Most Decorated Marine

One of the many questions I fielded in my 19 years as a Marine Corps historian was "who is the most decorated Marine ever?"  I wanted to settle the question.  In reality, I wanted to prove what I felt in my heart, that "Chesty" Puller was NOT the most decorated Marine of all time.  I'm not the only one who believes in their heart that Chesty is a highly decorated Marine, but not the top of the list.

So, some time ago, I decided that the only way to decide this was to be objective about it.  I'd done something similar with fixed wing squadrons in order to help the Marine Corps decide which unit to deactivate or reactivate, so I thought it would work here.  

The contenders:

1. LtGen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, a Mustang (former enlisted), with service in Haiti, Peleliu, Chosin and many other locations.   

2. MajGen Smedley D. Butler, with service in the Spanish-American War, China, Vera Cruz, World War I and more.

3. SgtMaj Daniel Daly, the only enlisted Marine in contention; served in the Spanish-American War, China, World War I and more.

 

The criteria: In order to be objective, the best way to determine the top of the top is to assign a point system for medals (not, foreign awards are excluded at this time):

 

Medal of Honor  (MOH) = 5 points

Brevet Medal (Bvt) = 4 points

Navy Cross (NX) = 3 points

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) = 3 points

Silver Star Citation/Medal (SS) = 2 points

Bronze Star Medal (BZ) = 1 point

Distinguished Service Medal (DSM)  = 1 point

Purple Heart (or wound stripes) (PH/WIA) = 1 point

 

So here's the breakdown using the point system and

PULLER:

NX:     5 awards x 3 points =          15

DSC:  1 award x 3 points   =            3

BZ -- 1 award x 1 point      =            1

PH -- 1 award x 1 point      =            1

 

TOTAL                             20 points

 

BUTLER:

MOH: 2 awards x 5 points =         10

Brevet: 1 award x 4 points =          4

DSM:  2 awards x 1 point =           2

WIA:    1 wound x 1 point=           1

 

TOTAL                         17 points

 

DALY:

MOH:  2 awards x 5 points =     10

NX:    1 award x 3 points    =      3

DSC: 1 award x 3 points     =      3

SS:    1 award x 2 points      =      2

WIA: 3 wounds x 1 point    =      3

 

TOTAL                         21 points

 

 

Objectively, Dan Daly is the most decorated Marine. So for you Chesty fans, good effort, but still not the Marine that Dan Daly was...my initial inclinations were correct.  

 

The numbers would be even more skewed if I were to include campaign credit (number of campaign stars, etc).  I think I'll save that for another day; unless someone wants to take up the challenge and calculate it.  I'll be happy to post it here with full credit to the author.  Same if someone wants to get into the quagmire that is foreign decorations. The gauntlet has been thrown down. Any takers?

1918 Flu Pandemic and the Marine Corps [Part Three/Final]

 Statistical Review:^[1]

In an attempt to determine the number of Marines killed by the influenza pandemic, an extensive review of monthly muster rolls and hospital registers was completed.  Starting with a listing of those Marines who died from non-combat wounds, each name was searched utilizing the monthly muster rolls, available through ancestry.com.^[2]  Names of those who died from accidents, cancer, heart attacks, venereal diseases, and other non-flu or non-flu related illnesses were excluded.  For each name found, their rank, date of death, location at death and specific illness was recorded, when available.  Once the list was established, a review of the available Navy hospital registers, also available through ancestry.com, was conducted to locate additional names or clarifying information for those where no diagnosis was listed in the muster roll.^[3]  Some muster rolls and hospital registers were not digitized, therefore the actual overall number of those who died is undoubtedly different from what was calculated herein. It is further acknowledged that the numbers determined by the review of the muster rolls and hospital registers does not match the official numbers given in the various reports by the Secretary of the Navy and Navy Department in 1918 and 1919.  However, the following statistical breakdown is provided based on the calculated numbers from the muster rolls and hospital registers in good faith.

By rank:  The influenza pandemic struck nearly every rank of officer and enlisted Marine, and impacted the enlisted ranks far more than the officers.  From the listing compiled, just 21 officers were killed by the flu and the highest ranking officer to die was Brigadier General Charles A. Doyen.  No lieutenant colonels or colonels are recorded as killed by the flu.  Four quartermaster clerks, first lieutenants, captains and majors died from the flu or flu-related illnesses. 

Of the enlisted, the privates suffered the most casualties; more than 420 privates were struck down by the flu or related illnesses, and yet not one sergeant major died.  All told, over 530 enlisted Marines died.  Based on the end strength of the Corps (1,503 officers and 51,316 enlisted), the death percentage breaks down as 1.4% of officers and 1.04% of enlisted died of the flu,  However, of the total Marines were killed by the flu and flu-related illnesses, 96% were enlisted and 4% were officers.  The large number of privates killed by the flu is in keeping with the unique characteristics of the 1918 pandemic, instead of claiming only the very old and very young alone, the 1918 flu claimed those aged 25-34 in significantly higher amounts—the prime ages of those of men enlisting in the Marine Corps.[4]

By date: Across the entire Marine Corps, the peak of the influenza pandemic in 1918 was in the months of September, October and November.  October saw the most deaths of just over 200, followed by September at just over 180 and November with more than 140.  The largest loss of life occurred on 24 September 1918 with 28, followed by 26 September with 23.

 

Figure 1: Numbers of Marines Killed by Influenza, May to December 1918

 

By location or unit: As one would imagine, the largest concentration of Marines saw the largest number of deaths from the influenza pandemic. The locations with the most Marines in one place in the Continental United States were the recruit depots of Parris Island and Mare Island, the Overseas Depot and Officers Training Camp at Marine Barracks Quantico, and the various Philadelphia posts.  Of all posts and stations of the Corps, Quantico suffered the largest overall loss of lives at 125.  Whereas, Parris Island and Mare Island experienced 43 and 17 deaths respectively.  The city of Philadelphia was slow to react with measures to control the spread, in fact despite the already raging outbreak, the city went ahead with the Fourth Liberty Loan drive on 28 September 1918 where 200,000 gathered.[5]  Therefore, it is not surprising to find that 48 Marines died while stationed in Philadelphia at the Marine Barracks, the Depot of Supplies and surrounding area.  

Overseas units were impacted dramatically as well; including the fighting regiments which lost 19 Marines of the 6th Regiment and 16 of the 5th.  The First Marine Aviation Force suffered 20 Marines dead from their squadrons in the Calais region, but also those men training in England with the Royal Air Force. 

The port of Brest, France, saw the deaths of nearly 50 Marines, many of whom were fresh off troop transport ships.  Not all who departed the eastern seaboard on the troop transports made it to Brest as mentioned earlier, the Henderson saw at least 24 Marines die in transit, but this was outdone by the Von Steuben, which lost more than 30 Marines in transit.^[6]  While there were Marines stationed at far flung reaches of the globe, very few were killed by the flu.  For instance, in the Philippines, a single Marine died; whereas in Cuba three died, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic a combined six Marines succumbed to the disease and related illnesses.

 

Figure 2: Deaths of Marines in United States and Non-American Expeditionary Forces

 

 

In Conclusion:

When one compares the numbers of overall deaths against those of the Army and Navy, the Marine Corps appears to have made it through the pandemic relatively lightly.  For instance, as previously mentioned, at Camp Devens, Massachusetts, the camp suffered 66 deaths alone on 23 September 1918; however, the worse day across the entire Marine Corps was the next day with 28 deaths.[7]  Yet, when one examines the deaths in percentages of the entire branch of service, the Corps does not fare as well.  In 1918, the Navy’s end strength was around 530,000 officers and enlisted; the flu took the lives of 4,158 equating to roughly .78% of the end strength.[8]  The Marine Corps’ end strength for 1918 was roughly 53,000 men and officers and the flu killed (by the count of the author) 560 or just over 1%.[9]  It leaves one wondering how this could be considering that the Navy provided the Corps all medical personnel and facilities, with the exception of those with the American Expeditionary Forces.  Further, given the extent of the pandemic across all military posts and ships, and its relative ease of spreading, it is perplexing how the Marine Corps did not suffer more deaths from the flu.

It is unfortunate that the records of the Marines who were impacted by the flu pandemic are not more readily available with remote access.  Private diaries and letters retained in private and archival holdings, and official records retained by the National Archives may yield additional information and are worthwhile exploring once the quarantine due to COVID-19 is lifted.

Today, the Marine Corps, along with the rest of the world, is once again fighting a pandemic, but it has history to learn from, medical advances to rely upon and technology that can share information and spread news faster than the disease itself.  Marine Corps units across the globe have implemented social distancing, closed physical activity centers, shuttered barber shops, ceased all non-essential travel for Marines and civilians, implemented maximum telework for all, and even curtailed planned training and exercises.  With these measures, it appears that the Marine Corps (and the rest of the United States) has learned many of the lessons from the 1918 flu pandemic, and is taking an active part in the fight against COVID-19.  At the time of writing, 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade was slated to conduct a transfer of authority with Joint Task Force-Civil Authority as Task Force Northeast covering the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 1.[10]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Government Documents

Department of the Navy, Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Fiscal Year 1918.

Washington, DC: GPO, 1918. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.3901502595062

0&view=1up&seq=13

 Department of the Navy, Annual Reports of the Navy Departments for the Fiscal Year 1919.

            Washington, DC: GPO, 1919. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924065924502

&view=1up&seq=11

Books

Crosby, Alfred W. America’s Forgotten Pandemic.  The Influenza of 1918. Rev. Ed. New York:

Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Hewitt, Linda L. Women Marines in World War I. Washington, DC: History and Museums

Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1974.

McClellan, Edwin N. The United States Marine Corps in the World War. Reprint. Quantico:

            Marine Corps History Division, 2015.

Journal Articles

Amerman, Annette D. “Over Here! Marines in Texas During World War I.” Fortitudine, Vol 33,

no 2 (2008): 7-8.

Byerley, Carol R. “The U.S. Military and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919.” Public Health

Report, Vol 125 (2010): 82-91.

Godinho, Antonio M. “Marines in the Azores Islands in World War I: Diary of Walter S.

Poague,” Fortitudine, Vol 37, no 1 (2012): 25-33.

Vaughan, Victor C. “Influenza and Pneumonia at Brest, France.” The Journal of Laboratory and

Clinical Medicine, Vol IV, no 4 (January 1919): 223-224.

Newspapers

Anonymous. “Mare Island.” Army and Navy Journal, 2 November 1918.

Kelley, H. L. “Spanish Influenza.” The Marine, 27 September 1918.

Websites

Ancestry.com, “US Marine Corps Muster Rolls 1798-1958,” Accessed multiple dates,

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/

Ancestry.com, “Registers of Patients at Naval Hospitals, 1812-1934,” Accessed multiple dates,

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9268/

Ancestry.com, “US Navy Burial Records, 1898-1932,” Accessed multiple dates,

            https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3014/

Caperton, William B. Naval History and Heritage Command, “Personal Account by Rear

Admiral William B. Caperton of the 1918 Influenza on Armored Cruiser No. 4, USS

Pittsburgh, at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil” Accessed 5 April 2020 https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/i/influenza/admiral-william-b-caperton-of-the-1918-influenza-on-armored-cruiser-no-4-uss-pittsburgh.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “History of 1918 Flu Pandemic,” Accessed

11 April 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/1918-

pandemic-history.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “1918 Pandemic Influenza Historic Timeline,”

Accessed 11 April 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/pandemic-timeline-1918.htm

Marine Corps History Division, “Marine Corps End Strengths, 1798-2015,”

Accessed 11 April 2020, https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/Research-Tools-Facts-and-Figures/End-Strengths/

Naval History and Heritage Command, “U.S. Navy Personnel Strength, 1775 to Present,”

Accessed 11 April 2020, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/u/usn-personnel-strength.html

Naval History and Heritage Command, “Influenza of 1918 (Spanish Flu) and the US Navy,”

            Accessed multiple dates, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-

room/title-list-alphabetically/i/influenza/influenza-of-1918-spanish-flu-and-the-us-navy.html

Historical Resources Branch, Marine Corps History Division, Quantico, VA

13th Regiment Unit File

Charles A. Doyen Biographical File

Smedley D. Butler Personal Papers Collection, COLL/3124

 

[Note: The spreadsheet cited herein is available upon request.]

---

^[1] Ibid.

^[2] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/

^[3] https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9268/

[4] Crosby, America’s Forgotten Pandemic, 86.

[5] Crosby, America’s Forgotten Pandemic, 72.

^[6] These ships made multiple trips to and from France; these figures reflect cumulative numbers of dead from all trips during May-December 1918.  Henderson experienced two outbreaks in two separate crossings, 14-22 September 1918 and 18 October-7 November 1918.

[7] Crosby, America’s Forgotten Pandemic, 6.

[8] “Influenza of 1918 (Spanish Flu) and the US Navy,” Naval History and Heritage Command Accessed, 11 April 2020, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/i/influenza/influenza-of-1918-spanish-flu-and-the-us-navy.html and “US Navy Personnel Strength, 1775 to Present,” Naval History and Heritage Command, Accessed 11 April 2020 https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/u/usn-personnel-strength.html

[9] “Marine Corps Fiscal Year End Strengths, 1798-2015,” Marine Corps History Division, Accessed 11 April 2020 https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/Research-Tools-Facts-and-Figures/End-Strengths/

[10] Lance R. Bylth Email to Seth A. Givens, “FYSA: 2MEB as TF NE for COVID-19 Response,” 10 April 2020. Author’s Collection.

1918 Flu Pandemic and the Marine Corps [Part Two]

Overseas Units, Foreign Posts and Ships:

The main thrust of all Marine Corps activity in the US was to recruit, train, and form Marines into fighting units for service in France, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and other locations around the globe.  These forces on expeditionary duty, in service with the Army in France and on Navy ships, were hit by the influenza pandemic just as their stateside counterparts were.  Some had their own preventative measures, and each suffered differently.

            The 4th Regiment, while on expeditionary duty in the Dominican Republic, demonstrated how even well-intentioned prophylactic measures could not ensure the safety of the men from the disease.  The flu struck the Dominican Republic’s northern province of Monte Cristi, originating in Haiti, in the middle of November 1918.  Slow to respond, authorities did not put a quarantine between the province of Santiago and neighboring provinces until 5 December.  As if trying to make up for lost time, a massive education campaign commenced; newspapers and pamphlets attempted to educate the military and civilian populations about the disease, method of transmission, prevention and treatment.  Schools were shuttered, and public gatherings banned; masks were not required, but strongly recommended in public areas.  Despite these efforts, the first Marine diagnosed was an officer returning on a train from Puerto Plata, which had broken quarantine regulations on 9 December.  Two days later a mail orderly, riding the same train with the officer, was admitted to the hospital; he failed to report his symptoms in timely fashion, believing them a simple cold.  A communal drinking cup in his barracks quickly spread the infection to 15 others just four days later.^[1] Despite the late start in combatting the disease, Marines losses in the Dominican Republic were limited to four.

The capital ships of the Navy were not immune from the virus.  The USS Pittsburgh (ACR-4) lost 5 of its Marines, all of which died in a span of 12 days in October 1918.  The Pittsburgh contracted the disease while in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was recounted by Rear Admiral William B.Caperton.  Admiral Caperton reported that the flu first arrived in Rio on the SS Dannemara on 4 October 1918, and the local health authorities made no effort to quarantine the suspect vessel.  Three days later, the Pittsburgh reported just a few cases; however, on the 8th there were 32, and on the 9th there were 92 cases as it quickly spread through the ship.  Caperton reported that city hospitals were crowded and coffins were nearly impossible to locate.^[2]  All told, 647 cases were admitted to the sick list, 58 of which died.^[3] 

Ships transporting the Marines across the Atlantic were easy targets for the pandemic; often over-crowded, lacking appropriate sanitation and with men held captive for the journey, the flu spread easily.  The flu that broke out on the USS Henderson (AP-1) in September 1918 was traced back to Marine Barracks Quantico where the 13th Regiment was being formed from new recruits out of Parris Island, and 175 veterans from Haiti and Dominican Republic.  Ten days prior to embarkation upon the Henderson, the men of the 3d Battalion, 13th Regiment were examined by doctors and exhibited no symptoms.  Therefore, nearly 1,200 men and officers were loaded on the Henderson and proceeded across the Atlantic.  Despite the health inspection prior to departure, on 14 September the first influenza cases were diagnosed on the ship.  As the days progressed the numbers increased to a height of 107 new cases on 18 September; on 19 September the ship had 206 cases of influenza on the sick list.  When this voyage was complete, 5.45% of Marines inflicted died from influenza.^[4] 

In command of the 13th Regiment was Colonel Smedley D. Butler; in separate letters home to his wife, and parents, Butler recounted the trip across the Atlantic.  On 5 October, Butler wrote to his wife that the flu on the Henderson quickly turned into a vicious form of pneumonia and sickened 500 men, and when the ship arrived in Brest 250 were immediately sent to the hospital.^[5]  Even Butler himself was not immune to the disease; he reported to his parents that he “was not seriously or dangerously sick, but felt terrible and the doctors feared

I was getting pneumonia, but I did not.”^[6]  Butler went on to praise the medical staff for their “superhuman” performance to save “two thirds of the cases.”^[7] Once the men of the 13th Regiment were on solid ground at Brest, France, they were immediately pulled out of quarantine and put into action to assist other inflicted troops who arrived nearly at the same time.  Company K, 3d Battalion, 13th Regiment reported in a brief history that they were put to work pitching tents, hauling mounted field kitchens and distributing food to the ill troops.  They carried the packs of the weakest members and procured bedding for those in need.^[8]

Even the tiny outpost in the middle of the Atlantic was not immune to the pandemic.  Ponta Delgada on the Portuguese island of São Miguel in the Azores was home to the First Marine Aeronautic Company and a detachment of Marines at Naval Base #13 during the war.  While it was reported in the Annual Report of the Navy Department, and subsequent published histories, that the flu arrived in the Azores via the Japanese ship Shensi Maru in September 1918, the flu arrived two months earlier as recorded by one of the Marines.^[9]  Second Lieutenant Walter S. Poague, a naval aviator stationed in Ponta Delgada, maintained a journal and it recorded that the flu struck his unit on 7 July 1918.  “Boyton [2dLt Alan H. Boyton] has become very ill...Brewster [Capt David L. S. Brewster, commanding officer] is sick in bed and all of us feel badly in greater or less degree, I included.  Spanish influenza they call it.”^[10]  Poague was a poor example of preventative measures as he reported for officer-of-the-day duty on 16 July 1918, as normal, despite being quite ill.  After his shift was complete, he visited the doctor and was immediately admitted to the hospital of canvas tents where he stayed for two days.^[11]  Mercifully, the numbers of Marines killed by the flu was limited to four.[12]

[End part two]

---

^[1] 4th Regiment, Dominican Republic, November and December 1918 Muster Rolls, Ancestry.com, Accessed 8 April 2020, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/ and Annual Reports of the Navy Department, 2378.

^[2] William B. Caperton, Naval History and Heritage Command, “Personal Account by Rear Admiral William B. Caperton of the 1918 Influenza on Armored Cruiser No. 4, USS Pittsburgh, at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,” accessed 5 April 2020, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/i/influenza/admiral-william-b-caperton-of-the-1918-influenza-on-armored-cruiser-no-4-uss-pittsburgh.html.

^[3] Annual Reports of the Navy Department, 2439.

^[4] Ibid., 2116

^[5] Letter, Smedley D. Butler to Ethel Butler, 5 October 1918, Smedley Butler Papers, COLL/3124; Box 5, Folder 5, Historical Resources Branch, Marine Corps History Division.

^[6] Letter, Smedley D. Butler to Thomas and Maude Butler, 5 October 1918, Smedley Butler Papers, COLL/3124; Box 5, Folder 5, Historical Resources Branch, Marine Corps History Division.

^[7] Ibid.

^[8] Brief History of Company K, 13th Regiment, Unit Files, Historical Resources Branch, Marine Corps History Division.

^[9] Annual Report of the Navy Department, 2245 and Crosby, America’s Forgotten Pandemic, 121.

^[10] Antonio M. Godinho, ed., “Marines in the Azores Islands in World War I: Diary of Walter S. Poague,” Fortitudine, Vol 37, no 1 (2012): 32.

^[11] Ibid.

[12] “1918 Flu” Spreadsheet, Author’s Collection.

1918 Flu Pandemic and the Marine Corps [Part One]

When COVID-19 struck, I was still a Marine Corps historian.  I knew that this wasn't the first time the Corps had dealt with a pandemic; I'd talked about it many times when I gave presentations and PMEs on Marines in World War I; however, there wasn't anything written down--no brief history, as it were. 

I wanted to know, how did the flu impact the Marine Corps--sheer numbers.  Nothing I found in the readily available books (ie those within reach) told me.  So I set out to find out.  The result was something more than I bargained for; I wasn't looking to write any prize winning piece (and it's not), nor was I wanting to get it into a "scholarly publication" (I say it in quotes because I say it with a faux British accent--that's another story); I simply wanted to know how many Marines were impacted.  

Please keep in mind, I was unable to access any archives or libraries and I was relegated to what I could get my hands on immediately (including what I could get via Amazon.com in less than 4 weeks).  This is NOT a publishable piece.  It is simply meant to inform the reader as to the results of my efforts.

The Marine Corps and the 

Influenza Pandemic of 1918 [Part One]

Annette D. Amerman

Introduction:

The centennial of Marine Corps participation in the First World War saw the deeds of combat Marines in France heralded, and yet another group of Marines were fighting for their lives as well and were overshadowed by those stories of combat—those Marines who fought against the Spanish Influenza Pandemic that struck the Corps in the spring of 1918.  With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic 102 years later, the Corps’ response to the pandemic and the stories of those who died are once again in the forefront of history.  The military’s response to the 1918 flu pandemic can be used as an aid for today’s military response to COVID-19; in many ways today’s Marine Corps is taking exactly the same actions that some posts did  in 1918—social distancing, limiting liberty and quarantines.   While better equipped with technological and medical advances than their 1918 counterparts, today’s Marine Corps can still learn the lesson of the history of the 1918 flu.

Despite popular belief, the Spanish Influenza pandemic in 1918 was actually two separate outbreaks, one in the spring of 1918 and the second, and deadlier, in the autumn and early winter of 1918.  A third phase hit the nation in early 1919, but did not impact the Marine Corps as the 1918 variants did, and therefore is not addressed herein.  While there are competing theories as to the exact origin of the flu, it was first identified in American military camps in the spring of 1918.[1] On 4 March 1918, hundreds of soldiers began reporting the Camp Funston, Kansas, hospital complaining of fever, headache, and other flu-type symptoms.  The wave of illness subsided within two weeks but the disease had already spread to more than 13 other Army posts across the country.[2]  The first phase made the global rounds in just four months, striking the largest disembarkation point for the American Expeditionary Forces at Brest, France, in April 1918.[3] It would return with a vengeance later in the year. This was just the first phase of the pandemic, the less lethal phase.  The second phase struck the continental US at the American military at Camp Devens outside Boston in September 1918, where on 23 September alone 66 men died from the flu.[4]  With so many men and women on the move for the war effort, and many public health officials overwhelmed or in denial, the flu easily spread from military post to military post, and city to city.  This second wave of the flu pandemic also hit the Boston Navy base in September 1918, and by the 26th had spread to Louisiana, Puget Sound, San Francisco, and on to 20 Army camps from Massachusetts to Georgia and as far west as Camp Lewis, Washington.[5]  It is this second wave that struck the Marine Corps and that is the focus of attention for this piece.

 Regrettably, the documentation relative to the Corps’ response to the outbreak is not voluminous and research on the topic was conducted while in the midst of the COVID-19 closures, therefore limited.  The documentation that does exists is in the form of newspaper articles, obscure contemporary journal articles, brief histories, personal letters, award citations, and in the muster rolls of the Corps.  Even the history The United States Marines in the World War written by the Corps’ own historian, Major Edwin N. McClellan, mentions the pandemic in passing, stating that officer training at Quantico had to be extended by three weeks due to the flu.^[6]  This historical overview covers the period of May to December 1918, a period that marked the height of the impact on the Marine Corps, and will explore where the flu struck the Marine Corps, what steps the Corps took to mitigate the infections, and when possible how the flu impacted unit effectiveness and individual Marines.  Additionally, in an attempt to discover the exact numbers, dates and locations of Marines killed, a thorough review of muster rolls and hospital registers was conducted and the end result is a statistical review of this information is provided. 

On the Homefront:

Prior to World War I, the Marine Corps did not possess large camps or stations, rather it was relegated to barracks on naval bases, duty on Navy ships and a few expeditionary locations in foreign lands.  As the war required large numbers of men, the Corps expanded its recruit training facilities at Parris Island, South Carolina, and Mare Island, California, and acquired a large base near Washington, DC at Quantico, Virginia.  These facilities became the main focus of large concentrations of Marines, and were susceptible to any easily contagious disease outbreaks.  The influenza pandemic spread outward as young men entered the military life, congregating in the newly built large training camps, on trains and on transport ships.  From the little official documentation that exists, and secondary sources from local and base newspapers provide clues to the response of the Marine Corps (and naval medical personnel) to the pandemic.  From these resources, one can witness the various attempts made to curtail the pandemic and how it impacted the Corps.

Despite the fact that the typical entry point for young men enlisting in the Corps was one of the two recruit depots, it was Quantico that recorded its first flu victims.  Recorded in the “Annual Reports of the Navy Department” for fiscal year 1919, Quantico’s epidemic started on 9 September 1918, lasted for 75 days, ending on 22 November 1918 and that the station suffered 3,056 total cases of flu, and recorded 117 deaths.^[7]  The timing of the outbreak impacted the formation of new units bound for France.  On 10 September, as the 1st and 2d Battalions of the 13th Regiment were forming at Quantico, the flu struck about 20-30 men of the battalions.  Despite the quick isolation of the sick, the camp saw a dramatic increase of the illness over the next week until it peaked on the 18th with 107 new cases.  The 19th of September saw 206 on the sick list, the maximum number for the outbreak.^[8]  The most prominent, and highest ranking Marine casualty of the flu was Brigadier General Charles A. Doyen, former commanding general of the 2d Division in France, who took command of Quantico on 21 June 1918.  Doyen’s health was already compromised, having been the cause of his return from the front, and when the flu broke out at Quantico, he was one of the many who succumbed to it.  Doyen spent four days in the Quantico hospital before passing away on 6 October from the flu complicated by broncho-pneumonia.^[9] 

The recruit depot at Parris Island, South Carolina, trained more than 46,000 men to become Marines during World War I, more than three times that of Mare Island. [10]  With the large number of men flowing through the depot, and Quantico as an example of the flu outbreak, Parris Island took measures to keep the disease at bay.  In the 27 September 1918 “Marine” newspaper of Parris Island, Post Order Number 10 was published for all to read.  Despite the initial lack of a confirmed case of influenza, the order quarantined all personnel to the post to prevent an outbreak.  The order also provided tips to help contain any possible spread, most were about keeping dry and warm, and healthy through physical activity, while others were more practical suggestions, such as “If you must cough, do not cough in another person’s face; avoid spitting on the deck and on the sidewalks; and avoid drinking from another man’s cup or canteen.”^[11]  The order also indicated that each person should report immediately to the doctor should they feel ill.  To help contain those inflicted with the flu, a quarantine station was built a mile south of the main barracks on a small point between a creek and the Beaufort River.  As the station exceeded capacity, tents were erected at the maneuver grounds five miles further.^[12]  Despite the preventative measures and best efforts, 43 Marines died from the flu at Parris Island.

While the overall number of recruits was smaller than its counterpart on the east coast, the recruit depot at Mare Island, was hit hard.  In the 2 November 1918 issue of “Army and Navy Journal”, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Mare Island provided a short article on the flu.  The depot was in the midst of the pandemic, experiencing 700 cases of influenza and 9 deaths (Navy and Marine personnel) as of 16 October 1918.  While the article did not indicate specific measures to be taken by the personnel stationed at the depot, it did state that since the outbreak began, all doctors, attendants and ambulance drivers were wearing gas masks, and that on 15 October all officers and civilians of the industrial office were required to wear the masks.^[13]  All told, 17 Mare Island Marines died of the flu in 1918.

While the 4th and 5th Brigades were in France, two regiments remained in the United States in the struggle against potential German aggression.  In response to potential German interference with the oil fields around Tampico, Mexico, the 8th Regiment was activated at Quantico on 9 October 1917 and shipped to Fort Crockett in Galveston, Texas.  In summer 1918, as events in Cuba subsided, the 3d Provisional Brigade and the 9th Regiment boarded the USS Hancock (IX-12) on 1 August 1918 and

were sent to join the 8th Regiment in Galveston, bringing the two regiments under the brigade.^[14]  An unwelcome stowaway made its way onto the ship with the Marines—influenza.  Corporal Leonard H. Swanson of South Dakota had enlisted in August 1917, and after recruit training at Parris Island, he was transferred to the 124th Company, 9th Regiment at Quantico, and subsequently with the unit to Deer Point, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.^[15]  The day after boarding the Hancock, Cpl Swanson became the first casualty of the influenza on board, less than a week after being promoted to corporal.  By the time the ship arrived in Galveston on 6 August, there were 15 cases of influenza.^[16] In October the outbreak in Galveston reached such a state that it prompted the medical officer at Fort Crockett to issue the following rules to limit it:

1. Spraying noses and throats of everyone twice daily with a 10 per cent solution of silvol.^[17]
2. Flooring and tents, etc., to be sprinkled with a 2 per cent solution of cresol, daily.^[18]
3. All suspects to be sent to sick quarters promptly.
4. Restriction of liberty.
5. Sterilization of mess gear and avoidance of all crowding.
6. Airing of tents and bedding.
7. Limiting occupants to two inmates.
8. Strict observance of all general sanitary measures.^[19]

With the quick reaction of military doctors and preventative measures implemented, the Marine deaths were limited to three.

Another group of Marines were also afflicted by the flu—women.  On 13 August 1918, the first female reservist enlisted and a new era of women Marines was born in the Corps.  By the end of the war, there were 305 women enlisted in the reserves serving in locations such as Headquarters Marine Corps and the Depot of Supplies in Philadelphia.^[20] Their experiences were not as notable as their male

counterparts largely due to their significantly smaller overall number and concentration.  With the rapid influx of women into Washington, and no room for them in government barracks, the women were provided an allowance to locate housing in the city.  The influenza pandemic increased the difficulty in locating suitable quarters, Sergeant Margaret Powers recalled: “If anyone even coughed or cleared her throat she was suspect.”^[21] For those who located billeting, the landlords became close friends, particularly when the flu struck the women Marines.  Sergeant Ingrid Jonassen fondly recalled her landlady, Mrs. Pheobus, who aided her through her own bout with the flu.^[22]  On 19 September 1918, Ms. Marcia Bartle of Philadelphia enlisted in the Women’s Reserve and served as a messenger at the Depot of Supplies in the city, but her tenure was short-lived.  Private Bartle took ill on 7 October, and died from the flu just eight days later, not even a month into her service in the Corps.^[23] 

[End Part One] 

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[1] “History of the 1918 Flu Pandemic,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed 11 April 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html

[2] Alfred W. Crosby, America’s Forgotten Pandemic.  The Influenza of 1918 (New York: Cambridge University Press, rev. ed. 2003), 19.

[3] Victor C. Vaughan, “Influenza and Pneumonia at Brest, France.” The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, Vol IV, No 4 (January 1919), 1.

[4] Crosby, America’s Forgotten Pandemic, 6.

[5] Crosby, America’s Forgotten Pandemic, 48.

^[6] Edwin N. McClellan, The United States Marine Corps in the World War (Quantico: Marine Corps History Division, Reprint, 2015), 23.

^[7] Navy Department, Annual Reports of the Navy Department for Fiscal Year 1919. (Washington: GPO, 1920), 2431.

^[8] Ibid, 2116.

^[9] Charles A. Doyen Official Military Personnel File, Biographical Files, Historical Resources Branch, Marine Corps History Division.

[10] Elmore A. Champie, A Brief History of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina 1891-1962 (Washington: Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1962), 4.

^[11] H. L. Kelley, “Spanish Influenza,” The Marine, 27 Sep 1918, 6.

^[12] Department of the Navy, Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy for the Fiscal Year 1918.

(Washington, DC: GPO, 1918), 1473.

^[13] Anonymous, “Mare Island,” Army and Navy Journal, 2 November 1918, 336.

^[14] Annette D. Amerman, “Over Here! Marines in Texas During World War I,” Fortitudine, Vol 33, no 2 (2008): 8.

^[15] 124th Company, 9th Regiment, October-December 1917, Muster Rolls, Ancestry.com, Accessed 31 March 2020  https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/.

^[16] Annual Reports of the Navy Department, 2389.

^[17] Mild silver protein - antiseptic consisting of a compound of protein and silver

^[18] The cresols are strong germicides, and in low concentrations they are effective disinfectants and antiseptics.

^[19] Annual Report of the Navy Department, 2390.

^[20] Linda L. Hewitt, Women Marines in World War I (Washington: History and Museums Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1974), 9.

^[21] Ibid, 17.

^[22] Ibid.

^[23] Marine Corps Depot of Supplies, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 1918 Muster Roll, Ancestry.com, Accessed 31 March 2020, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/.