James Kellogg Burnham Hockaday and 354th Infantry

Hockaday in uniform
1986.213.70

One of the first collections chosen to be digitized for the project, the James Kellogg Burnham Hockaday Collection at the National World War I Museum, contains a variety of archival material.  The personal correspondence found in the collection is best at demonstrating the experiences of a soldier at war.  Hockaday’s correspondence dates from the beginning of his military life overseas to his time with the Army of Occupation and recounts events in the trenches, as well as sentiments of England, France, and Germany.

J. K. Burnham Hockaday served in Company “A” of the 354^th Infantry, 89^th Division.  While the majority of the company hailed from Audrain, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties in Missouri, Hockaday resided in Kansas City where he enlisted on August 15, 1917.  Ten months later, Hockaday and the 354^th Infantry sailed for Europe aboard the SS Berrima and disembarked at Tillbury, England on June 21, 1918.  In the four days Hockaday traveled through England en route to La Havre, France, he collected several observations of England and its inhabitants, especially the women.

Page 3 of Hockaday's letter home - June 23, 1918
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On June 23, 1918, in one of his first letters home, Hockaday raves about the hard-working nature of the English women with whom he has come into contact.  “One of the things which impressed me most, was the women in the big factories and plants. Every factory, whether it was an iron foundry or chemical plant or what, we passed, I did not see in it one single man. The women all would come running out in their overalls or “unionalls” and wave to us as we went by. You cannot begin to be impressed by this significance until you are over here and actually see it. It is the English women who are winning this war today, in my opinion. The sacrifices which they are undergoing has won from us all the highest admiration.”

Hockaday’s wonderment did not cease in England, he continued to view Europe as a “quaint and picturesque” continent throughout France.  In a letter dated July 14, 1918, Hockaday wrote, “I am now “Somewhere in France” and have been for some little time. This is one of the prettiest countries I have been in. People don’t live out on farms here but dwell in picturesque little villages and go out in the daytime to farm.” As time wore on, Hockaday started to experience a less than appealing view of France as his company encountered the horrors of war.

Page 7 of Hockaday's letter to I.O. -
August 28, 1918
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In the War Diary of the 354^th Infantry, 89^th Division, Lt. John F. McGrath noted that Company “A” had its first encounter with German gas attacks on August 7, 1918.  “...from 10 p.m. till 4 a.m. were subjected to intense retaliation gas attacked causing 3 officers and 36 men of the company to become casualties.”  In a letter dated August 28, 1918, Hockaday described the events of August 7-8 to his brother Irvine Orly Hockaday.  “I was starting out from my own trenches with a raiding party a while ago when the Huns began shelling the lower end of the valley for all they were worth with the mustard gas... The gas masks are sure protection against all gas, but unless you know the smell of gas it is hard to tell when you are in it... I suppose you remember Lieutenant Cox and Lieutenant Topping who tented with me at Camp Mills and whom you thought was such fine fellows. They were both badly gassed I hope not fatally. Of course we are fighting now and we all realize that some of us have to go. It is in line of duty, however, and is expected to a certain extent. If we stopped to mourn and sympathize, we would lose all of our morale and never accomplish our task.”

The next day, Hockaday’s company moved to the extreme front lines at Flirey and encountered a heavy barrage and German raiding party.  After an unsuccessful first attempt, the Germans replicated the attack a couple days later and on September 12, the St. Mihiel Offensive began.  In Company “A” 354^th Infantry American Expeditionary Forces, the offensive is described as starting when “a few big guns opened up to out left and in the rear, and an instant later as the hour hand reached the one o’clock mark our artillery thundered everywhere.  It was as if the heavens had suddenly broken loose for with the vivid flashes of the big guns and the monstrous explosions of the screaming shells flying through the air, the sky presented a wonderfully spectacular appearance; we had never seen the like before, in fact, until this time the American artillery had never realized its possibilities and power; the famous St. Mihiel drive had started.” 

Signal Made by Infantry and Artillery
1986.213.17

Hockaday later described the St. Mihiel scene to his Aunt Jessie in a letter dated October 2, 1918.  “It was a beautiful sight.  The flashes from the big guns lit up the sky like lightning.”  On December 1, 1918, in a letter to his father, Hockaday continued his recollections of the actions during the St. Mihiel drive:  “we went right forward from here to the little village of Beney, Xammes, & [Thiaucourt]. We remained there a few weeks, where we received quite a bit of artillery fire and gave considerable in return.”

With the cessation of the war, the 354^th Infantry transferred to the Army of Occupation.  During his time in the Army of Occupation, Hockaday traveled from Belgium to Luxembourg to Germany.  In a letter dated January 1, 1919, to his father, Hockaday traces his steps from Belgium to Germany and once again described Germany as “some of the prettiest country and landscape over here I have ever seen.”  In February, Hockaday and Company “A” took their position at Trier where they remained until their return the United States in October 1919.

In September, the Kansas City Star featured an article that mentioned the World War I military experiences of James Kellogg Burnham Hockaday.  The article discussed the objectionable use of chemical weapons from World War I to the current conflict in Syria.

Bibliography

Adler, Eric, Lee Hill Kavanaugh, and Darryl Levings.  “Crossing the red line:  The taboo of chemical weapons.”  Kansas City Star, September 7, 2013
http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/07/4464763/crossing-the-red-line-the-taboo.html.

Company “A” 354^th Infantry American Expeditionary Forces.  Trier, Germany:  J. Lintz, 1919.

Hockaday, James Kellogg Burnham Collection.  1986.213.  National World War I Museum, Kansas City, MO.

McGrath, Lt. John F.  War Diary of 354^th Infantry 89^th Division.  Trier, Germany:  J. Lintz, 1919.