FRONT LINES

The World War I Memoirs
of
Capt. Wiltshire Clark Clayton

Edited by
Lauralee Hill Clayton
PENOBSCOT PRESS
2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1. Bound For France   Wartime Photo Pages
Chapter 2. "The Yanks Are Coming, Over There"
Chapter 3. Raids, Hikes and Denny, the Dog
Chapter 4. A Light Show Enroute to Soissons
Chapter 5. American Offensive
Chapter 6. Attack On Soissons
Chapter 7. Push On The Montsec Observatories
Chapter 8. Disappointments and Surprises
Chapter 9. Hikes and the Kreimhilde Stelling Ridge
Chapter 10. Converging On Sedan and Beyond Verdun
Chapter 11. The Other Side of Verdun
Chapter 12. March To the Coblenz Bridgehead

FOREWORD

Little is recorded about the experiences of the volunteer medical officers of World War I. Often fired upon, these men carried no arms but accompanied the troops into frontline battles, rescued wounded soldiers under shellfire and dressed their injuries. From the field notes and journal entries of such a volunteer, New York University alumni Wiltshire Clark Clayton, come these memoirs.

In unique circumstances, Wiltshire served in France in 1915 before America entered the war, was among the first Americans to enter France in 1917 and was with the first Americans to enter Germany after the Armistice. He was in the Army of Occupation for five months after the war's close. For two years during some of the worse battles Wiltshire kept a bulldog puppy named Denny.

Wiltshire's volunteer service with the Free French began with six months in Paris with the American (Ambulance) Hospital Corps. He then voluntarily transferred to a field hospital at Verdun. On his second volunteer tour of duty he accepted a commission in the same corps, serving with the First American Expeditionary Division in the 5th Field Artillery. Wiltshire later transferred to the 26th Infantry, under Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, and finally served with the 16th Infantry.

Filed away in an Army footlocker for 75 years, Wiltshire's candid memoirs speak to heart-thumping times of war when patriotism, valour, courage and willingness to sacrifice were the most admired qualities a young man could offer his country.

 

INTRODUCTION

These World War I memoirs were written in longhand by Wiltshire Clark Clayton, perhaps on his return voyage from Germany in 1919. They were drawn from his memories, his field notes, his letters, a talk he gave to his father's dental friends, and his notated photo album.

Wiltshire saved his war memorabilia in his military trunk. The items on top consisted of a dismantled German lugar, some enemy helmets bearing bullet holes, his dog tags clinking from a tan piece of cloth tape, and his uniform in a brown paper package.

Over the years, the footlocker was stashed in a closet, an attic or a barn at various Clayton homes. No one, not even his wife, knew that the memoirs, field notes and photo album lay hidden at the bottom of the trunk.

Wiltshire Clayton died in 1975. The trunk languished in a storage room in Camden, Maine. In 1993 after the death of his wife Clarice, we investigated the contents more thoroughly and discovered the history of Wiltshire's war experience. During the Armistice Day celebrations in 1995 we visited France to follow the World War I trails and battle sites mentioned.

---LHC

 

 

This book is available from:

Lauralee Hill Clayton
P0 Box 267
Lincolnville, ME 04849