National Guard Regiments.

In early October, 1918, Camp Beauregard was struck with Spanish influenza which lead into lobar pneumonia. All available facilities were used when the hospitals became overcrowded.

It took twelve months for the Thirty-ninth Division organization to reach France, where it remained for three months. At the time of its departure from the United States, the Thirty-ninth Division was composed of 22 per cent Arkansas National Guard, 40 per cent National Army draftees, and 10 per cent shortage from authorized strength. On August 1, 1918, the division entrained for the port of embarkation and sailed for overseas service on August 6, 1918.

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were transferred to the Thirty-ninth Division Cadre and assigned to the 114th Supply Train Cadre at St. Nozaire December 1, 1918. Twenty days later they embarked for the United States on the U.S.S. Princess Matcika, arriving at Newport News, Virginia, on January 1, 1919.

The First Arkansas Infantry became the 153rd Regiment in the National Army; the Second Infantry became the 142nd Field Artillery; and the Third Infantry formed the basis of the 154th Infantry, and the 141st Machine Gun Battalion. These regiments were all attached to the Thirty-ninth Division. The first unit of the division arrived in France on August 12, 1918, and the last unit arrived on September 12, 1918. It was then sent to the St. Florent area, southwest of Bourges, where it was designated as a replacement division. In November, 1918, it moved to St. Aignan. There several of the units were transferred to combat divisions With the war ended, the 153rd Infantry landed in Hoboken, New Jersey, Feburary, 27, 1919, making the crossing aboard the USS. President Grant. In March, 1919, the First Battalion, 142nd Artillery, Thirty-ninth Division was acting as a school battalion for the entire artillery forces of the American Expeditionary Forces with their headquarters at Valdahon, France. On April 12, 1919, the transport Kiserin Auguste Victoria brought the Sixty-fourth Field Artillery Brigade and the 141st Field Artillery Battalion of the Thirty-ninth Division to New York. The headquarters ordinance and medical detachments and some companies of the 114th Engineers, Thirty-ninth Division were transported to Newport News, Virginia, on the battleship Nebraska. The 114th Engineers, Thirty-ninth Division, were transferred to the First Army Corps in France. The 114th Engineers operated in the Meuse-Argonne drive, laying railroad and building bridges for the First Army Corps during the battle.

In April, 1919, the Fourth Arkansas National Guard Regiment planned to reorganize because of lack of personnel. The draft reduced the fourth Arkansas ranks in both officers and enlisted men. The regiment was never put into Federal service.

With the arrival in Little Rock of a detail from the 150th Field Artillery of the "Rainbow Division" (formerly part of the old Second Arkansas Infantry) information about the gallant men of Arkansas was learned. The group was converted from the 142nd Artillery and went to Camp

Beauregard to complete training. As volunteers for immediate service overseas, they sailed as replacement artillery troops June 28, 1918, and went almost immediately into action as part of the 150th Field Artillery. Out of the 137 composing the battery, 86 returned, the others having been killed in action or dying in hospitals as the result of wounds. The battery served six-inch howitzers and was used as part of the artillery shock system. Its service included actions at Chateau Thierry, Verdun, Troul sector, Argonne, St. Mihiel, and Belleau Wood. When the Armistice was signed, it moved into Germany as part of the Army of Occupation and was stationed at the health resort, Nevenahr, when ordered home. The detail landed in the United States April 25, 1919, and was stationed at Camp Merritt, New Jersey.

The 152nd Field Artillery (formerly part of the old Second Arkansas National Guard) was also a member of the famous Forty-second Division and saw action in the Aisue and Maine offensive, St. Mihiel offensive, Easy and Pannec sector (Wolure), Meuse and Argonne offensive, and Sedan engagement. The 152nd Field Artillery was part of the Army of Occupation and moved through Belgium to Germany

In May, 1919, word reached Little Rock that the 142nd Field Artillery Battalion (old Second Arkansas) was doing convoy duty with the Army of Occuption and a segment was still firing for the Artillery School at Camp Valdahon. It was not until early June when the 142nd Field Artillery left France on the transport Amphion(114) to arrive June 15, 1919, at Newport News, Virginia. On the train trip to Little Rock the 142nd Field Artillery was asked to march in a parade in Atlanta. This they were proud to do. On June 21, 1919, the group arrived at Camp Pike. On the following day the 142nd Field Artillery was featured in a big parade in Little Rock and then treated to a big show and picnic in the park.

117 "400 Arkansas Boys Receive Discharge," Arkansas Gazette, January 14, 1919, P. 3.

118 "114th Sanitary Train Gets Back," Arkansas Gazette, July 9, 1919, p. 3.

119 120 U.S., American Battle Monuments Commission, American Armies and Battlefields in Europe (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1938), p. 516-17.

The last group of Arkansas Guardsmen to return to the state for discharge was the 114th Sanitary Train (formerly the Third Arkansas National Guard), Seventh Army Corps. The 114th Sanitary Train had been stationed for six months at Wittlick, Germany, before being transferred back to the United States.

The official records show that the Thirty-ninth "Delta" Division was composed of the Seventy-seventh Infantry Brigade (153rd Infantry, 154th Infantry, and the 141st Machine Gun Battalion); the Seventy-eight Infantry Brigade (155th Infantry, 156th Infantry, 142nd Machine Gun Battalion); Sixty-fourth Field Artillery Brigade (140th Field Artillery, 141st Field Artillery, 142nd Field Artillery, and the 114th Trench Mortar Battery); the Divisional Troops (140th Machine Gun Battalion, 114th Engineers, 114th Field Signal Battalion and Headquarters Troop); and Trains (114th Train Headquarters and Military Police, 114th Ammunition Train, 114th Supply Train, 114th Engineer Train, and the 114th Sanitary Train. The Division was never a front line division; therefore, it never advanced any miles nor captured any prisoners nor received any replacements. But the Division did lose two prisoners. The Division was designated as the Fifth Depot Division on August 14, 1918, and moved to Charost and Mehun-sur-Yeure Area southwest of Bourges. The units of the Division for the most part were training cadres whose duties were to receive, train, equip, and forward replacements of both officers and men for the infantry units, machine gun units, and for ammunition and supply trains. On October 29, 1918, orders directed that the Division be attached to the First Depot Division at St-Aignan-Noyers and Loir-et-Cher. The Division returned to the United States for demobilization during the period between November 30, 1919, and May 1, 1919.

On July 17, 1919, the First World War era was over when orders from the War Department instructed the Adjutant-General to organize a militia regiment of infantry to return to guard the Mexican border.

122 "Order Issued to Organize Militia," Arkansas Gazette, July 17, 1919, p. 1.

123 "Arkansas Army National Guard History," (Typewritten copy on file with the Adjutant-Generals Office, Little Rock, Arkansas).

It must be always remembered,

Both officers and enlisted men of the Arkansas National Guard were in active combat service, wherever and in whatever brance of service of the Army they were placed, they reflected credit on their native State and were true to the tradition of Arkansas.

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