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Contact Info
Home Town New London
Date of Passing Aug 07, 1950
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Conrad Stanton Babcock had been cited for gallantry in action in the Philippines and, although a Cavalryman, commanded several Infantry regiments during the war, gaining two Silver Star citations and a Distinguished Service Medal.
He remained in Europe until late 1921, first with the Army of Occupation in Germany and then as Assistant Military Attacche in Paris.
He retired as a Colonel in 1937, but in 1940 was advanced on the retired list to Brigadier General. He died in 1950.
Imagine getting to the point where heaven was represented by a clean bed, with sheets on it, where a hot meal was paradise. But I do not think anyone can imagine it.
Col. Conrad S. Babcock, now in command of the Three Hundred and Fifty-fourth Infantry, summed it up: "I have seen my regiment go into an attack, get its objectives and then dig in and hold. They had taken along no slickers and few rations. Supplies could not be brought up. The men lay in the mud and the rain came down on them. What did they do? Why, they walked half the night to get enough warmth in themselves to sleep through the other half.
"Will their folks in St. Louis and the other Missouri towns ever realize how their sons fought and went through the campaigns? Will the people of any part of our country? I do not think it is possible for them to do so. Only the men who have been in France can understand.
"Mud? The man back home talks of mud when he gets the uppers of his shoes dirty, but mud will always be a horrible word for the returned soldier. The very day the armistice was signed I went through the regiment, telling them it was all off. I remember going through a field, when I found a lone doughboy. He was trudging along with his pack and his shoes and puttees were caked with red.
" ‘It’s all over,’ I said. ‘The armistice has been signed.’
" ‘Thank God,’ he replied. ‘Now we can get out of the mud.’ It was his first thought. He had been sleeping in it, marching in it, living in it for weeks."
As it was with the mud, so it was with the hunger and weariness. I have purposely dwelt little on the so-called horrors of war because it is of no avail to recount them. But it is well to say that it was not the danger, not the sight of sudden death that sickened the soul, but the filth, the weariness, the discomfort.
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Colonel (Cavalry) Conrad Stanton Babcock, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. As Post Commandant at General Headquarters, Colonel Babcock served with distinction. Later he commanded the 354th Infantry Regiment, 89th Division, A.E.F., throughout the successful operations against the St. Mihiel salient and those of the Argonne-Meuse in which his regiment participated and subsequently when it formed part of the Army of Occupation. At all times he displayed military attainments of the highest order. His unflagging energy and marked tactical ability were demonstrated in the successful accomplishment by his regiment of all missions assigned to it even under the most trying conditions. His service was of great value to the American Expeditionary Forces.
General Orders:War Department, General Orders No. 87 (1919)
By direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 9, 1918 (Bul. No. 43, W.D., 1918), Colonel (Cavalry) Conrad Stanton Babcock, United States Army, is cited by the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces, for gallantry in action and a silver star may be placed upon the ribbon of the Victory Medals awarded him. Colonel Babcock distinguished himself by gallantry in action while serving as Commanding Officer, 354th Infantry Regiment, 89th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in action during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, 1 - 2 November 1918, and for his courageous and brilliant leadership.
General Orders:GHQ, American Expeditionary Forces, Citation Orders No. 1 (June 3, 1919)
(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Colonel (Cavalry) Conrad Stanton Babcock, United States Army, was awarded a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Silver Star for gallantry in action during World War I.
General Orders:U.S. Military Academy Register of Graduates
Description The United States of America declared war on the German Empire on April 6, 1917. The U.S. was an independent power and did not officially join the Allies. It closely cooperated with them militarily but acted alone in diplomacy. The U.S. made its major contributions in terms of supplies, raw material and money, starting in 1917. American soldiers under General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), arrived in large numbers on the Western Front in the summer of 1918. They played a major role until victory was achieved on November 11, 1918. Before entering the war, the U.S had remained neutral, though it had been an important supplier to Great Britain and the other Allied powers. During the war, the U.S mobilized over 4 million military personnel and suffered 110,000 deaths, including 43,000 due to the influenza pandemic. The war saw a dramatic expansion of the United States government in an effort to harness the war effort and a significant increase in the size of the U.S. military. After a slow start in mobilising the economy and labour force, by spring 1918 the nation was poised to play a role in the conflict. Under the leadership of President Woodrow Wilson, the war represented the climax of the Progressive Era as it sought to bring reform and democracy to the world,[citation needed] although there was substantial public opposition to United States entry into the war.
Although the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, it did not initially declare war on the other Central Powers, a state of affairs that Woodrow Wilson described as an "embarrassing obstacle" in his State of the Union speech.[26] Congress declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire on December 17, 1917, but never made declarations of war against the other Central Powers, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire or the various Co-belligerents allied with the central powers, thus the United States remained uninvolved in the military campaigns in central, eastern and southern Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
The United States as late as 1917 maintained only a small army, smaller than thirteen of the nations and empires already active in the war. After the passage of the Selective Service Act in 1917, it drafted 2.8 million men into military service. By the summer of 1918 about a million U.S. soldiers had arrived in France, about half of whom eventually saw front-line service; by the Armistice of November 11 approximately 10,000 fresh soldiers were arriving in France daily. In 1917 Congress gave U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans when they were drafted to participate in World War I, as part of the Jones Act. In the end Germany miscalculated the United States' influence on the outcome of the conflict, believing it would be many more months before U.S. troops would arrive and overestimating the effectiveness of U-boats in slowing the American buildup.
The United States Navy sent a battleship group to Scapa Flow to join with the British Grand Fleet, destroyers to Queenstown, Ireland and submarines to help guard convoys. Several regiments of Marines were also dispatched to France. The British and French wanted U.S. units used to reinforce their troops already on the battle lines and not to waste scarce shipping on bringing over supplies. The U.S. rejected the first proposition and accepted the second. General John J. Pershing, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) commander, refused to break up U.S. units to serve as mere reinforcements for British Empire and French units. As an exception, he did allow African-American combat regiments to fight in French divisions. The Harlem Hellfighters fought as part of the French 16th Division, earning a unit Croix de Guerre for their actions at Château-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Séchault.
Impact of US forces on the war
On the battlefields of France in spring 1918, the war-weary Allied armies enthusiastically welcomed the fresh American troops. They arrived at the rate of 10,000 a day, at a time when the Germans were unable to replace their losses. After British Empire, French and Portuguese forces had defeated and turned back the powerful final German offensive (Spring Offensive of March to July, 1918), the Americans played a role in the Allied final offensive (Hundred Days Offensive of August to November). However, many American commanders used the same flawed tactics which the British, French, Germans and others had abandoned early in the war, and so many American offensives were not particularly effective. Pershing continued to commit troops to these full- frontal attacks, resulting in high casualties against experienced veteran German and Austrian-Hungarian units. Nevertheless, the infusion of new and fresh U.S. troops greatly strengthened the Allies' strategic position and boosted morale. The Allies achieved victory over Germany on November 11, 1918 after German morale had collapsed both at home and on the battlefield.
