In World War I, many U.S. Navy corpsmen served alongside the Marine Corps providing medical care to combat casualties. Their undaunting courage saved the lives of many men and earned Navy corpsmen 460 major awards and citations, including two Medals of Honor, 55 Navy Crosses, 31 Distinguished Service Medals, 2 U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medals, and 27 letters of commendation, as well almost as many French decorations of the Croix de Guerre.1 Attached to the 5th Marines and 6th Marines of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division, American Expeditionary Forces, the Navy Corpsmen served alongside Marines in an Army Division placed mostly under French control. Therefore, many of them received medals from different branches of the military. Unfortunately, their contributions find only small reference in the many books written about the Marine Corps in World War I.2 By focusing on the heroic deeds of Navy corpsmen from each of the 2nd Division’s six major engagements, the legacy of their sacrifice is revealed.
In the early morning of 13 April 1918, the 6th Marines received their first heavy losses of the war. The 74th Company, 6th Marines slept in reserve at Camp Fontaine St. Robert, mostly in barracks in a wooded ravine. Suddenly, a heavy barrage made of mostly gas inundated the area, catching the Marines in their billets before they had a chance to escape.3 A shell struck the roof of the barracks, and the concentrated fumes filled the building before the men were able to get their gas masks on. The wind quickly spread the gas to all parts of the ravine.
All officers were evacuated in serious condition, and about 220 men were burned or had inhaled the gas. Forty of them died as a result.4 Two hospital corpsmen, 18-year-old Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Fred C. Schaffner of Kewanee, Illinois, and 22-year-old Hospital Apprentice First Class Carl O. Kingsbury of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, worked for hours over their comrades to relieve their pain and save their lives. With no concern for their own personal safety, both corpsmen treated more than 100 cases of gas casualties without a gas mask. The two men spent several hours aiding the wounded. Schaffner and Kingsbury suffered from exposure to the gas through breathing and touching the wounded as it had seeped into their uniforms. When visible symptoms of gas poisoning appeared, both men were ordered to the rear despite their protests. They collapsed soon afterward.5 Schaffner inhaled so much gas that he died 48 hours later. Kingsbury was evacuated and spent the next three and half months in the hospital, one month of which he was totally blind.
Both men were awarded the Army Distinguished Service Cross and received a Special Letter of Commendation becoming the first Naval Personnel to receive the D.S.C. in World War I.6 After recovering from his wounds, Kingsbury became an orderly to General James G. Harbord until July 1919, when he became a staff orderly for the Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, General John J. Pershing. He was discharged from the service on 27 September 1919. In Rock Island, Illinois, the American Legion honored Schaffner’s memory by establishing the Fred C. Schaffner Post in 1919.7
After their time in the Verdun Sector, the Marines rested for a short time until 30 May. The 2nd Division received orders to relieve the 1st Division at Cantigny. However, the next day, orders were changed to relieve the French army at Chateau-Thierry. The Marines then boarded French trucks and rushed to halt the German offensive that had demolished the French and British lines, creating a bulge in the Allied line.
On 1 June, the Marines dug in along the Paris-Metz Highway. The next day, an artillery barrage announced the attack as the Germans came swarming through the wheat fields. The Germans, confident in victory, charged the field in mass formation but did not break the American lines. Instead, they retreated and dug into Belleau Wood. For the next three days, the Marines waited for another attack that never came.
On 6 June, the 6th Marines spread out along their lines and prepared to advance across open wheat fields toward their objectives in and around Belleau Wood. The 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines was tasked to attack the occupied town of Bouresches directly.8 They advanced across an open wheat field more than 200 yards wide.9 Enemy machine guns from the tree line of Belleau Wood and from the town began working over the ranks of Marines as they emerged through the wheat. Casualties quickly rose as men fell in the onslaught of bullets.
During the course of this attack, Pharmacist’s Mate First Class Ursher Lee Fifer, a 22-year-old from Weyers Cave, Virginia, dressed and evacuated wounded Marines from the wheat field swept by heavy artillery and machine gun barrage. His heroic conduct was credited with steadying the lines and spurring on the attacking platoons through the barrage. For this action, Fifer received the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star Medal, Letter of Commendation, and Croix de Guerre with Gold Star. Fifer also would earn four more Silver Stars for actions at Soissons and Blanc Mont, another Letter of Commendation for actions at Soissons, and another Croix de Guerre with Gold Star for actions at Soissons.
From 18–19 July, the 2nd Division participated in the Aisne-Marne Offensive. The 5th Marines attacked on the 18th with the 6th advancing the next day. On the 19 July, the 6th Marines attacked the German line east of Vierzy. The Marines had French tanks leading the charge across open, rolling wheat field. The slow pace of the French tanks caused the Marines to creep across the field, making them easy targets for the German artillery.10 Enemy artillery fire and crossfire from numerous German machine guns placed in the woods to the front and flanks decimated the ranks of the Marines. Such heavy losses forced the Marines to halt their advance and dig into the earth for cover.11
Many wounded Marines littered the open fields with no facilities for retrieving the injured. Despite the dangers, Chief Pharmacist’s Mate Horatio D. Gates, a 30-year-old from Gilbertsville, New York, moved through artillery barrages and enfilading machine gun fire to care for the wounded. His cool and effective work undoubtedly saved many lives. For his heroism on 19 July, Gates received the Navy Cross, Silver Star, and Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star. Gates was detached from the 4th Brigade 18 August and died on 27 October of peritonitis following an operation for appendicitis at Navy Base Hospital No. 1.12
From 12–16 September, the 2nd Division was tasked with taking two towns, Thiaucourt and Jaulny, in order to straighten out the St. Mihiel Salient.13 On the morning of 12 September, the Marines advanced surpassed Thiaucourt with only slight casualties. The 13th and 14th were relatively quiet for the Marines as they continued to move forward.14 However, on 15 September, they faced their most vicious fighting of the St. Mihiel Offensive.
The Marines’ advance had pushed into the forward outpost line of the German’s Hindenburg Line. Not only was the area heavily fortified, but the Germans had been rushing troops into the area to stop the Americans.15 The Marines faced enfilading fire, heavy artillery barrages, and German aviation, which attacked the American lines. During this day of heavy fighting, Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Edmund P. Groh, a 21-year-old from Belmond, Iowa, earned his second and third Silver Star and second wound. During the drive, Groh displayed remarkable devotion to duty by giving first aid to Marines without the safety of cover in the face of machine-gun fire. In this action, Groh was wounded multiple times, most seriously in his right arm. However, he refused to leave the exposed area until the wounded were cared for. He finally left the area only to assist a seriously wounded man before returning to the rear.16
Groh had been awarded a Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Letter of Commendation, and Croix de Guerre with Silver Star for a similar action on 19 July during the Battle of Soissons. While dressing the wounded in an open field, a machine-gun bullet tore through his gas mask and another tore through his pants, inflicting a slight wound to his left thigh.17 He refused to be evacuated until he had dressed all the wounded that had been brought to him.18
After the war, Groh studied in Minnesota to obtain a pharmacist’s degree. After Pearl Harbor, Groh traveled to Hawaii and “talked the Navy into waiving his disabilities and the age requirements to enlist as a Chief Pharmacist Mate.” He served during World War II in the Aleutians for 14 months until transferring to the hospital corps school on Aiea as an instructor in 1944.19 Groh also had a son, Edmund Phillip Groh Jr., who joined the Marine Corps on 9 December 1947. On 28 August 1950, he was transferred to Co. F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and sent to Korea. He was killed on 3 November 1950 on Hill 698 as the Marines moved into the Chosin Reservoir.20
Blanc Mont Ridge
From 2–10 October 1918, the 2nd Division engaged the Germans in the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge. This bloody struggle would inflict the heaviest single-day casualties for the Marines in World War I.21 The 2nd Division, AEF faced a series of German rear guard positions that had been improved in the preceding year with reinforced machine-gun positions and shell-proof bunkers. Strongpoints also offered indirect fire support from fixed artillery positions in the rear.22
On 3 October, the 6th Marines’ attack met with initial success. They had taken part of Blanc Mont Ridge, but many fortified positions along the summit still remained. Deep bunkers and a network of communication trenches would take several more days to capture. On the morning of 4 October 1918, the 3rd and 4th Brigades prepared to attack the German positions. The 5th Marines launched the attack north from its position behind and among the 6th Marines atop Blanc Mont Ridge. Rising casualties began almost instantly as the 5th Marines advanced into a German barrage without any protection of Allied artillery.
As the Marines emerged from cover over the slope from Blanc Mont and into a draw before the base of the ridge known as Ludwigs Rücken, the German defenders opened fire in a devious trap. The Americans encountered strong machine gun fire coming from the northwestern side of Blanc Mont Ridge, as well as from their front and each flank. The heavy losses forced the 5th Marines to advance all of the battalion. A panicked retreat began as the Marines realized their predicament but was ended as the reserve battalion made it into the line.23
In this hellish situation, Pharmacist’s Mate First Class Ray A. Messanelle, a 21-year-old from Utica, New York, boldly cared for and evacuated wounded Marines under heavy shelling and machinegun fire. He continually exposed himself to danger to carry wounded comrades to a safe place from which they could be evacuated. For this action, Messanelle received the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Croix de Guerre with Gold Star. He also had been previously wounded during the Battle of Belleau Wood.
Messanelle continued serving with the Marines until January 1919, when he transferred to the Mine Sweeping Fleet in the North Sea through the fall of 1919. He remained in the Navy and in the late 1920s served with the Marines in Nicaragua, where he received a letter of commendation for gallantry in action.24 During World War II, he received a commission to lieutenant commander and retired in 1956.
By 10 November, at the end of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the Americans had pushed to the edge of the Meuse River. Although rumors swirled about a coming armistice, the decision was made to attempt a river crossing on pontoon bridges that night. The Germans held the wooded heights with machine-gun nests and snipers under cover of brush and heavy woods along the east bank. Men of the 2nd Engineers were ordered to throw two-foot bridges across the Meuse at a point outside of Villemontry.
The footbridges were improvised of scrap lumber salvaged from old German barracks and partially destroyed buildings. Bright moonlight threatened to expose the operation, but a dense fog blanketed the river. The Meuse had a width of 60 yards and a depth that varied from five to 25 feet. The enemy sent up flares to aid its artillery, which quickly dropped a barrage as the engineers worked to get the bridges across the river. Within seven minutes, the upstream bridge was complete and the 5th Marines began to cross under a hail of high-explosive artillery and machine-gun bullets. The lower bridge was delayed after a direct artillery hit but was quickly fixed and Marines began to swarm across. In the last few hours of the war, another corpsman proved his bravery.
During the attack, the Marines began taking heavy losses. Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Alvin Lester Bowman, a 23-year-old from Philomath, Oregon, came to their aid. Alvin had joined the 5th Marines alongside his brother, Hospital Apprentice First Class Roy Bowman, on 19 June 1918 during the Battle of Belleau Wood. Roy was wounded and evacuated on 2 October 1918 during the battle of Blanc Mont Ridge. This left Alvin and a few other corpsmen to aid the Marines during the Meuse-Argonne.
As the 5th Marines’ casualties rose, Alvin showed extraordinary heroism as he crossed the blood-soaked pontoon bridge. He found multiple wounded Marines on the east bank. Without a thought of personal danger, he picked up the wounded men and carried them back across the bridge to a place of relative safety before returning across the bridge once more to repeat the act. His official citation states that he carried three men back across the bridge, but in a letter home he claimed he carried ten. “It was hardly my good judgement, but a case of saving ten of my company. I was the only one to do the work, as the other three were put out of action, two killed and the other wounded. I was in the same predicament two months ago when brother was wounded.”25 For this action, Alvin Bowman received the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, and his second Silver Star. The citation for the second Silver Star combined his actions on 10 November with another conducted on 3 November where “this solder (bluejacket), under an intense artillery barrage, was exceptionally conspicuous for his bravery and coolness in dressing the wounded carrying them to a place of comparative safety.” His first Silver Star came from actions at Blanc Mont Ridge.26
These men exemplify the heroic work of the U.S. Navy corpsmen in World War I. By focusing on the heroic deeds of these select few enlisted U.S. Navy medical personnel, the legacy of their sacrifice is revealed. Undaunting courage and heroics beyond the call of duty set the standard for Navy corpsmen that continues to this day.
1. U.S. Navy, United States Naval Hospital Corpsman 3 & 2 Training Manual, June 1989. https://www.brooksidepress.org.
2. Col. William Anderson USMCR (Ret), “Devil Dogs in Blue and Gold: Battalion Medical Support to the 4th Marine Brigade,” Leatherneck, Vol. 101, No. 9, (September 2018), 30. See this article for a more detailed discussion of relationship and formation of the medical support for the Marines.
3. Maj. Edwin N. McClellan, “The Fourth Brigade of Marines in the Training Areas and the Operations in the Verdun Sector,” Marine Corps Gazette 5, no. 1, (March 1920): 102.
4. McClellan, “The Fourth Brigade of Marines,” 102
5. “Welcome Home Event Success,” The Daily Times, Davenport, Iowa, February 26, 1919, 7.
6. Strott, 228, 241-242.
7. “Legion Post Named After First to Die,” The Rock Island Argus, Rock Island, Illinois, October 11, 1919, 2.
8. Kevin Seldon, “The Battle of Belleau Wood: America’s Indoctrination into 20th Century Warfare” (master’s thesis, University of Central Oklahoma, 2010), 117-118.
9. Harrison Cale, “The American Marines at Verdun, Chateau Thierry, Bouresches, and Belleau Wood,” Indiana Magazine of History 15, no. 2 (June, 1919): 187.
10. George B. Clark, Devil Dogs: Fighting Marines of World War I. (Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 2000), 247.
11. Herbert H. Akers, History of the Third Battalion, Sixth Regiment, US Marines, (Hillsdale, Michigan: Akers, Mac Ritchie, & Hurlbut, 1919): 40.
12. “Horatio Dwight Gates,” Willmar Tribune, Willmar, Minnesota, 13 November 1918, 6.
13. George B. Clark, Devil Dogs: Fighting Marines of World War I. (Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 2000): 272.
14. Colonel Walter G. Ford, USMC (Ret), Reducing the Saint-Mihiel Salient: September 1918, (Quantico, Virginia: History Division United States Marine Corps, 2018), 34-39.
15. Ford, Reducing the Saint-Mihiel Salient, 42.
16. George G. Strott, Navy Medics with the Marines 1917-1919, (Nashville, TN: Battery Press, reprint 2005), 219.
17. “Relative of Edmund Groh…,” Belmond Herald, Belmond, Iowa, 21 August 1918.
18. Strott, Navy Medics with the Marines, 222-223.
19. “Groh Pharmacy to Specialize Pharmaceuticals,” The Windward News, Lanikai, Hawaii, June 10, 1949.
20. Edmund P. Groh, Jr., U.S.M.C. Record of Service.
21. Lt. Col. Peter F. Owen, USMC (Ret.) and Lt. Col. John Swift, USMC (Ret.), A Hideous Price: The 4th Brigade at Blanc Mont 2-10 October 1918, (Quantico, Virginia: History Division United States Marine Corps, 2019), 54.
22. Owen and Swift, A Hideous Price, 7-9.
23. James P. Gregory Jr., “A Calamity of Errors: The Untold Story of the 5th Regiment at Blanc Mont Ridge on 4 October 1918,” Marine Corps History, Vol. 7, No. 2, (Winter 2021), 30.
24. “Ray A. Messanelle,” Headquarters Army and Navy Legion of Valor of the U.S., Vol, 51, No. 2, (January 3, 1941), 10.
25. “Falls City Boy Wins D.S.C.,” Lincoln County Leader, Toledo, Oregon, February 28, 1919, 4.
26. Strott, Navy Medics with the Marines, 212-213.