PAGE TWO
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 1942.
91st of World War I Fame Formed by Men of Northwest
Tht grave emergency of 1917
early made Iti demands Upon
every section of the United
States. Among the areas of the
nation making early and whole
hearted response to this great
challenge was a vast section of
the Great Northwest, compris
ing California, Washington, Ore
gon, Nevada, Utah, Idaho. Mon
tana and Wyoming, In addition
to the Territory of Alaska. The
91st Division was among the
first to be formed In America
and, for Its initial personnel,
drew most heavily from the
aforementioned states.
The Division was activated at
Camp Lewis, Wash., under the
command of General Henry A.
Greene, whose staff consisted of
Lt. Colonel H. J. Brees as chief
of staff. Major F. W. Manley as
adjutant general and Major F.
W. Clark as assistant chief of
staff. Under the able direction
of these officers, organization
and training began on Septem
ber 8. 1917. and thus was
marked the beginning of a divl
' alon which was later to reflect
credit and honor to the nation
and to the states which contrib
uted their choice sons for serv
ice In this great fighting team.
. The Division was composed
generally of the following: The
181st Infantry Brigade under
Brigadier General Henry B.
Styer, comprising the 361st and
the 362nd Infantry Regiments,
and the 347th Machine Gun Bat
talion; the 182nd Infantry Bri
gade under Brigadier Frederick
S. Foltz, comprising the 363rd
and 364th Infantry Regiments,
and the 348th Machine Gun Bat
talion; the 316th Engineers were
organized under Colonel Henry
C. Jewett and the 316th Trains
and Military Police under Col
onel M. E. Savllle, while the di
visional Surgical and Sanitary
service was under the direction
and command of Colonel Peter
C. Field.
General Edward Burr com
manded the 166th Field Artil
lery Brigade which wai com
posed of the 346th, 347th, 348th
Artillery Regiments and the
316th Trench Mortar Battery.
The three Machine Gun Bat
talions comprising the 346th
under Major Francis C. Endl
cott, the 347th. under Major
Arthur W. Hanson and the
348th under Major T. N. Gim
perllng, were formed, In addi
tion to the 316th Field Signal
Battalion, under Major C. L.
WELCOME
To the Fighting 9 1st.
BUY WAR BONDS HOW
BREADS FOR ENERGY
Division Among First
To Assemble for Duty
In Emergency of 1917
Wyman, aa Division Signal Of
ficer. 166th Depot Brigade
For Personnel Supply
In course of time the growing
flow of men could not be ab
sorbed wisely and profitably by
the Division, so the 166th Depot
Brigade was formed, which sup
plied personnel to the various
units of the Division as they
were needed as well as supply
ing abundant troops for other
divisions and camps throughout
the land. These early days of
training found men willing to
give all, and so, undaunted by
the lack of appropriate uni
forms, the men began drilling
in their civilian clothes.
Pursuant to his ambition to
form a staff which he hoped
would be permanent. General
Greene placed Lt. Colonel Fred
erick W, Coleman In charge of
administration; as quartermaster
officer, Lt. Colonel L. C. Ben
nett succeeded Colonel Cole
man, and Captain Thomas A.
Driscoll was appointed In charge
of Division Intelligence.
On November 24, 1917, Gen
eral Greene and the chief of
staff left Camp Lewis to study
battle conditions in France.
Brigadier General J. A. Irons
became commanding general for
a short- time In the absence of
General Greene, and was
succeeded by General Fred-
erick S. Foltz, who retained the
command until the return of
General Greene In March of
1918.
Training Intensified
Before Embarkation
During the few short months
intervening between his return
and the actual day of departure
. for ports of embarkation. Gen
eral Greene Intensified training
; and preparation based upon the
! knowledge gained during his
reconnaissance In France. This
training was designed to equip
his troops for the exact condi
tions which they were to en
counter at the battle front.
As constituted when lt left
Camp Lewis, the staff of the
91st was composed of the fol
lowing: Colonel H. J. Brees was
chief of staff, administration
was in charge of Colonel Fred
erick W. Coleman, operations
was under Major Clark Lynn,
Captain Thomas A. Driscoll was
intelligence officer. Major F. W.
Manley was adjutant, quarter
master was In charge of Lt. Col
onel L. C. Bennett, Lt. Colonel
George Herring was ordinance
officer. Major C. L. Wyman the
division signal officer, and the
division surgeon continued to be
Lt. Colonel Peter C. Field and
Major A. D. Cummings was di
vision Inspector. Brigadier Gen
eral J. B. McDonald succeeded
Brigadier General Styer aa com
manding general of the 181st on
May 6, 1918.
On the eve of the departure of
the Division General Greene
was relieved and ordered to the
Philippine Islands, and the 91st
went overseas with Brigadier
General Foltz as commanding
general.
It was just 10 months follow
ing Its activation that the Divi
sion was making preparations
to depart to take its place at
the front. Two days following
the departure of the first troops
for embarkation points on June
19 General Foltz, his Staff and
the Headquarters Troop and
detachment departed, followed
within a very short time by the
whole Division, all proceeding
to points of embarkation.
91ST BATTLE CRY
OF
RETAIN INTEREST
BY ORGANIZATION
The old 91st Infantry division
has been kept alive in the period
from 1919 to the present by the
91st Infantry Division associa
tion, which was organized at La
Ferte Bernard, France, before
the division re-embarked for
home.
Through annual re-unions, an
nual picnics, patriotic celebra
tions and civic functions, the
men of the division have kept in
touch with each other and have
served their communities. At ',
the present time there are active '
chapters of the association in
Tacoma and Seattle, Wash.; in
Portland, Ore.; in Los Angeles,
Sacramento and San Francisco, i
Calif., and also in several other
places throughout the territory i
from which the men of the old
division came originally. i
Powder River Flows Through
Badlands Known to Indi
ans as "Hell Cooled Off."
War Cry's Origin
The origin and significance
ol the war-cry of the old 91st
Division is set forth in the
following paragraph quoted
from "600 Day's Service", a
history of the 391st Infantry
Regiment:
"In these early times "Pow
der River', destined to be the
war cry of the division, made
its first bid for fame. One
day, as the 'old men', of a
month, a week, or even a
days experience, called to the
'recruits': 'Where 're you
from?' a Montana detach
ment replied In a manner that
was never forgotten : 'Pow
der River Let 'er Buck!'
From Camp Lewis this an
swer was carried with the
early replacements to the
American Expeditionary
Forces and there it grew to
the full story taught as fol
lows at the 1st Corps School
at Gondrecourt: "What is the
longest rivejr in the world?'
'Powder River it's a mile
wide and an inch deep and it
flows uphill all the way to
Txa Let Vr Buck!"
Los Angeles (U.R) Hundreds
of cargo-carrying gliders soon
will be rolling from California
factories to ferry supplies to the
armed foices, according to a
survey by the aviation depart
ment of the Los Angeles County
Chamber of Commerce.
Large and small aircraft man
ufacturers shortly will turn out
motorless "box cars" of the air
costing up to $35,000 each, the
chamber said, adding that 10 to
20-place gliders may be used in
California training centers.
A Los Angeles firm already Is
scheduled to build 100 one and
two place craft for training In
New York high schools, it was
pointed out.
HAS FIRST NICKEL
Plttsfield, Mass. (U.R) The
first nickel paid by a passenger
on the Berkshire Street railway
when the first streetcar made Its
Initial run 40 years ago is
owned by Walter S. Dickie.
Berkshire county .register of
deeds. Dickie, who then was
motorman, substituted another
nickel for the one paid him by
the first passenger.
"Powder River Let 'er
Buck!"
Twenty-four years ago the
grey-clad German aggressors,
thrusting powerfully through
the underbrush of the Argonne,
reeled back from men whose
battle cry had been born on
wide plains and vast open spaces
half the earth distant. "Powder
River Let 'er Buck!" screamed
the soldiers of the 91st division,
fighting as desperately as their
fathers and grandfathers had
fought years ago on the Indian
dominated plans of Wyoming
and Montana.
They conquered, as their fath
ers and grandfathers had con
quered. They earned battle
honors not alone on the Argonne
but also St. Mihiel and Ypres.
They left their mark on history
as a division composed of brave
and intelligent men. As much
as any division participating in
the First World War, perhaps
more than most, the 91st pos
sessed a personality all its own.
Slogan No Accident
"Powder River Let er
Buck!" The slogan is no acci
dent. Powder river flows
through some of the rougest ter
rain cn the North American
continent through deepest bad
lands, that region which the In
dians in tribute and fear called
in their language, "Hell Cooled
Off." Angling up through
Wyoming Into southeastern Mon
tana, pouring eventually into the
mighty Missouri river, the Pow
der from earliest times has
made men, and the men have
made history. The 91st was
bred in the toughest land on
earth.
Back In the 1860'f the then
Secretary of War Stanton, irri
! tated by the attentions of an of
i ficer who wished a transfer from
his present position, snapped to
his secretary, "Where is the
i worst place, next to hell, to send
a regiment?"
I The secretary thought a mo
ment, then replied, "to the Pow
der river, sir!"
! Powder river flows "a mile
wide and a foot deep," its banks
at certain points sanded with
black sand in a manner to make
. the first French adventurers
' think of gunpowder. In the
Powder river country Lieut.
I Col. George A. Custer and his
i command died against odds of a
hundred to one. Tatonka-E-Yo-tanka,
whom the white men
called Sitting Bull, made his bid
against defeat in the Powder
river land. A certain Pvt. Den
nis Driscoll, traveling between
'. Forts C. F. Smith and Phil
Kearney, built to protect emi
grant trails, raced on a blind
mule through a thousand Sioux,
eluded them by strategy, endur
ance and his skill with a pair of
borrowed pistols, and reached
Fort C. F. Smith In time to send
relief to his beleagured com
panions. Cow Country
The tough men of Powder
river did not cease with the
passing of the Indian menace.
Powder river became cow coun
try domain of the great cattle
barons, where they grew steers
with the longest horns and
horses with the toughest legs.
And men able to fork those
horses, with no daylight between
rider and saddle. To come from
Powder river became a mark of
honor. It meant you were more
than the average cowboy. You
could ride anything you could
"Let 'Er Buck!" and people
knew you were of the superman
breed.
The First World War thund
ered. ' In from Powder river
came the cowboys and the sons
of the old cattle barons and the
buckaroos and rannycavoos and
all members of the tough breed
a rJmvHor rivpr ThpV did not
hesitate, and the 81st division
was organized largely irom vol
imtMN Man haH tn sleenine
under stars and to riding the
depths of the badlands wnere
.11 .., v.s1 ttrtA lurnnnp
all WK1 noj hau
heat smoked eternally found
army life light comparea wim
their past labors.
They Gather Again.
Their task done, the 91st re
turned home. Twenty-four years
later the 91st is being reacti
vated, this time at Camp White,
Ore. There are once more men
of the high border country and
the northwest in the 91st. The
battle cry of the new 91st Is the
same as the old: "Powder River
Let 'Er Buck!"
Camp White lies In the south
ern part of the state near the
city of Medford. Constructed
recently at a cost of many mil.
lions cf dollars on flat Agate
desert, the grey buildings are
flanked by mountains through
which flows the Rogue river,
rough as its name.
Here, "Let "Er Buck!" Is com
ing to life for the Second World
War. Montana Standard, Butte,
Mont
Ware. Mass. (U.R) A clergy,
man, answering a draft board
questionnaire, described his Q)
work as "teach, preach, marry
and bury."
WELCOME . . .
TO MEDFORD
91st DIVISION
cyert'Aetfxottzin
tie Drive
BUY BONDS AND STAMPS
HUBBARD BROS.
0
0)
'''' ''' JjT
WmW "Powder
linn
GREETINGS
to the Men of the
Hen 91st
FOR VICTORY
1, I S.VIG8
BONDS
J5 STAMPS
River-Let 'er Buck"
WELCOME -91st
OWi attend to the men of the 91st
Division cordial welcome to the Rogue
River Valley. We're proud of you every
one of you and mighty glad to have you here at
Camp White for your battle training. When you
re off duty, make this store your headquarter.
GLENN II. UTZ
it
Men's Wear"
OPEN EVERY WEEK DAY NIGHT UNTIL 8:30
S3(
I : r: f jib;
I m!i
DIVISION
From
IBI&CSWKPS
AWE aandl
Billiard Parlors
MAIN AND FRONT STREETS
in the Center of Town
O Brown't Medford'i completely new, mod
ern, air-conditioned recreation center has be
come headquarters for men of the 91st. We
are grateful for the generous patronaqe accorded
this institution by the fighting men of Camp White
and will continue to strive to merit your good will!
DELICIOUS FOODS -BEVERAGES -SMOKES
CANDY -BILLIARDS
Spend Your Off-Duty Time At Brown'
Help to Outfit Our 91st Division -Buy
War Bonds and Stamps!
3)
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