Sky Pilots The American Military Experience Series John C. McManus, Series Editor The books in this series portray and analyze the experience of Americans in military service during war and peacetime from the onset of the twenti- eth century to the present. The series emphasizes the profound impact wars have had on nearly every aspect of recent American history and consid- ers the significant effects of modern conflict on combatants and noncom- batants alike. Titles in the series include accounts of battles, campaigns, and wars; unit histories; biographical and autobiographical narratives; in- vestigations of technology and warfare; studies of the social and economic consequences of war; and in general, the best recent scholarship on Amer- icans in the modern armed forces. The books in the series are written and designed for a diverse audience that encompasses nonspecialists as well as expert readers. SKY PILOTS The Yankee Division Chaplains in World War I MICHAEL E. SHAY UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESS Columbia Copyright © 2014 by The Curators of the University of Missouri University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65201 Printed and bound in the United States of America All rights reserved 5 4 3 2 1 18 17 16 15 14 Cataloging-in-Publication data available from the Library of Congress ISBN 978-0-8262-2031-8 This paper meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48, 1984. Jacket design: Susan Ferber Interior design and composition: Richard Farkas Typefaces: Minion Pro Dedication Rev. John H. (“Fr. Chevy”) Chevalier, SSE (1919–1987) He followed in his Master’s footsteps to rural Alabama to minister to the “least of His brethren.” Angel of the Resurrection (St. Michael the Archangel) by sculptor Walker K. Hancock. Photo courtesy of Paul Shay. St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Protect us against the wickedness and snares of the devil. —Traditional Christian Prayer Contents List of Illustrations xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Abbreviations xxi 1. “Sky Pilots” 1 2. Early Days 31 3. Toul Sector 51 4. Aisne-Marne 67 5. St. Mihiel and Troyon 87 6. Verdun 97 7. Going Home 111 8. “Recalled to Life” 129 Afterword 167 Appendix 171 Notes 179 References 203 Index 213 Illustrations Photographs Angel of the Resurrection 1. Bishop Charles H. Brent, Senior AEF Chaplain 3 2. U.S. Army Chaplain School, Camp Zachary Taylor 7 3. Camp Bartlett, Westfield, MA, group of chaplains 11 4. Chaplain Markham W. Stackpole circa 1916 12 5. Chaplain Michael J. O’Connor 14 6. Chaplain Murray W. Dewart circa 1916 16 7. Chaplain George S. L. Connor 17 8. Chaplain Israel Bettan 21 9. Chaplain Malcolm E. Peabody 24 10. “Off to the Front,” Chaplain Rollins delivers a sermon 36 11. Chaplain Rollins conducts a service in a dugout 37 12. Chaplain Anselm J. Mayotte 45 13. First YD funeral, near Vailly 48 14. Chaplain de Valles awarded the Croix de Guerre 56 15. Chaplain William J. Farrell 59 16. Chaplain Orville A. Petty receives the Silver Star 61 17. “Home on Leave,” Chaplain Rollins 63 18. Chaplain Walton S. Danker 65 19. Chaplain O’Connor offers Mass from back of an ambulance 68 20. Chaplain Harrison Ray Anderson 69 21. Chaplain Albert G. Butzer, Sr. 82 22. Chaplain Michael Nivard 83 23. Chaplain Charles K. Imbrie 84 24. Chaplain Thomas Guthrie Speers, Sr. 94 25. Chaplain Arthur J. LeVeer 96 26. Chaplain John Francis Tucker 100 27. Chaplain John H. Creighton conducts a service near Verdun 103 28. Chaplain Robert Campbell, Jr., conducts a burial service near Verdun 119 xi xii Illustrations 29. “Homeward Bound,” Chaplains Edwards, de Valles, O’Connor, Evans, and Imbrie 126 30. Rev. Murray W. Dewart 133 31. Chauncey Allen Adams, DD 139 32. Rev. George F. Jonaitis 143 33. Dr. Moody and Robert Frost at Middlebury College 150 34. Archbishop John J. Mitty 156 35. Chaplain Aldred A. Pruden 168 Map Partial map of France with highlights of YD service xxiii Preface Living in the Boston suburb of Framingham, Massachusetts, my family was no stranger to priests. They were guests at our dinner table. We saw them in formal and informal settings, and they engendered our respect. Rev. Mi- chael J. O’Connor (“Father Mike”) was my parents’ pastor at St. Bridget’s, and he was counted among my maternal grandfather’s many close friends. In fact, he celebrated the marriage of my parents. My mother regularly cor- responded with a high school chum, Rev. Francis McGauley, S.J., who, as a missionary, remained in India for decades, knowing that if he left, even briefly, it was unlikely he would be allowed to return. Years later, when he was back in the States, I met Frank for the first time when he was a guest of my parents, but it was like I had always known him. Monsignor Edward F. Sweeney, Director of the Propagation of the Faith, and, for a short time, Pastor at St. Bridget’s, frequently dined with us. Then there was Rev. John H. Chevalier, S.S.E., diminutive and slightly walleyed, who had known my Uncle Paul at St. Michael’s College in Winooski, Vermont. He labored at St. Martin de Porres Parish, a small mission church in Gadsden, Alabama, that served the African-American community. My family had recently moved there from suburban Chicago when we first met. “Just call me Fa- ther Chevy,” he would say, “I’m not a Cadillac.” This humble man, com- fortable in his own skin, did God’s work under difficult circumstances in Gadsden, and later in Selma, at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish. He died there on November 11, 1987. Like Fr. Chevy, Army chaplains worked under difficult circumstances. During the First World War, more than 2,300 men served as chaplains in the United States Army, although initially, only a fraction of them served overseas in the AEF. As there was no organized chaplain corps, the job was largely what they and their commanding officers made of it. They were often referred to as “handymen” and at times assigned to other minor du- ties. For some, their primary duty was to see that the soldiers’ conduct was pure and exemplary. As one soldier put it: “The chaplains . dwelt con- siderably upon maintaining the moral standard of the army. .” Howev- er, that was just one aspect of their duties. The war was a very difficult time xiii xiv Preface for the young soldiers, many of them overseas and away from home for the first time. Army chaplains were affectionately dubbed “Sky Pilots” and “Holy Joes,” and sometimes simply “Padre,” by the men they served.1 Most chaplains were there to lend an ear. The chaplains in the First World War did not officially bear arms of any kind, at least those serving in the British and American forces.2 The faith and courage of these men of the cloth under the most trying and terrible circumstances carried them through. They were incredibly brave men who risked life and limb to minister to the dead and dying as the shells flew overhead, unafraid to rush ammunition toward the front or to drive an ambulance hell-bent away from the front, carrying the wounded to safety. When the need arose, some pulled the lanyard on an artillery piece, while others tossed grenades. They suffered the same terrors and privations as the doughboys that they served; they dug the graves; they wrote the letters of condolence home. Just how a chaplain acted in the front lines was more important to the troops than a church service conducted in the rear. “A chaplain’s conduct at the front counts heavily with them; there, the chaplain proves his faith that there is an after world by his behavior under fire and in the face of war’s strain . [and he can] . win all the influence [he] may desire by an exhibition of calm and unflinching courage. .” This sentiment was echoed by long-time Chaplain Leslie Groves, who said that the ideal chap- lain “is the one who lives with the men, enduring the same hardships and encountering the same dangers, who is ruled not by selfishness but by love for all men . who can speak when the time comes the words that will be listened to.”3 In his excellent memoir, Good-bye to All That, Robert Graves compares the Anglican chaplains to the Catholic ones in the British Army. According to Graves, who served as an officer in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during the First World War, the former were not well thought of by the troops, while the latter were universally revered for their willingness to share the dangers of battle with their men. Perhaps apocryphally, he relates the story of the colonel of one battalion who had gone through four Anglican chaplains in four months. Exasperated, he finally asked that a Catholic chaplain be sent, claiming a mass change of faith in the men he commanded! In fairness to all chaplains, regardless of denomination, the esteem accorded each was in direct proportion to the degree of shared experience, and not his belief sys- tem. Who can ever forget the image of the four Army chaplains who gave up their life jackets so that others might live, praying together as the U.S. Army Transport Dorchester sank into the icy Atlantic in February 1943?4 If one were asked who was the most famous chaplain of World War I, Preface xv he or she would answer, “Father Francis Duffy of the 165th Infantry Regi- ment (‘Fighting 69th’) of the 42nd (‘Rainbow’) Division.” It is doubtful that one would be able to name another.