“The French have gotten a bad rap in the U. S. They fought hard here and were brave soldiers.”

Douglas Graves © 2008

Originally published in VMI Alumni Review, 2008, Issue 3

Pre-conceptions about Europe started falling away almost as soon as the 20 VMI cadets landed in Paris. They were there on a week-long trip through some of the European battlefields with VMI history professor Dr. Malcolm “Kip” Muir. The trip was organized by Military Historical Tours (www.miltours.com) based in Alexandria, Virginia which specializes in taking clients to historical locations with knowledgeable historians.
The cadet’s first stop: Cantigny, France, a small village where, in May 1918, the American Army’s 1st Division--the “Big Red One--first met and defeated German forces.
It was at Cantigny that VMI graduate George C. Marshall, Class of 1901, first saw action.
The cadets got their boots muddy on these shell-cratered battlefields, exploring damp and broken bunkers, ruined forts and gun pits.
“In understanding war, there is no substitute for seeing the ground,” said Professor Muir. “The cadets [will] begin to appreciate that [World War I] was not a mere backdrop to World War II but that it represented a titanic struggle in its own right.”
The Aisne-Marne battlefield was the next objective. It is five miles northwest of Chateau-Thierry.
Local historian Gilles Lagin led the cadets through the Bois de la Brigade de Marine or, as U. S. Marines ever since WW I have known it, Belleau Wood.
Marine Corps Major General John A. Lejeune, superintendent of VMI from November 1929 until October 1937, commanded the Marines at Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood. He was the superintendent of VMI from November 1929 until October 1937. The forest, then blasted to splinters, has since recovered. It still conceals water-filled shell holes pock-marking the damp ground. At the wood’s edge, rock outcroppings and boulders shelter former machine gun nests and command rugged slopes where men grappled in close combat. Here VMI graduate and future 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. was twice wounded leading his 5th Marines platoon.
After a solemn visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, the curator opened the gates to a private estate. In the stable yard of long destroyed Chateau de Belleau, the maw of a bronze mastiff dog spits cold spring water into a shallow pool. Called by U. S. Marines the “Devil Dog Fountain,” it is reputed to add 10 years to any Marine who drinks the water. The future Marine lieutenants in the group—John Krahling of Stafford, Virginia, John Douglas of Birmingham, Alabama, Andrew Gay from Ridgeland, Mississippi and Mark Parton of Orlando, Florida--all had a good drink.
At Compiègne Forest the history students saw where Germany compelled France’s surrender during WW II. After a night on the town in Reims, they drove past the Porte de Mars, a Roman triumphal arch. The cadets spent a couple hours at Reims’ Notre Dame Cathedral. Built between 1211 and 1311, it is the traditional coronation site for the kings of France.
Reflecting on his first few days in France, Cadet Thomas Schirra, ’11 of Powatan, Virginia, said, “The French are lot nicer than you think. They are usually thought of by Americans as being ‘stuck up’ but they really are not. They love Americans.”
A few miles from Reims the men arrived at the Meuse-Argonne area, site of the last great battle of WW I; it is still broken by shell holes—clear testament to the tornado of steel that ravaged the men here. The Mercedes tour bus stopped next to a granite marker with an arrow pointing to the steep ravine--the “Lost Battalion.” Elements of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 308th Infantry Regiment heroically fought here during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The cadets scrambled down the slope toward a small stream sparkling through the budding trees. Soon one was back, his hands full of battlefield treasure--corroded but recognizable, thirty-caliber brass cartridge casings and a lone .30 copper-jacketed slug.
Later, on their tour of the Argonne Mountains, Cadet John Douglas, with his father, Gilbert, stood at the foot of the massive memorial at Montfaucon. They had John’s great grandfather’s 78th Division shoulder patch, the Cross of Lorraine, brought back to the battlefield where doughboy Captain Gilbert Douglas served as a young Army doctor.
Not far from Montfaucon, the Ossuary of Douaumont commemorates the battle of Verdun in 1916. The bones resting beneath marble capstones have no names, but French widows and families paid to have the names of their missing men engraved on the interior walls and columns.
The group’s guide, Chantal, pointed out the name of her grandfather chiseled high up on the curving wall: Boissonard, Charles 28-7-85 -- 27-6-16. “The ossuary has an almost insane amount of bodies,” said Cadet Noah Scribner ’09 of Armonk, New York. “The artillery shrapnel made Verdun hell on earth. I have much more respect for the French military. They were fighting for four years--putting their husbands and sons through a meat grinder—they held on, fought and defended their homes.”
Cadet after cadet voiced this greater appreciation of the French during the trip.
“My attitude toward the French [military] has changed,” said Cadet Jesse Burnett ’08 from Marion, North Carolina after walking through the Verdun battlefields. “They fought very well—it’s a misconception we have that they didn’t fight. The French have gotten a bad rap in the U. S.,” he said. “They fought hard here and were brave soldiers.”
“I liked Fort Douaumont,” said Cadet Anthony “A. J.” Korbely ’10 from Armada, Michigan after exploring one of the massive French forts protecting Verdun. “It was very impressive to see how they had to fight. I have a new admiration for the French soldier.”
At the 50-acre American Cemetery in Luxembourg several cadets retired the American flags flying from twin flagpoles on each side of the grave site of General George Patton, Class of 1907. Five thousand, seventy six Americans are buried there, most of whom died during the Battle of the Bulge.
Muir’s cadets spent the next three nights in Bastogne, Belgium, their base for an extensive exploration of “Battle of the Bulge” battlefields. A Sherman tank, snow covered by a late spring storm, is proudly displayed on a downtown square. Several cadets reported that in different cafes and pubs they were told, “Your money is no good here. Your grandfathers saved our country. The beer is on us!”
The cadets went from the “dragon’s teeth” and casements of the Siegfried Line on the German frontier to the infamous site where Germans massacred American soldiers at Baugnez near Malmedy. The cadets and their history professor tramped through snowy forests, climbed down mossy stone steps and scrambled up hillsides.
The VMI cadets finished their European tour in Paris where they explored the city and enjoyed the night life.
Muir summed up the experience. “A significant goal was to give the cadets a close look at three of our NATO allies, France, Luxembourg, and Belgium; and to have the opportunity to interact with the peoples of those nations. All indications are that this goal was resoundingly met.”