Sidney D. Light's WWI Diary, Postcards & Letters, 329th Battery Book Accounts

Hi,
I'm the grandson of Gust Casoglos and I saw your website.
My grandfather died in 1967.He served in Battery A.

Here is a pretty neat link i think you would like, there is a photo there.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~livcomo/honoroll/p29.html
...Dean Casoglos

For anyone interested in getting their hands on a copy of the 329th Barrage Book:

Larry writes:
I discovered that a copy of "The 329th Barrage" book is for sale ($100.00) on this website:
www.rubylane.com/shops/deadpeoplesthings/. I don't want to spend that much but someone else might be interested.
I also learned where a copy could be found. I went on the WorldCat website and found two locations for a copy of the book in Michigan. U of M Bentley Library in Ann Arbor, MI and the Detroit Public Library. There are some other libraries that have copies outside of Michigan. Check the WorldCat website if you live outside the Detroit area.

My husband's grandfather, Leland Miller Swift, was trained as part of the Detroit College of Medicine and surgery base hospital unit #36 to serve in WWI. The men from unit #36 were housed in tents at the Detroit Fairgrounds during their training. In his marriage annoucement, he and his friend, Goddie Phillips who assisted as his best man, were described as having served together with the Harper Unit which this website relates to a Harper hospital. We do know Leland was based at some point in Vittel which is in Eastern France. From oral history my husband thinks he may have been an ambulance driver, however, my guess he served as a medic or sorts. The only information I could locate on base hospital unit #36 seems to assign it to the 7th division. Can anyone shed further light on this unit and the men who served. Perhaps unit #36 became part of the Harper unit. The base hospital identification comes from an article the family has from the Detroit newspaper. His photos identify Vittel. My understanding is ambulance drivers were trained in Allentown, PA. Tks. BFW

I have come upon the 329th Barrage book that belonged to my grandfather who served in WWI and is in the book. It is interesting to have a piece of history that is personal. Pressed between the pages were his rank chevron, the billeting pass aboard the Leviathan, a letter that was given to the men from King George V and a letter from General Pershing.

Hi Kimberly,

Am enclosing some photos connected to your grand uncle. I used to have better
luck retouching photos on my old computer, but hopefully this is some
improvement.

I don't think the group photo of the Battery would help, since Battery E was so
large and the individuals in the group photo, so small. I can do this if you
want. I scanned through the Battery E account of their activities and
movements, and it basically only notes officer names. The 329th batteries stayed
together most of the time, so between Battery B and Battery F's accounts you can
get an idea of their war experiences. I also read through the athletic section
looking for your uncle's name, but Battery E had few entries.

I didn't mention before the option of medical records. I tried to get my
maternal Grandmother's records from 1976 and one hospital had purged the
records, the other would release records only to the next of kin. It took
almost six months, required birth certificates proving relationship, plus multiple phone calls to medical records department. It may be possible that the VA has
more compassion with genealogy searches. Let me know if you find anything.

(NOTE: SEE PHOTO SECTION)

Hi Janet,

I have only a time-worn photo of my grand uncle in Camp Custer. I have attached it, and you are very welcome to post it to your blogsite if you find it useable. In fact, I would be quite honored if you did - as I think I am the only one alive who sincerely cares about him and his memory (aside from another distant genealogist relative). I just inherited the picture of him this summer along with his casket flag. However, I never knew him, and those who did and may possibly have had any specific war information on him are all dead. I was so pleased to learn from you what battery he was in and his address!! So, regretfully, I don't have anything to contribute to your blogsite information-wise as far as his military record goes or war stories from him to share. I only have vitals from his death certificate, the picture, and flag.

After contacting you this past summer, I did write the National Archives to obtain his WWI military records. Unfortunately, I received a letter back saying that they were lost in a fire as many military records were in the National Archives Fire of 1973. Did you ever ask your cousin how to obtain military records? I'm wondering if I have other options to get WWI information on him besides what was in the Archives. My grand uncle did spend much time in a VA Hospital in Battle Creek; however, I'm not sure if they would share any military info they may have with me. Finding you and your blogsite and the bit of information on Leo that you have shared with me was a stroke of good luck and a blessing!

I did not see Leo specifically mentioned in that battery E account on your site. I wonder if he was one who was transferred elsewhere or if in fact he went overseas. I suppose there are no pictures of battery E in your collection? I only saw photos from battery B there on the site.

I also discovered that Ancestry.com DID have his draft registration after all. His last name was badly misspelled in the index, and my genealogy buddy cousin was able to locate it. I previously believed that Leo volunteered for the Army because their wasn't any draft registration on him indexed under his actual name.

In any event, thanks for your help and interest in my grand uncle. Please let me know if you have anything else to share about Leo, battery E, or on how else to locate WWI military records.

Happy Holidays to you!

Kimberly

(NOTE: SEE PHOTO SECTION)

Hi Kimberly,

I just noticed this in my draft file and am not sure it ever was sent. Hope so. It seems I recall asking my cousin about tracking military records. If I didn't get back to you, please pardon the delay.....


Your uncle was listed with E Battery.
Wlecial, Leo, Pvt.
1498 Baldwin Avenue,
Detroit, MI

If you can email me the photo of your uncle and more information, I would love to add it to the website. It was always one of my hopes that the site could be expanded to include information on other members of the 329th.

Happy Holidays..............Janet

Hi,

First I'd like to commend your work on this website in tribute to Sidney Light's
WWI Diary and the 329th Battery. Beautiful!!!

I have recently come into possession a picture of my Grand Uncle, Leo Wlecial.
It shows him in uniform standing next to a horse, and it states on the front
of the picture : Camp Custer 3-25-18 Leo Wlecial.

Apparently my Grand Uncle served in WWI and was at Camp Custer in the Spring of1918. To my dissappointment, I did not see him mentioned in the Battery B
registry that you have listed on your website. Was he in another one?

Can you also advise me how I can learn more about Leo Wlecial and where he
served? I would like to know if and where I could obtain military records on
him. Does the military share that info? If so, where would be my first point of
contact? Oddly, Ancestry.com doesn't even have a WWI draft registration on him.

The only info I know is that he spent much of his remaining life in The VA
Hospital in Battle Creek, MI. (I suppose that due to patient confidentiality
they could not tell me anything though, outside of his death certificate.)

Any advice or information about searching for military info on my Grand Uncle,
even if it is minor, would be deeply appreciated.

Kind regards,
Kimberly

A great website; it illuminates much of what my

grandfather told me about his experiences in

World War I in the 326th, which trained at Camp

Zachary Taylor in Louisville, but arrived and

departed France at the same time as the 329th.

However, my grandfather's unit was "skeletonized"

upon arrival and units were sent to fill the

gaps in the line during the final days of the war.



I am currently completing a book that includes

my grandfather's WWI experiences, followed by his

life in the coal camps of Eastern Kentucky and

the Depression. It is part of a trilogy of books

I am writing about the history of Eastern

Kentucky as soon through the eyes of my family.

Your website has validated much of what he told me

and again, my congratulations.



Please feel free to use any of this; it might

encourage others to take a closer look at this

nearly forgotten war. You might also be interested in

an online column I wrote on this subject:



http://www.brtraditions.com/archive/hopkins_memory_of_war.htm

.......Bruce

The webpage for Chaplain Sorenson is most appreciated and surprisingly timely.

I am a researcher of the social welfare agencies that worked with the American military in the first world war. I have completed three of 11 monographs dealing with those agencies, all entitled: YOUR UNIFORM IS YOUR PASS: Soldier and Sailor Welfare Relief and the American Doughboy in World War I.

The first three of these monographs deal with: The American Library Association, The Jewish Welfare Board for Soldier and Sailor Relief and, thirdly, The Salvation Army.

The fourth monograph deals with The National Lutheran Commission for Soldier and Sailor Relief, Chaplain Sorenson was one of the NLCs chaplains and his story, as recounted here, tends to be of tremendous value in the dialogue of historical writings - which oftentimes tend to be dry and lacking in personality. With any kind of luck, the fourth monograph shall be completed within a few months after another planned visit to the NLC archives in February/March, 2008.

Thanks for having posted the 329th Field Artillery Batter Book accounts.

Sergio Lugo,
Denver, Colorado, August, 2007

After seeing the movie "Flyboys", I was doing a search to find more about WW I
pilots,when I ran across this site. I was really thrilled, because my Dad was in
the Medical Detachment of the 329th (he's the 3rd from the left in the front row
of their picture from "The Barrage"). I still have his copy of the book and
remember many happy hours as a kid reading it and talking to him about his
experiences "Over There". Thanks to whoever put this site together. I hope
that it is maintained and added to in the future.
Albert Scott