Destruction Everywhere

Lester Allen McPheron was a soldier with the AEF in France. His journal describes in detail his experiences on the front lines at the end of the war (specifically Oct. 22- Nov. 11). McPheron gives an enlightening view of the destruction when he states “when we started over the top we had 60 men in our platoon, Now we only had 14 the rest being killed or wounded”. In his reflections on Nov. 10-11, McPheron writes about his division hiking back toward the front lines on Sunday Nov. 10, (after a few days recovering several miles back from the front line), to prepare to go back "over the top" on the morning of Monday Nov. 11. Then, “at 6 am Monday morning orders came in that they would cease firing at the 11 hr of the 11 day of the 11 mo". Thus, McPheron's “division which was the 90th was on the front lines when the Armistice was signed.”

 

[…] Now when we started over the top we had 60 men in our platoon now we only had 14 the rest being killed or wounded[.] […] About noon our kitchens began moving up to the town and about 3 Oclock (sic) the Sgt 4 other men and I started out to find them on our way over we passed a lot of dead Germans who were laying along the side of the road where they had been thrown so as to open up the road for our trucks to pass, we went on for a mile or so where we found our kitchens in a woods where we got a good cup of coffe (sic) the first I had had in 5 days. […] I will never forget that hike as it was very difficult to travel after dark over a battle field full of shell holes without any light [.] We had gone about a mile when it began to rain and all the boys who had there [sic] rain coats left put them on I did not have any so had to take the rain[.] We went on for about 2 hrs and came to a small village which was full of dead Germans these Germans must of been dead for 5 or 6 days as the smell was something awful, we kept going stumbling along threw (sic) the mud and water which was over our shoe taps and at last we came to a wood. […] We stayed there one day and at 1 Oclock (sic) on Sunday morning which was now the 10th we rolled our packs and hiked all the rest of that night and all day Sunday towards the front lines and took up our section in a woods for we were going over the top again Monday morning. At 6am Monday morning orders came in that they would ceace [sic] firing at the 11 hr of the 11 day of the 11 mo and our division which was the 90th was on the front lines when the armistice was signed.

Citation: Lester Allen McPheron Journal. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minnesota. P1789