Over there! The Gehner boys in WWI

In honor of the Gehner who enlisted and died in the war to end all wars.

Information here is based on what I've found in passing; actual military service records may be a challenge to ever find details about, given the 1973 fire at the NPRC (National Personnel Records Center) in St. Louis damaged or destroyed 80% of the Army personnel records for 1912-1960

Martin Henry Gehner

Son of William Gehner
(Grandson of Henry Gehner, Sr.)
Battery F, 327th Field Artillery, 
84th Division- the Lincoln Division

The first time I saw Martin's headstone I wondered about his story- did he die in battle, was he wounded?  What happened to him?

What do we know about his unit- the 327th Field Artillery?

History of the 327th

The 327th Field Artillery was one of three artillery companies (325-327) which were associated to the 84th Infantry Division, which was made up of National Guard troops from Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky- hence the division name of "the Lincoln division" and the division's shoulder patch.   A history of the companion 325th Artillery indicates the 84th left their cantonment camp in Kentucky (Camp Zachary Taylor) in mid-August 1918 for transport to Europe. They were apparently sent to Le Mans, France where they were used as replacement troops in other units.

The Mt Olive Herald  reprinted an article from the State Register of the 23rd. "Carlinville- Major John Homer of the heavy field artillery of the regular army, now in France, writes home to his parents here, praising greatly his Macoupin County men recently put in his command.
"The men are from Mt. Olive and Benld and he says are the most wildly reckless fighters he has ever seen.... Their eagerness to get down to hard work was in evidence from the first and that they have made good is a pleasure to their friends at home. The boys from Mt. Olive, Benld and Staunton certainly have their folks at home back of them, heart and pocket book. Every family in Mt. Olive is said to have a Liberty bond. In Staunton tar and feathers is applied to every disloyal citizen." (Mt Olive Herald 28 September 1918, page 1)

Sidenote- the anti-German sentiments during the war (along with anti-labor sentiments) combined in this highly German coal mining area to make for some ugly times.  There is at least one documented case of tarring and feathering at Staunton, and there are unmentioned incidents in Mount Olive and Hillsboro in a pamphlet published by the National Civil Liberties Bureau in July 1918, scanned and available on Google Books.

Back to Martin

The November 9th, 1918 edition of the Mount Olive Herald had a front page article titled "Killed In Battle".  Unfortunately, the first two sentences of the article aren't legible due to the poor quality of the microfilm (it's right on the fold of the newspaper).  The legible part below the fold shows "fighting in France October 3rd.  His parents received a letter this week stating the facts. He is the first Mt. Olive boy to die on the field of battle.
"Word was also received that Martin Gehner, son of Wm. Gehner, has died in France of Pneumonia."

Several other Mt Olive boys were reported wounded in the same article.

Long story short; Martin's involvement in fighting on the Western Front was short at best.We may never know the full story of his time in Europe since his unit was used as replacement troops (not as a cohesive unit) but the timing of the Lincoln Division's arrival in France and the letter from the major from Carlinville at least some combat action is possible.

References:

• Martin's headstone image by Rick Doty, Macoupin County Genealogy Society.  Accessed 11/6/2013
• Microfilms of the Mt. Olive Herald at the Mt Olive City Library.
• 84th Division discussion on Ancestry.com discussion forums
• 84th Division history (84th Division Alumni Association) Accessed 11/8/2013.