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:
- Spraying noses and throats of everyone twice daily with a 10 per cent solution of silvol.[17]
- Flooring and tents, etc., to be sprinkled with a 2 per cent solution of cresol, daily.[18]
- All suspects to be sent to sick quarters promptly.
- Restriction of liberty.
- Sterilization of mess gear and avoidance of all crowding.
- Airing of tents and bedding.
- Limiting occupants to two inmates.
- 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]
[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/.
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