Establishing the American Way of Death: World War I and the Foundation ...

ESTABLISHING THE AMERICAN WAY OF DEATH: WORLD WAR I AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE UNITED STATES' POLICY TOWARD THE REPATRIATION AND BURIAL OF ITS BATTLEFIELD DEAD Kyle J. Hatzinger, B.S.

Thesis Prepared for Degree of MASTER OF ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2015

APPROVED: Geoffrey D.W. Wawro, Major Professor Michael V. Leggiere, Committee Member Richard B. McCaslin, Committee Member

and Chair of the Department of History Costas Tsatsoulis, Interim Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School

Hatzinger, Kyle J. Establishing the American Way of Death: World War I and the Foundation of the United States' Policy Toward the Repatriation and Burial of Its Battlefield Dead. Master of Arts (History), August 2015, 158 pp., bibliography, 63 titles.

This thesis examines the policies and procedures created during and after the First World War that provided the foundation for how the United States commemorated its war dead for the next century. Many of the techniques used in modern times date back to the Great War. However, one hundred years earlier, America possessed very few methods or even ideas about how to locate, identify, repatriate, and honor its military personnel that died during foreign conflicts. These ideas were not conceived in the halls of government buildings. On the contrary, concerned citizens originated many of the concepts later codified by the American government. This paper draws extensively upon archival documents, newspapers, and published primary sources to trace the history of America's burial and repatriation policies, the Army Graves Registration Services, and how American dead came to permanently rest in military cemeteries on the continent of Europe. The unprecedented dilemma of over 80,000 American soldiers buried in France and surrounding countries at the conclusion of the First World War in 1918 propelled the United States to solve many social, political, and military problems that arose over the final disposition of those remains. The solutions to those problems became the foundation for how America would repatriate, honor, and mourn its military dead for the next century. Some of these battles persist even today as the nation tries to grapple with the proper way to commemorate the nation's participation in the First World War on the eve of the conflict's centennial.

Copyright 2015 By

Kyle J. Hatzinger

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It took closer to a small city than a village of people to mold me into someone worthy of completing a master's thesis. First, I would like to thank Dr. Wawro for taking me on as a student and continuously challenging my research to nest itself within a current historical argument. Dr. Leggiere was instrumental in assimilating me into UNT, and treating me as one of his graduate students despite me not converting to Napoleonic studies. Dr. McCaslin's mentorship helped me become a better student and helped me to realize how my research could fit in the current historiography. The Department of History, particularly the Military History Center (MHC) at the University of North Texas, proved invaluable to my studies and went to great lengths to help me assimilate from soldier to scholar in training. Financial aid from both the department and MHC contributed to multiple archival research trips. Combined with a grant from the Omar Bradley Research Fellowship in Military History, I have not wanted for monetary resources. Last and certainly not least I must thank my wife Brittany, for her support during these two years at North Texas. Her unyielding patience allowed me to spend the requisite time on school and this project to achieve the final result. As in all things, I hope this makes her proud. She, Andrew and Marion provided constant relief from this somewhat depressing subject and the motivation to excel. Finally, my profound thanks as well to my mother, Lynn, and father, Pete. They have known of and encouraged my dream to attend graduate school and return to West Point. While my father did not live to see the completion of this dream, he has never been far from my thoughts as I completed this endeavor, and more than once I wished I could call him to discuss the topic. It is to him I humbly dedicate this paper.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..............................................................................................................iii Chapters CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 THE AMERICAN WAY OF DEATH: UNITED STATES AND EUROPEAN MILITARY BURIAL PRACTICES PRIOR TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR............................. 7 CHAPTER 3 TO WHOM DO THE DEAD BELONG: AMERICAN SOCIAL UPHEAVAL RESULTING FROM POLITICAL STRIFE BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES ........................................................................................................................................ 17 CHAPTER 4 DO NOT DISTURB: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PERMANENT OVERSEAS MILITARY CEMETERIES.................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 5 HOMECOMING: REPATRIATION AND BURIAL IN THE UNITED STATES ....................................................................................................................................................... 82 CHAPTER 6 THE AMERICAN WAY OF REMEMBRANCE: THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER, THE GOLD STAR MOTHERS' PILGRIMAGE, AND THE FIGHT FOR NATIONAL COMMEMORATION OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR............................. 108 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION.................................................................................................... 135 Appendices APPENDIX A FRENCH ZONE OF THE ARMIES AND ZONE OF THE INTERIOR DESIGNATION ......................................................................................................................... 143 APPENDIX B EXAMPLES OF BURIAL REPORTS ............................................................. 145

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