More Help? Seeking early 45th Co 5th Marines photo

[bobgee]

GySgt Todd, from Detroit, Michigan was KIA on the afternoon of June 6, 1918. He was awarded a DSC. Need his photograph. Anynody?

Thanks!!!! Semper Fi.......Bobgee

[teufelhund]

Harold Todd

Enlisted April 7-1913

Retained in service for the convenience of the government since Apr7-1918

SN #118050

KIA in action at 6 PM ( during the first assault on the southwestern part of BW

June 6th 1918

Place of burial... unknown

 

Maybe POPOW has the photograph of this Marine ( I know he has a lot of them)

Teufelhund

 

Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps

 

5th USMC Regiment, 2nd Division

 

Entered the Service from: Michigan

Died: June 6, 1918

Buried at: Plot A Row 2 Grave 40

Aisne-Marne American Cemetery

Belleau, France

Awards: Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Cross

 

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Gunnery Sergeant Harold Todd (MCSN: 82741), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the Forty-Fifth Company, Fifth Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F., in action at Chateau-Thierry, France, 6 June 1918. Killed in action, Gunnery Sergeant Todd gave the supreme proof of that extraordinary heroism which will serve as an example to hitherto untried troops.

 

General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 110 (1918)

 

Action Date: 6-Jun-18

 

Service: Marine Corps

 

Rank: Gunnery Sergeant

 

Company: 45th Company

 

Regiment: 5th Regiment (Marines)

 

Division: 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces

 

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Navy Cross

See more recipients of this award

 

Awarded posthumously for actions during the World War I

 

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Gunnery Sergeant Harold Todd (MCSN: 82741), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the 45th Company, 5th Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F. in action at Chateau-Thierry, France, 6 June 1918. Killed in action, Gunnery Sergeant Todd gave the supreme proof of that extraordinary heroism which will serve as an example to hitherto untried troops.

 

Action Date: 6-Jun-18

 

Service: Marine Corps

 

Rank: Gunnery Sergeant

 

Company: 45th Company

 

Regiment: 5th Regiment (Marines)

 

Division: 2d Division, A

[teufelhund]

Harold Todd was born on Sept. 8, 1891 in Detroit, Michigan. He enlisted in the USMC on April 7, 1913 but deserted shortly thereafter from Norfolk, VA and went home. Initially listed as a deserter he turned himself in, received a Special Court Martial, was convicted and served a sentence for being AWOL and was returned to duty. When asked why he had deserted, he stated he “didn’t like the food”. He later had service with the 3" Landing Gun Company in Puerto Rico. This unit became the 13th Company and he landed with it at Vera Cruz, Mexico on April 27, 1914 and remained there until Nov. 23, 1914. He was promoted to Cpl on Aug 16, 1915 and served in the Haitian Campaign from August 31, 1915 until May 20, 1916 where he was in combat at Carrefour-de-Trons on Sept. 26, 1915; the occupation of Grand Riviere on Oct. 16, 1915. Between Oct. 22 and Oct. 28, 1915, he participated in the repulse of the attack on Bahon, skirmishes along the RR between Grand Riviere and Bahon and in the Battle of Fort Riviere. He was in the Dominican Campaign from May 23, 1916 to May 25, 1917. Between June 27, 1916 and July 5, 1916 he participated in the bombardment and engagement incident to the capture of Las Trincheras, S.D.; a skirmish at Dona Antonia and in the engagement incident to the capture of Guayascanas, S.D.

 

On Jan 2, 1917, he joined the newly forming 45th Co., 5th Marines at Quantico as a seasoned combat campaigner and was appointed a Sgt on Jan 29, 1917. The Regiment sailed for France on June 14, 1917. Todd was promoted to GySgt on June 15, 1917. While in France, his record shows that he successfully completed Officer Candidate School and was recommended for Warrant Officer rank. He was not promoted to that rank and his file doesn’t reflect the reason. Perhaps he declined it.

 

While still serving as the Gunnery Sergeant of Capt. Peter Conachy’s 45th Co. in the 3rd Bn, 5th Marines, which was commanded by Maj. Benjamin Berry he was killed in action in the late afternoon of 6 June 1918, approximately 6PM, at Belleau Wood during the famous attack across the wheat field.

Click to view attachment

 

He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross #2461 and the Navy Cross, also verified in his Service Record; he was also awarded USMC Dominican Campaign 1916 #1452 and USMC Mexican Campaign 1911-1917 #1464 - both numbers verified to him in his Service Record; WWI Victory w/ Aisne & Defensive Sector clasps w/ Citation Silver Star; his Expert Rifle Badge is engraved on the reverse "Harold Todd - 1915". His Expert Rifle qualification is recorded in his record book for 1915. These medals are verified by number on N.M.C. Form 839-A.&I. A copy of that form follows.

 

Click to view attachment

 

 

He is also entitled to a USN 1915 Haitian Campaign Medal but there is no indication in his records that it was ever awarded. In 1942 his record was reviewed and a notation made that he was entitled to a Silver Star and an Expeditionary Medal. No indication that any action was taken to send these to his mother whose whereabouts appear to have been unknown by this time. Also, it should be noted that Purple Heart medals were not authorized for next of kin of killed in action or otherwise deceased soldiers until WW II.

 

Due his to pre-war infractions, he was NOT recommended for a Good Conduct medal and this is so noted on his One-Year Extension of Enlistment Contract executed on April 6, 1917. An interesting foot-note is the absence of any further notations in otherwise very complete Service Record Book (SRB) involving another extension of enlistment or re-enlistment after this, suggesting that he may have technically been a civilian after April 5, 1918 when his extension expired! A notation in the June 1918 45th Company Muster Roll indicates that he had been “Retained in service for the convenience of the government since 7 April 1918, 6 killed in action at 6PM; place of burial unknown. Character excellent.“ This may have been a CYA entry because without it Todd was a civilian!

 

This group was once in the possession of Col. Al Gleim who found it with planchets only and restored the medals. Based on the engraved name on the reverse of the Expert Rifle Badge he was able to identify Todd and obtain Todd’s records, verifying the DSC number as the one presented to his mother. In his file is the Shipping Memorandum from the Philadelphia Depot to HQ Marine Corps for Distinguished Service Cross #2461. A copy of that document follows.

 

Details of the Attack on the Woods by the 45th Company, 5th Marines 6 June 1918

 

 

Details of the 45th Company's ordeal that day have been provided by a fellow collector/researcher and Forum member Kevin Seldon (DevilDog34) who located them at NARA, Washington, D.C., as follows:

 

June 6, 1918 Late morning…………….

 

While the Marines of Major Turrill’s battalion (1/5) desparately hung on to control of Hill 142, the moment of the assault on Belleau Wood and Bouresches grew near. All but one of Berry’s companies was situated in the woods several hundred meters west of Belleau Wood. Earlier that morning at 7:00 AM the 45th Company (Capt. Conachy) of Berry’s battalion (3/5) had been immediately ordered to advance north from their location in order to help relieve the tremendous enfilading fire bearing down on Major Turrill’s battalion on Hill 142. Captain Peter Conachy immediately dispatched his 1st and 2nd Platoons to advance north in efforts to help Major Turrill’s men. According to Conachy, “1st Platoon reached the road and was held up, dug in and consolidated. 2nd Platoon never started, they were held up by fire superiority of machine guns from the woods, although this platoon ably supported the 1st Platoon by covering fire thereby enabling Lieutenant Hope to advance to advance to the road, which was an ideal jumping off point.”

 

Lieutenant Edward S. Hope, a young Army officer leading the 1st Platoon of the 45th Company recalled the commotion off to the west as the fighting for Hill 142 got underway. “They had already started on our left, so I organized four waves at once and just as I sent the first ones across, the boche machine guns opened up. I felt my legs suddenly knocked from under me. One of the men near me took my puttee off and stopped the blood with a bandage.” Eventually Hope’s platoon made it to the road and dug in. They signaled for rifle ammunition and grenades, neither of which could be brought forward. “On account of the exposed position I would not order a man to take ammunition out, as a live Marine is better than a dead or wounded one any day,” recalled Captain Conachy.

 

One Marine however, Private Robert F. Higley, saw the predicament of the exposed men. He began to grab bandoliers of rifle ammunition from other Marines. He slung six of them across his body and made a dash several hundred meters across the field as machine gun rounds searched for him. Sprinting along the men laying prone along the roadway, he un-slung one bandolier at a time and dropped it among a few of the men and repeated this as he continued to dart down the line. He fell panting from the terrifying ordeal in order to catch his breath. Higley noticed that Sergeant Robert D. Foote, Jr. had been severely wounded and needed to get medical attention fast. Perilously gazing back hundreds of meters across the fire-swept field where the rest of the company remained, Higley still exhausted from the terrifying trip, picked up his weapon and crawled over to Sergeant Foote. He slung both his and Sergeant Foote’s rifle on his back and began to drag the Sergeant several hundred meters back to the company’s line. Miraculously both men made it back unscathed. (Note: Higley was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism.)

 

Before Conachy could regain command of the two engaged paltoons, a battalion runner found him in the woods and delivered a message that stated, “to report to the C.O. 1st Battalion, objective Torcy, the attack to take place at 5:00 AM, June 7, 1918.” When Conachy returned to his company’s position in the woods, they had already moved out to assemble in the woods for the assault on Belleau Wood.

 

Communications, as poor as they were, caught the battalion off guard when the order to attack finally arrived. Colonel Catlin (C.O. 6th Marines) recalled the dilemma. “I was supposed to direct Berry’s movements, though he had also received the orders from his own regimental headquarters. I telephoned at once to Berry’s P.C. at Lucy, but his battalion was beyond reach and he himself in the woods in the rear, a mile away. It had been impossible on account of the heavy shelling, to run a telephone out to him. I sent runners, but I was sure they couldn’t reach him before the attack would have to be made.”

 

June 6, 1918 Late afternoon:

 

On the left flank of Major Berry’s battalion, the 45th Company had already pressed forward with three platoons. Second Lieutenant Thomas H. Miles, in the absence of Captain Conachy earlier in the morning, assembled three platoons of the remainder of the company, left one in reserve and pressed forward into the open field. The company moved parallel to a small cluster of trees to the their left, a finger jetting out towards Belleau Wood, but it would not conceal them from the ferocity of the enemy guns. Almost as soon as they stepped forward, enemy artillery fire blanketed the wheat. With a violent collision that shook the ground and echoed across the rolling pasture, the explosions threw up dirt and debris only to leave a massive charred divot in the waving grains of wheat. Suddenly the bombardment increased. Second Lieutenant Thomas Miles (DSC/NC/SSC), out in front of his advancing platoons came under the barrage. After having advanced a little ways, a shell came screaming in with little warning and detonated nearly underneath the twenty-six year old. The resulting explosion blew him apart. An increasing volume of artillery shells fell among the company as they pushed forward. Private Frank P. Millage remembered standing next to Corporal Carl Stickle(sic), the company officer’s mess cook, when a shell landed nearby, killing him.

 

As the company pushed closer to the tree line of Belleau Wood, the machine guns erupted. Gunnery Sergeant Benjamin Geary (SSC - CdG)saw Charley Frehse knocked back as a bullet went through him. As he staggered another round struck him followed instantly by a third that hit him in the chest before he slumped to the ground. Machine gun fire cut down nearly anyone who dared show themselves. First Sergeant William P. Higginson (DSC/NC) and Gunnery Sergeant Harold Todd(DSC/NC)* also became victims of the enemy machine guns. Corporal Benjamin Strain, who only a few months before stood trial for telling a senior enlisted man to “kiss my a$$’ barely shifted his focus in front of him when a torrent of bullets struck the twenty-one year old in the head and face, splitting his upper jaw in half and instantly killed him. Men immediately dropped to their stomachs into the wheat in order to escape the sweeping machine gun fire. While men lay prone under the relentless volley, shells continued to land seemingly everywhere.

 

Eventually the survivors of the 45th Company, after having crossed the road that runs between Torcy and Lucy-le-Bocage, worked their way towards a square patch of woods about a hundred meters from the western face of Belleau Wood. Beyond this patch of forest, lay the first line of enemy machine gun pits. A few 45th Company men managed to get to this position. Private LeRoy Harned remembered, “We charged and reached these bits but were subjected to a terrific fire. Many of the boys were hit before gaining these pits. Private Clifford S. Cushman got to the first enemy entrenchment and was immediately struck by gunfire. “He fell half in and half out of the pit in a sitting position. I do not think he was hit very hard this first time for he sat there, reloaded his pistol and alone cleaned out the pit on his right.” Private Harned then witnessed Private Cushman single-handedly kill six enemy occupying the adjacent hole. “I can personally testify to this as I was was within feet of him at that time.” remarked Harned three months after the engagement. Suddenly Private Cushman was hit again and rolled over on his side. Regaining his senses the wounded Private immediately cried out for water. “About this time things got a great deal hotter, and that was the last time I saw Cliff alive,” claimed Harned. ( Note: Reportedly Cushman’s remains were never found. He did not receive any citation award.)

 

Along the first line of enemy positions, the fighting became hand-to-hand. One of the few men in the company who succeeded in making it to the first line of German redoubts was Private Grover C. Bowers. He noticed one wounded Marine kill a German officer with a trench knife as he attempted to draw his sidearm to finish off the injured American. Private Bowers himself fell wounded moments later. The few men left that now made up the 45th Company realized that the position could not likely be held. Several started to filter back to the company’s original position. Many of the wounded decided to wait until darkness to get back to the jump off point. Several others lay in the field incapacitated and unable to move.

 

* The burial file of GySgt Harold Todd 45th Company, indicates “According to Lt. Jacob Kesel (former Sgt. 45th Co.), Todd was killed by MG fire at Belleau Wood and buried where he fell. His burial was reportedly on 7-25-18.* He had an Marine Corps emblem on him and GySgt. Chevrons.” I am of the opinion that Todd & the others killed that day were buried very near where they fell most likely within a week or so, depending on when the field was clear enough to do so, and later re-buried at the present location of the Aisne-Marne Cemetery, this occurring on the referenced date, July 25th. I cannot conceive that the dead were left above ground intentionally until July 25th!

 

The Marine Corps experienced its heaviest casualties in the 142 years of its existence that day. 31 officers and 1,056 men of the 4th Marine Brigade were killed, wounded or missing.

bobgee

[Popo367]

Bob, I had this but no photo......you probably already have it.

[bobgee]

Bob, I had this but no photo......you probably already have it.

 

Thanks, Enrique! S/F......Bob