Friday, April 7th, 2017, was the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War 1. This got me to thinking about my great grandfather Orlie Charles McKenzie, who served in the 330th Field Artillery, Battery C, which was a part of the 85th Infantry Division, commonly known as the "Custer Division"
Orlie registered for the World War 1 draft on June 5th, 1917 in Briley Township, Montmorency County, Michigan. At the time, he was 23 years old. He was a single man working on a farm owned by his mother Mary Anna (Faught) McKenzie and stepfather Adam Hoffman.
Orlie claimed exemption from the draft, his grounds for this claim was Rheumatism. This claim was obviously not enough to keep him out of the war.
The 85th Division, the division that Orlie was a part of, was first established as part of the National Army, on August 25, 1917. Organized at Camp Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan, thus the reason it became known as the Custer Division.
The slideshow below gives us a glimpse of what life was like at Camp Custer during the time that Orlie was attending basic training.
After nearly a year's training, the Division embarked for England. From here the 339th Infantry Regiment, with attached engineer and medical units, was shipped to Russia where it participated in bitter fighting against the Bolshevik Revolutionary Army. The remainder of the Division, including the 330th regiment, was moved to France where individual organizations supported the IV, V, and VI Corps. In France the Division served primarily as a replacement depot division, furnishing some 20,000 replacements to other organizations.
The uniform shown in the image to the right is an example of what Orlie's uniform would have looked like. It is a good match for the one that he wore in the pictures above. This image shows the patch designated for the 85th Infantry Division, the "CD" stands for "Custer Division".
At the close of the war parts of the Division served in Germany in the American Army of Occupation. Orlie's regiment, the 330th, most likely did not see any combat.
By August 1919, however, the last elements of the Division had returned to the United States.
This collection contains records of the U.S. Army Transport Service (ATS), which was established in 1899 as part of the Army Quartermaster Department. It was originally created to manage the transport of troops and cargo on Army ships that traveled between U.S. and overseas ports during the Spanish-American War. During World War 1, the Quartermaster Corps managed the Army's deepwater fleet.
Specifically, the records in this collection consist of passenger lists created between 1910 and 1939. These lists recorded details on all persons arriving at U.S. ports on ATS ships. One such set of passenger lists provide details of my great grandfather's trip home.
Below is a map of Orlie's trip from Brest, France to his hometown in Atlanta, Montmorency, Michigan.
Orlie's trip home started in Brest, France on March 31st, 1919. Orlie boarded an Army Transport Ship (ATS) called the S.S. Pannonia in Brest, France, departing for Camp Mills in Long Island, New York.
The maps below show the location of Camp Mills
From Camp Mills, Orlie stayed aboard the S.S. Pannonia and continued on his journey towards home. The passenger list does not specifically state the Pannonia's final destination. My assumption, based on research, is that the troops were taken back to Camp Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan.
The image below is a close-up of the record for Orlie Charles McKenzie. The passenger list shows that he was a private in Battery C of the 330th Regiment. His next of kin is his mother Mrs. Annie Hoffman and his final destination is his hometown of Atlanta, Montmorency, Michigan.
Less than three months after his arrival home, on July 1st, 1919, Orlie married Mae Arla King in Atlanta, Montmorency County, Michigan. His siblings Oral and Cora McKenzie were witnesses to the marriage.
I don't have a great war story to share for Orlie, however, it was very interesting to get a glimpse into his life during this time. Although he did not see combat while serving, he was lucky, at the age of 23, coming from a small farming community in Northern Michigan, to see parts of the world that he otherwise would never have had the chance to see.
