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CAP’T CflflTSWORTHS TELLS OF 83IFTin' following letter from Capt0 William Coatsworth, son of Mr. am Mrs, Frank Coatsworth, of this city trill ho of much interest here as ii gives thf» authentic record of the 89tfi, j Division with which he had a promin I, ent warii in directing its activities or 2 tho Western fron. e| To the Editor,? j The MeJ.ico ledger,! Mexico, Missouri.Door Sir:—111 ILi.-jrs. Siifith Infantry, 89tk Divis ,! ion, A. E. F., Quint, Germany, Morel t j inth, 1319.—-In your edition of Fehru-1 nry 13 th, 13)3, there is contained ai e j j.cvmnt of the operation# of both thiI i S9th and 35th Amerean Divisions dor , I in4 the i-ccent war. As concerns thi1119th Division, this account is grossly- I dammit* and I believe that you wil t appreciate- the facts set below, aa nlt;i doubt, certain residents of Atidraii , county wilt quote from what ever you ; publish anil in a matter such as this i i believe that they should quote ror-J reetly.During tile Si, Mihiel offensive, ] was ItcgimentaJ Adjutant of the 35ffth , j Infantry, and during the Argonne-Muease offensive, 1 was llcgimental . Opwrnlioits officer of the same rcgr-I icent. I therefore am in a position to , jn-iili cuirectiy concerning the simple facts that I mention, and in addition , f these foe Is are a matter of offieint rec-'■rd. even though they do not seem to , iie in ptisseasion of the War Depart-. i meat nt Washington,. : The Sfflh Division as a whole, landedj i u Liverpool, England, around June- | loth, 191S and proceeded to the train-! i ing area in France via Southampton, ■; England nnd La Harve France. Thei training area was in the vicinity of Neufehatcau France and in the Department of the Vosges.J The Division left the training area I nn or about August 1st, 1918, andII traveled via trucks to the Lucy sector - of trenches, which was about 10 miles ; ii *rth and Went of Tout. This sector I ii, at times called the Toul sector.The Division went into the linea or about the 4th of August, 191S and was net brigaded witli any other i troops, as stated in your article. Also, | ‘ j pi ease note in the paragraph above I \ that the. sector taken over was not in ‘| the Vosges mountains.This sector was held by the Sath J Division till just before the St, Mihiol offensive on September 12th, 1918,J w hen the Division was moved over to 1 the right to make room for the addi-'] tionnl incoming Divisions.The 89th Division participated in the lt;St. Mhicl offensive, 12-lb September. 1918 ami after the close of that drive, they established and occupied their l part of the new line, holding it till I on or after October 7th, 1919. They, i then moved to the Argonne-Meuse ' country ;*r.d went into the line on October U*th, 1918, where they stayed | till 11:09 A. 34, November lltlv, 1918.I on or after October 7th, 1918, They ' ,-Urtrd the march into Germany, through Luxemburg and have up to date been a part of the American Army of Occupation, stationed in Ger-I many.I The Division ranks as one of the l wry b- -t of the American combat Divisions. The men call themselves j the Fighting Farmers ,and it :s due to I the wonderful spirit of our enlisted i iult; nt that the American Army has won I the place it holds today among the |■ Allied Armies.The 89th Division was not nt any ' tiniv brigaded with troops of any I otln-r country. They never occupied a j rector in tin- Vosges mountains. They I never fought in Belgium, and they | were not withdrawn from the Army of j Occupation as the Chief of Staff gave j out to a newspaper correspondents.I Regarding t he 35th Divisions, their j most fighting is being done right now in the legislative halls of Missouri j and Kansas. 'They are getting good j publicity and seem to be known in I 51 issouri, as the heroes of the Argonne. j 1 believe that they lasted five days In j that, their only major operation, and 1 then had to be withdrawn.| I mention the above in a joking , | manner, no offense intended, only I do fear that with all the racket being ! raised back in Missouri and Kansas 1 about tile 35th Division that many will , overlook the fact that practically as ; many Missouri men were in the S9th lt;Division as in the 33th Division and i | that justice will not be done to the , | Missouri men in the 89th.The Army of Occupation is com- h puspii of the elite of the combat div-! c Dions of the American Army. Each !; division fought its way into this Army | ( and the 89th Division hold# a promin- , ent position in this Army. Need more j s he said as to who represented Missouri {, in this war ?Very truly yours, „WM. M. COATSWORTH, „ Capt, 35G Infantry. ,_ t:
Newspaper Details
Mexico Weekly Ledger
Mexico, Missouri, US
Thu, Apr 10, 1919
Page 6
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