Clare Emerson Josselyn & Leon Webster Josselyn

Josselyn Doughboys, members of the U.S. Army Infantry Company K, 26th Division, 101st Regiment in a panoramic regimental photograph taken at Camp McGinness, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA 1917. My grandfather Clare( front row, center left in the thumbnail) is seated next to his brother Leon who gave his life at the Battle of St. Mihiel in western France, September 30, 1918. 

Wadonville, France


Great Uncle Leon's grave marker in France . Leon's body was shipped home in the 20s and buried in our Hanover Center Cemetery. In 1978 I visited the areas in France where they fought and the American Cemetery at St. Mihiel. I was able to show my grandfather slides of the beautiful area, healed from the terrible scars of his terrifying stint of trench warfare. He died about 6 months after that slide show.

Welcome Home


Grandpa Josselyn served in the same unit as Leon. He was not in action with Leon when he was hit, but was with fighting close by. Grandpa was with Leon as he was brought in and soon died at the Aid Station. I have posted posted very sad letter home to his folks on my journal in 2013. Clare and Leon were from a large blended family of 13 children, they had older siblings born to their father's first wife who died of typhoid. Grandpa was 22, Leon 27. Also in the photograph are two of my grandfather's future brother in laws. Above him, Vernon Henderson, who later married his sister Elva, and above Leon, sits Harry Wallace Hill with his campaign hat at a rakish angle, the twin brother of Clare's future wife, my grandmother, Ruth Sandidge Hill  Josselyn.


We survived last night's babysitting. It was hectic but so many precious moments! The boys are precious little charmers and gave us no trouble at all. Neither of us have much experience with babies and toddlers, but we were a good team.

For the Record, 
This day came in cool and rainy. A dark day with much needed rain.

All hands healthy


The below from Wikipedia and other sources is mostly for me, but some might be interested...


World War I[edit]
The 26th Infantry Division was first constituted on 18 July 1917 as the 26th Division. It was formally activated on 22 August of that year in Boston, Massachusetts.[1] The division commanded two brigades comprising national guard units from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. The 51st Infantry Brigade contained the 101st Infantry Regiment and the 102nd Infantry Regiment, while the 52nd Infantry Brigade contained the 103rd Infantry Regiment and the 104th Infantry Regiment.[2] Shortly thereafter, division commander Major General C. R. Edwards called a press conference to determine a nickname for the newly formed division. Edwards decided to settle on the suggestion of "Yankee Division" since all of the subordinate units of the division were from New England.[3] Shortly thereafter, the division approved a shoulder sleeve insignia with a "YD" monogram to reflect this.[4]


On 21 September 1917, the division arrived at Saint-Nazaire, France.[5] It was the second division of the American Expeditionary Forces to arrive into the theater at the time, and the first division wholly organized in the United States, joining the 1st Infantry Division. Two additional divisions completed the first wave of American troop deployment, with the 2nd Division formed in France and the 42nd Division arriving at St. Nazaire on 29 October.[6] The division immediately moved to Neufchâteau for training, as most of the division's soldiers were raw recruits, new to military service.[6] Because of this, much of the division's force was trained by the experienced French forces.[7] It trained extensively with the other three US divisions, organized as the U.S. I Corps in January 1918,[6] before being moved into a quiet sector of the trenches in February.[8]




As the size of the American Expeditionary Force grew, the division was placed under command of I U.S. Corps in July.[10] When the Aisne-Marne campaign began shortly thereafter, the division, under I U.S. Corps was placed under command of the French Sixth Army protecting its east flank. When the offensive began, the division advanced up the spine of the Marne salient for several weeks, pushing through Belleau Wood, moving 10 miles from 18 to 25 July. On 12 August it was pulled from the lines near Toul to prepare for the next offensive.[11] The division was then a part of the offensive at St. Mihiel, during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. The division then moved in position for the last major offensive of the war, at Meuse-Argonne. This campaign was the last of the war, as an armistice was signed shortly thereafter.[12] During World War I the division spent 210 days in combat, and suffered 1,587 killed in action and 12,077 wounded in action.[5] The division returned to the United States and was demobilized on 3 May 1919 at Camp Devens, Massachusetts.[1]



The 26th “Yankee” Division (also known by its veterans as the “Sacrifice Division” and by French troops as the “Phalanx of Aces”) was the first National Guard division to be formed for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). Following the Federalization of National Guard troops on August 5, 1917, the organization of the Division was authorized by the War Department on August 13, 1917 and the Division’s table of organization under the command of Maj. General Clarence Edwards was announced on August 22, 1917. Units of the division were composed of assorted National Guard troops from the New England states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut) together with a contingent of National Army (drafted) troops from Camp Devens in Ayer, Mass.


The 26th “Yankee” Division was both the first U.S. National Guard unit and also the first complete American Division to arrive in France since only elements of the 1st Division (Regular Army) had preceded it. It was in combat longer than any other American Division and suffered the greatest number of gas casualties in the AEF. According to captured enemy documents, the 26th Division was also considered by its German opponents to be one of the four best “storm” or assault divisions in the American Army.