"Doings of Battery B"

[Custermen]

About 6 or 7 years ago, I started uploading photos and info on my Father's unit that he served in during WW2: the 328th Field Artillery Battalion. And he was in Battery B of the 328FA. Over the years, I've made contacts via my website and have added more info and photos. I believe I have the most detailed website of an Artillery Battalion that you will find anywhere on the web.

What a surprise it was to find this book!! I wasn't sure if I should get it as it is about World War I --- not 2. But it was written about the very same Battery as my Father's. Crazy---as my daughter says.

 

“Doings of Battery B: 328th F.A., A.E.F.â€

“Humorous Happenings and Striking Situations in the Experiences of its Membersâ€

By Edward W. Barry

Published Dean-Hicks Co. Grand Rapids, MI, 1920

Format: 11 X 8-1/2 inches. Glossy paper, 175 pages.

Illustrations, photos. 1 Map.

No Table of Content nor Index.

 

While awaiting combat in France during WW1, two soldiers decided to record and publish the story of the men in their unit and their experiences. They would leave out all the technical details of how an artillery battery functioned. They returned back to the States and began work on the book about Battery B, 328th Field Artillery Battalion.

The book contains a brief intro history and a timeline of important events, including the transfer of troops into or out of the unit. Most of the book is organized into short biographies and stories listed under names of each of the soldiers in their unit.

There are many photos included as snapshots of their training at Camp Custer, MI and groups of officers and NCOs. There are large group photos of the men with each man in the unit identified.

To round out the humorous stories, there are cartoon drawings of various activities. Some pages have groups of panels, similar to the Sunday comics. Then there are some nice landscape drawings in fine detail.

 

This is a portion of one group photo, that lets you meet these Doughboys up close.

Some look scared, some serious, some have a broad grin.

 

Some of the smaller cartoons sketches. Note the details, such as the "CD" shoulder

patch for the 85th Infantry Division(their parent unit in WW1 & WW2).

Artist included the name of the soldier printed on bottom of boot.

 

.....

 

A.E.F. stands for American Expeditionary Forces.

 

Crazy, huh!!

 

Steve

[Custermen]

Here is another item related to this WW1 Artillery Battalion that I picked up on eBay.

 

 

A Yard Long Photo of HQ Battery, 328 Field Artillery Battalion, dated 1919.

 

 

Compare that photo with their WW2 counter-parts: HQ Battery of 328FA taken at Camp Shelby, MS in 1943.

 

 

 

 

Of course, this image is too small to see details. To view these Doughboys up close, click on:

 

HQ Battery, 1919

 

Soon, I will have another book about the 328FA that is dated 1919. I will post photos when it arrives.

 

Steve

[Walt's Daughter]

What a rare and valuable find for you, plus, what a coincidence! Crazy! And I happen to think it's very cool too because they trained at Camp Custer where my dad first received his training.

 

I think it's great that you now have a book that enables you to trace the history back to WWI. It was meant to be.

 

Love the sketches.

[civilwargal]

What amazing sketches. Growing up. my great uncle always had his WWI unit's photo in his dining room. As a child I was fascinated with it.

[Custermen]

I got my latest book on the 328FA.

 

The Red Guidon: 328FA

 

This is another book printed for the Veterans who returned from service in Europe with the 328th Field Artillery Battalion. It is 8-1/2 by 11 format with 129 pages and includes some photos of officers and fold-out group photos of each battery---but almost too small to identify a soldier. The quality is nice but not as good as the above-mentioned book. The pages are glossy but the binding is flimsy and pages are coming loose.

The book contains names of officers and Roster of each battery that was recorded in 1919 before the unit was deactivated. The book was probably published within a year or two after that. It has many poems and stories and a little bit of history written as short news articles. In the front is a chonology of events in short one-line entries.

I'm having a difficult time scanning images from the glossy pages. I may try to photograph them instead.

 

 

 

A nice little addition to my collection on a WW1 unit.

 

Steve

[CaptO]

You have a great website! I am particularly interested because your father and I probably have something in common - a stay at lovely Fort Sill. I know that Sill is currently the only basic training site and HQ for Army (and Marine Corps) artillery; I'm not sure about the WWII era.

After my officer basic training in Quantico, I spent 20 weeks there training to be an artillery officer in 2000. I didn't change my MOS until - as a condition for further employ with the USMC - I was told to go be Commo. (For the first 3 years of being a USMC officer, you are pretty much on a probationary period. That allows them to cut the dead wood before they get to be captains and do things such as forced MOS changes. I was not happy.) I did thoroughly enjoy my time as an arty officer (don't call a Marine a "red-leg.") We worked on the M198 155mm - the only artillery currently in the USMC inventory.

 

Woo-hoo! I'm a sergeant now!

[Custermen]

I am particularly interested because your father and I probably have something in common - a stay at lovely Fort Sill.

 

CaptO

Actually my Dad only reached the rank of Staff Sergeant. So he did not go to Fort Sill for training. I know some of the officers in his artillery unit did go to OCS there.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Steve