Legacy of Honor: The Patriarch by Larry Freeland

• Author:
• Larry Freeland

The Patriarch of the family, Sam McCormick, is part of a contingent of Ohio National Guard units called up to form the Rainbow Division. They were the first American Division sent to France when America entered World War I. He serves as an Infantryman (Doughboy) with the Rainbow Division of the American Expeditionary Force, fighting in France. He will see action in three major operations: the Second Battle of the Marne (7-5-1918 through 8-6-1918), the Battle of Saint-Mihiel (9-12-1918 through 9-15-1918), and the Battle of the Argonne (9-26-1918 through 11-11-1918). During the War, he and his buddies will be gassed, experience horrific artillery bombardments and machine gun fire as they cross “no man’s land” repeatedly to close with the Germans and take their trenches.

He will cross paths with General Pershing the American Expeditionary Force Commanding Officer, General Douglas MacArthur the Rainbow Division Commanding Officer, Sgt. York (most highly decorated American soldier of the War), and Colonel George Patton (the first officer to be appointed to the new US Army Tank Corps).

Sam falls in love with Marie, a French nurse, whom he meets while recovering from his war wounds. They will marry in Paris, and she will immigrate to the United States with him. They settle down in a small Ohio town where Sam works in a steel mill as he struggles to settle back into everyday life. Sam will participate in the “Bonus Army March of 1932” in Washington DC and be drawn into the riots that ensued when the WWI veterans refused to leave their shantytown encampments.

Sam will rise to a senior position in the Steel Industry and be drawn into the Little Steel Strikes of 1937. On Sunday, May 30, 1937, he will witness the Memorial Day Massacre at the Ohio-based Republic Steel mill located in Chicago’s Southeast Side. He will then be drawn into a violent strike at his own Steel Mill immediately following the massacre. During the Great Depression, he will maintain his job at the steel mill and become a valued member of the community as he helps other families as they struggle with their daily existence. Nightmares resulting from his WW I experience will haunt him, while lung issues from being gassed and digestive issues from poor food, sanitary conditions and tainted water will plague him the rest of his life.