The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-02-17
NEWS Of
BOYS FROM HERE
Capt. E. w. Gibson of 57th
Pioneer Regiment
Home Sunday
VERMONT SOLDIERS
WIDELY SCATTERED

Regiment Split Up for Replacement
Purposes Gibson at Camp
Devens for Present-Not Decided as
| to Future Plans.
| After being away from home since |
last fall. Capt. Ernest W. Gibson, per-
sonnel adiutant of the 57th Pioneer
regiment, who arrived in Newport
News, Va, Saturday, Feb. 8, as troop |
ship commander of the battleship Yer
mont in command of the 1000 or more
troops on board, came from Camp Dew
vens, Aver Mass, Saturday night, re.
manning at his home until this morning, |
when he returned to Camp Devens He
was accompanied by Regimental Ser
gcant Major Bernard H. Haus of this
town, who also was at home until this
morning.
| Captain Gibson went overseas last Oc-
tober, leaving Spartanburg, s. c., Sept
l23 and sailing from Hoboken, n. j.
lSept. 20 on the Leviathan, formerly the
herman liner, Vateriand. Besides the
18th Pioneers there was on board the adj
vance party of the 3lst division, max
ing in all about II 900 troops Col Fred
b. Thomas of Montpelier was in COM
mand of the 57th Pioneers of which the
commissioned officers, non-commissioned
officers and about 500 men were Yer
monters, $500 or more being from Ten
nessee and a few from Chicago. Many
of the Vermonters were recruits Sc
cured by Capt. Gibson, who Travelled
throughout the state for that purpose.
About 80 men of the regiment died in
three days on the trip overseas, all of
pneumonia following influenza, and
there were many more deaths later.
, Regimental Sergeant Major Elmer
Gray of the headquarters company died
on the water and was buried in the
Lambazelles cemetery at Brest, France
! Private John Macdonald died the see
ond day after landing. Mess Sergeant
Fred Bastian the fourth day and Ser
geant Joseph Yarker within few days.
These four were Brattlebcro boys.
: From Brest the regiment went to the
: Haute Marine region, in the advance
lsection of the army, and remained there
! until Oct. IS, when it went with the
! 55th Pioneers to lie Mans, Cd depot
There it was split up for replacement
: purposes, some of the officers being sent
. ito the front line and participating as
: company commanders in the drive of
J, the last few days prior TO the signing
of the armistice. Capt. Charles E. Hum
incl of Montpelier was wounded and
has returned to the states.
After reaching lie Mans Captain
Gibson was engaged in regimental work,
closing up the records of the enlisted
men in different training areas to which
they had been sent. Then cadre of
Il the 57th Pioneers was established, which
was a nucleus of the regiment, and
captain Gibson was placed in charge
They set about getting the regimental
records together, TO be returned to the
~ adjutant general of the army, and they
70 brought these records to the United
p States.
The day after being placed in charge
8 of the eadre Captain Gibson was or
oe dered sent TO the general headquarters
, of the American Expeditionary force al
n Chaumont, but the previous order tool
= precedence, otherwise he probably
q would have remained in France a
~ least another year.
= On board the battleship Vernon
u, were 40 officers and about LOCO men
q including the cadres of the 57th, soil
~ and 4th Pioneer regiments, the 4S3C
- and 4S9th aero squadrons and the ST
- Afghan casual companies 467, All, Al:
y and 476.
nc These troops left Brest Jan. "a an,
"e had rough passage to Newport News
- y From there Captain Gibson came Fri
y day night to Camp Devens in charg
y of a trainload of soldiers to be dis
charged.
Captain Gibson did not have tn
records of the Brattleboro boys wit
him. but he recalled a few. Sergean
In Walter Fairbanks. who was employs
by the New England Telephone & Tel
egraph Co., is with prison escort com
ep lpany guarding prisoners at Brest. Sci
US geant Frank Dunlevy and Sergean
pc, John Atkinson. when last heard fror
hg were with prison escort companies /
ew the Verdun sector. Sergeant Thomas
ed DOYLE, Cook William Lee and Coo
er Joseph Marshall went to the 49th u.
Tn, infantry and Cooks Lee and Marsha
my were detached from the 49th when tha
ea Organization passed through Brest an
OF are now cooking at the Pontanezza
ng barracks at the pert of embarkatiol
Battalion Sergeant Major Porter }
Spencer is with labor battalion ne;
+. Marseilles.
At lie Mans Captain Gibson sa
.le Sergeant John j. Garrity of Compan
IN, 102d machine gun battalion, WI
lsaid he expected to be sent home b
ne, fore long. Sergeant Garrity WEI
EN- through some of the hardest fighting