94 years ago June 6, 1918 Belleau Wood France

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As the Marines of 1/5 were struggling to hold Hill 142 in the early hours of June 6th, the other companies of the battalion who had not shown up until after the Germans had been driven off the hill were reinforced by Captain Lloyd William's 51st Company of the 2nd battalion 5th Marines who came in along the Champillon ravine along the western perimeter of the hill to reinforce the thinly held line of Marines. Littered about the hill were dead, dying and horribly wounded men of the 1st Battalion. The incoming German fire from flanking machine gun positions were horrendous. Many of the wounded would remain unattended beyond hill 142 as several men overshot the objective and were met with withering machine gun fire from nearby Torcy. Among those members of the 51st Company arrived on the explosing ridge that day was 18 year old Private William E. Lee of Liverpool, NY. Private Lee, perhaps unable to see wounded men in the open untended to, ran repeatedly out in the open to rescue many of them with aid of the corpsman attached to the 51st company. He would continue this feat on and off for the next several days even after the 51st had pulled off the hill to relieve the shot up 3rd battalion 5th Marines later that evening. He would eventually be cited in 2nd Division GO's later and would receive the silver star medal in 1999. Gene was the last surviving veteran of Belleau Wood and I can have the honor of saying that while a young corporal in the reserves and a college student I spent my spring break in 2004 out in Syracuse visiting him only weeks before his death at the tender age of 105 years old.

 

Also on Hill 142 that terrible day with the 51st Company was twenty year old James Irving Dodd, a painter from Akron, Ohio who had been with the company since they were in Cuba in 1916. As the Germans attempted what seemed like one counterattack after the other, the men tried desperately to hold suffering heavy casualties in the process. According to one Marine, Corporal Walter Jacobs, Dodd was a gunner (probably a Chaucat) and was wounded by a machine gun bullet through the stomach, threw down his rifle and staggered for a bit until he fell and died. Since the hill was under such intense artillery fire for days, his body lay untended until some marines came and covered him with brush until they had an opportunity to bury him. One Marine, according to Jacobs, had covered his body with an overcoat. According to Jacobs Dodd's body was continuously subjected to heavy artillery fire and was badly mutilated before they finally had an opportunity to bury him. He noted a massive hole in the side of the head at one point. Another Marine Sergeant John Nelson of the 51st Company had a differing recollection. He recalled that as the unit was being relieved a large shell killed Dodd instantly. According the Nelson, Dodd was in his platoon. He was likely buried on June 10th with the members of 1/5 who were all buried in a temporary grave yard along the Champillion-Torcy road. Dodd's temporary grave is listed as grave 15. Today Private James Irving Dodd rests in the Aisne Marne Cemetery in Grave 62 Row 4 Block B.

Semper Fi and rest in peace James, your sacrifice is remembered today 94 years later.

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war service certificate. Some of these larger documents such as the previous one are too large to fit on the scanner.

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Marine Corps memorial certificate.

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A letter James wrote home in April from France

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A letter he wrote home to his mother in April 1918

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Here is one James wrote his sister in March 1918

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last page

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Here is one his brother wrote him June 1, 1918. James never received this letter. He was killed 5 days later. Page one

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Here is one his brother wrote him June 1, 1918. James never received this letter. He was killed 5 days later. Page one

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page 5

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page 6

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Here is one his mother wrote him the same day June 1, 1918 five days before he was killed in action. The letter was returned to her in Ohio on August 3, 1918.

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page 2

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page 3

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Here is the tragic return to sender envelope with the unread letter.

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back of the envelope

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Here is a newspaper cut out that was with the lot reporting James' death

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Translation document for the fourragere doc.

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Here is a photo I actually got off ebay about 4 years after obtaining this lot. The photo was id'd James I. Dodd killed in June 1918. It was pretty shocking to find a random image of him.