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| Missouri draft men being assigned to a regiment |
As soon as the American Government called for able bodied men to join the military, American correspondents were recruited to report news from the front. The Otto P. Higgins collection from the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, gives us a glimpse into the life of newspaper correspondents working in France during World War I. Otto Higgins did not spend a minute in the United States military, but he spent the entire span of the war in training camps and overseas with the army as a staff correspondent for the Kansas City Star. Higgins spent his time with the army and wrote about soldiers from the Mid-West, especially Missouri and Kansas. He began his service with the old Third Regiment, and was with regiments at Camp Nichols, Fort Riley, Camp Funston, Camp Doniphan, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Sheridan, and finally to France.
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| A Kansas blacksmith shoeing a Missouri mule |
According to Jonathan Casey, the National World War I Museum’s archivist, Otto Higgins’ granddaughter discovered the documents on a farm in Southwest Missouri in 2010. This is the museum’s only collection from a war correspondent and provides researchers with an interesting perspective into history. There were only a few accredited correspondents for the Army, so to come across such a large and rich collection from a war correspondent is rare. Casey explains how this collection essentially provides researchers with a first draft of history by having access to Higgins’ original stories before they became news. The collection not only includes first draft stories by Higgins. It also includes official documents of the rules correspondents had to follow as well as government passes permitting Higgins to travel along the front lines.
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| Receiving lines at Camp Funston, Kansas |
Of special interest, are the rules concerning censorship. Censorship is the removal or banning of anything regarded as harmful, offensive, or dangerous from letters, photographs, and news articles. Censors reviewed every story written by correspondents to make sure it did not include any sensitive information. Such information included references to specific army units or officers that could be used to benefit the enemy. Censorship also prevented the public from learning of the horrible conditions of war that could be detrimental to the morale on the home-front. While keeping information secure, censorship rules made it difficult for correspondents to report the news of interest to them. Documents outlining the extensive censorship rules are included in the Higgins collection and help researchers better understand the extent the government went to protect military intelligence and maintain a positive outlook of the war in the states.
In the collection are a number of stories written by Higgins describing the soldiers he met and his own personal experiences. One particular story illustrates the action Higgins encountered at Cheppy during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. His words bring the battle to life as he writes, “machine gun fire increased to terrific intensity while the constant shelling with high explosives continued.” The reader is able to get a first hand account of the intensity of the fighting and the urgent need to eliminate the enemy’s machine gun nests. This particular passage also illuminates the dangers correspondents faced while reporting. They were not protected on the front lines, and were in danger of gas attacks and bombing raids like the men in uniform. Higgins closes this passage by stating “It is felt that every officer and man who participated in the three hours stand at Cheppy is worthy of the highest commendation. It was an epic that will live in the annals of the division and the army. Many performed acts of the greatest heroism, worthy of all that is finest and noblest in the annals of our army and in the history of our country.” The reader can feel the gratitude and sympathy Higgins has for the soldiers, and again is provided with a first draft of history.
Listen to readings of
Otto P. Higgins’ stories.
Sources:
Higgins, Otto P. Collection, (2010.145) at the
National World War I Museum.
