by Maj. William Carraway
Historian, Georgia Army National Guard
February 1919 brought little change of
duty for the Soldiers of the 151st Machine Gun Battalion conducting occupation
duty in Kripp Germany. Sergeant Robert Gober Burton observed that “we do a
little drilling, not enough to hurt, and the rest of the time we twiddle our
thumbs.”[i]
Burton reported rumors that they would
soon depart noting the presence of inspecting officers was a sure sign that
they would be on the move. He hedged his bets though suggesting to his mother
that they would likely not return home before April. With time on his hands,
Burton took to writing post cards and sending home pictures of his comrades.
February 4, 1919
My dearest Mater,
I am enclosing another piece for my
scrap book. It is a picture of our supply sergeant. In later years it will come
in handy and I will recall it and the stories with pleasure. I am also
enclosing a picture of our first sergeant (top kicker). This will be great to
look at also as he is one good fellow.
As ever,
Your devoted son,
Gober[ii]
 |
| From Burton's correspondence of Feb. 4, 1919: 1st Sgt. Lucius G. Hughes and Supply Sergeant Charles Knight, Company A, 151st MGB. Georgia Archives |
In February, Sgt. Burton received
tragic news from home. His brother Frank, who he idolized and who had suggested
that he would come home “loaded down with glory[iii]”
had succumbed to Spanish flu December 19, 1918. Burton struggled with the news.
He had not seen Frank for nearly two years and had written about going into
business with his brother upon returning to the states.
 |
| Final resting place of Frank Burton, Rest Haven Cemetery, Monroe, Ga. Photo by Maj. William Carraway |
Perhaps fueled by his brother’s death,
Burton’s February correspondence reflected a growing angst about being called a
hero. Whereas in the early days of the Mexican Border expedition, Burton wrote
to Frank and his mother of his hopes of receiving medals and marching in a
parade, nearly three years later he was far more reticent to accept the
accolades of service as noted in his letter of February 5, 1919:
What I don’t see tho is why we should
be praised so much. How about the mothers who gave up their sons and the
fathers who upheld the government and bought Liberty Bonds and W. S. S. and the
whole family who cut their rations in order that we might have white bread and
sugar in our coffee? Couldn’t we eat war bread the same as they did? We were
undergoing a few hardships it is true, but the whole course of their life was
changed while ours – well, we are young and ours has never been set.[iv]
Rather than a welcome home parade,
Burton wrote that he and Sgt. Ed Williamson had frequently discussed their
desire to come home at night to avoid attention and to be treated “as if we had
only been down to Atlanta for the weekend,” and expressed fear that “if people
keep telling us that we have done something great we will finally believe that
we have knowing all the time that we haven’t.”[v]
To relieve his mind from the monotony
of occupation duty and the fresh pain of Frank’s death, Burton availed himself
of the opportunity to travel with Williamson. His letter of February 10, 1919
described his ramblings.
Kripp, Germany
Sunday, February 10, 1919
My dearest mother,
As I wrote you about going on a long
trip up the Rhine, will tell you about it. The weather was cold, but I enjoyed
it a whole lot. We went up the river to Coblenz and back. The country on each
side of the Rhine is very pretty. High steep hills with a castle atop of one
every now and then. Between the hills are level plains that are very rich and
produce lots of potatoes and wheat. The sides of the hills are also cultivated
only there are vineyards instead of potatoes and wheat. You have heard of Rhine
wine, well here is where it is made, and it surely is good for I have drunk
some of it. At Coblenz we saw a great statue that the Kaiser had erected of
himself. It is a gigantic thing. A man standing at the horse’s feet (he is
mounted) looks like a comparison of a man and a house. I also saw the bridge of
boats at Coblenz. All in all, I enjoyed the trip.
 |
| Post card from Sgt. Burton depicting his travels up the Rhine. Georgia Guard Archives |
Frank’s passing away is rather tough.
I had plans of he and I working together when I returned. But God doeth all
things well.
I had a letter from Miss Bessie day
before yesterday. It came in the same mail as yours. She wanted to know what
kind of reception we wanted when we came home. I told her that I was going to
try to get home at night and that I was going to get off on the dark side of
the train and I hoped that no one would see me going home. Mother dear, I am
not even going to write or wire you when I am coming. I don’t want anyone to
know when I get there. When we land in the U.S. I am going to wire you the good
news. You can look for me any time after two weeks after I wire you. It will
take all of that long to get mustered out and discharged. I am not going absent
without leave for I will have to stay in the Army that much longer. We may be
issued passes home if we are. I am coming home.
This is about all that I know this
time. Give all my love and best.
Your ever devoted,
Gober
[i] Robert
G. Burton to Mrs. Bessie Aycock. February 7, 1919
[ii] Robert
G. Burton to Mrs. R. F. Burton. February 4, 1919
[iii]
Frank Burton to Robert G. Burton October 15, 1916
[iv] Robert
G. Burton to Mrs. Mary Nunally. February 5, 1919
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