by Maj. William Carraway
 |
| Homecoming: May 1919. Sergeant Robert Gober Burton kneels left beside Sgt. Augustus Williamson. Burton's mother, Ida Burton, is seated before Williamson. Georgia Guard Archives. |
While enroute to the United States,
the U.S.S. Minnesota and the Soldiers of the 151st Machine Gun Battalion were
rerouted. Instead of arriving in Newport News, Va. as expected, the men
debarked April 26, 1919 in Hoboken, N.J. That evening, the battalion proceeded
to Camp Merritt, N.J. Here, the men were provided with post cards to send home
to inform their families that they had arrived in the United States.
April 24, 1919 to Mrs. P.F. Burton
Date: April 26, 1919
I arrived in New York today on the
transport U. S. S. Minnesota
Will go at once to Camp Merritt, New
Jersey and will write from there as soon as possible.
Signed Gober Burton
Unit Co. A. 151 M. G. Bn[i]
Over the next several days, members of
the battalion were arranged into detachments and dispatched to camps in states
such as Michigan and Wyoming for discharge and return to their home states.[ii] While
these men were being arranged in casual companies Sgt. Burton excitedly wrote
home to his family relating his joy at being back in the states.
Merritt Hall, Camp Merritt, New Jersey
May 4, 1919
My dearest Mater,
Well here I am in the good ol’ USA.
What do you know about that? As you know by the card, we landed on the 26th and
I think that I have kept you informed from then till now by wire. I suppose you
think that I have been rather extravagant since I landed don’t you? Here is the
way I figured it. I have been away for 18 months and have not had a chance to
have a good time. I really think that I am due a little fling don’t you? But
mater dear, I haven’t done anything bad but go to the theatre and dance. I
learned to take care of myself. I have seen lots of suffering from unwise
living over there and I don’t hanker after any of it. I have come back as clean
as I went away.
You remember my writing about the
friend in N.Y.? Well she has been grand to me since I landed, and she has done
everything possible to make me have a good time.
We had quite a nice trip across only
two nights were rough and I could stand them for we were coming home.
We parade in Macon before we are mustered
out. I suppose that you still receive the Macon papers and know all about the
preparations that are being made for the 151st. I would lots rather that no
fuss was made over it, but it seems as if there is bound to be, so I am
submitting with the most grace possible.
I don’t know but it is said that we
start south soon. I sho do hope so.
I believe that before long I will be
an American again, but these people certainly have funny ways. They speak
English and don’t wear wooden shoes or shrug their shoulders and they treat you
as if you were real humans instead of being just a cog in a machine.
I think that I am going to like this
country real well however I don’t like N.Y. I have seen so much of crowds and
jams and things until I am sick of the whole works. I want to get in some place
where there is plenty of room.
Do you know that next Sunday is
Mother’s Day? Do you recall another Mother’s Day Oh! so long ago? Wouldn’t it
be good if I could be at home next Sunday?
This is enough for this time mater. Hoping
to see you soon.
Your devoted,
Son[iii]
As Burton predicted, on May 7, 1919
the remnant departed for Macon with 17 officers and 248 enlisted men. Upon
reaching Macon two days later, the Soldiers received an enthusiastic welcome
home. The citizens of Macon had decorated the streets with rainbow colors and
welcome home signs and Soldiers were embraced regardless of their home town or
state.
 |
| Commemorative card presented to the Soldiers of the 151st Machine Gun Battalion by the citizens of Macon, Ga. Georgia Guard Archives. |
Two years earlier in 1917, upon returning
from Mexican border service the Soldiers of the old 2nd Georgia Infantry Regiment
had paraded down Cherry Street and received medals presented by the city of
Macon. As Burton had feared, an attempt was made the afternoon of May 9, 1919 to
form the 151st MGB for a parade but the press of the welcoming citizens and
reuniting families was so overwhelming that the parade plans were quickly
scrapped. Instead, the Soldiers were treated to a lunch at the Hotel Lanier
provided by the ladies of the 151st Machine Gun Battalion Auxiliary followed by
a reception at a park where ground had been allocated for a memorial to fallen
members of the 151st. A particularly poignant moment was experienced by all
when former members of the battalion who had previously returned home as
casualties were reunited with their returning comrades.
May 9th ended with an outdoor dance
which lasted well into the night. The following morning the battalion loaded
onto railcars bound for Atlanta and departed with the sound of cheers echoing
over the rails. Arriving in Atlanta, the battalion was again greeting by
cheering citizens. The battalion marched through the business district of
Atlanta and was feted at the Capital City Club. During the luncheon the
battalion was addressed by the governor and other distinguished guests.
Following the luncheon, the battalion assembled for what would be its final
formation and marched back to the train depot for the final trip to Camp
Gordon. Arriving the afternoon of May 10, the men were assigned to various
companies to begin the process of discharge. The next day, Burton wrote home to
advise his mother on his impending discharge.
Camp Gordon
Sunday Afternoon
Dearest mater,
I know how you feel for I feel the
same way and I want to come home mighty bad. Won’t you be patient till Tuesday?
Then I can come home for good. I think that we will be discharged by then.
Don’t tell anyone when I am coming
home or anything. I am going to disconnect the phone when I get home.
I will tell you about all the things
people have been doing for us when I get home.
I am as well as can be.
Listen, I may come home late Tuesday
night, I don’t know. I think that I shall.
Won’t write anymore now.
Don’t fix that big dinner till I get
home and tell you when I feel like eating it.
With heaps of love,
Gober[iv]
By May 15, all of the Soldiers of the
151st Machine Gun Battalion had been discharged and begun their final journey
home.[v]
The Battalion History of the 151st
MGB, written in 1919 summarized the unit’s 18 months of overseas service during
which time the battalion was in contact with the enemy for 167 days and within
enemy artillery range for 194 days. The 151st MGB established headquarters in
77 different locations, conducted movement by rail six times and marched
approximately 1,200 kilometers. After serving in ten separate engagements the battalion
served as part of the American Army of Occupation in Germany for 140 days. From
March 1 to November 11, 1918 the battalion suffered 57 killed in action or
mortally wounded, 385 wounded and one missing in action. Nine Soldiers died of
disease or non-battle related injuries bringing the battalion's total losses to
452 casualties. Originally composed exclusively of Georgia Guard Soldiers with
an authorized strength of 581 officers and men ultimately 1,237 Soldiers served
in the battalion. Only 236 of the original Georgia Soldiers returned with the
battalion.[vi]
Burton and his longtime friend Sgt. Ed
Williamson returned to Monroe, Ga. almost 20 months after they set out together
with Company H, 2nd Georgia Infantry bound for the Mexican border. When
Privates Burton and Williamson left in 1916, Gober’s brother Frank had written
that they would return “loaded down with glory.” When they came home in 1919,
they returned as non-commissioned officers in one of the most storied divisions
of the war. But by then, Burton was long past his boyhood dreams of medals and
parades. He moved back in with his parents, and as in 1916, pondered whether to
seek employment or enroll in college. By September he informed his family of
his decision.
 |
| Certificate of Matriculation for R. G. Burton for the University of Georgia fall semester of 1919. Georgia Guard Archives. |
Athens, Ga. September 1919
Friday night
My dearest mother,
Well, your son is now a full-fledged
student at the University of Georgia.
I am now taking five courses:
economics, accounting, Spanish, English and history. While I had the chance, I
figured I might as well polish myself off a bit by taking English and history
and Spanish. It is now or never.
The original entrance cost me $34.00
and my books so far have cost me about $7.00 and I have yet another one to buy.
So far, I am well pleased with
everything, professors and my courses and the arrangements and everything.
I don’t have any classes in the
afternoon, and I think that I will be able to get me a position.
Everyone is or are well and getting
along fine.
I have met several boys that I know. I
saw Harris King and see him most every day. You can imagine how pleased I am
about that.
Have received the letter from Auntie
and am going to write her when I have finished this letter to you.
Your devoted son,
Gober[vii]
 |
| Augustus Williamson with Ida Burton May, 1919. Georgia Guard Archives |
By 1920, Burton was still in school
and still living at the old home on Broad Street. Williamson meanwhile was
instrumental in the reorganization of the Monroe National Guard unit. In 1925,
Howitzer Company, 121st Infantry Regiment was federally recognized in Monroe
with Augustus Williamson as captain, commanding. Williamson commanded the
Monroe unit for seven years before being promoted to lieutenant colonel and the
office of United States Property and Fiscal Distribution Officer for the state
of Georgia. His successor as commander of the Monroe unit was his brother,
Donald Williamson who would command the unit until the eve of World War II.
Burton meanwhile eschewed further
military service. He married Emily Grovenia and settled in Jacksonville, Fla.
in 1930. He worked as a salesman for a wholesale grocery company and raised a
family.
Burton’s father, Phillip passed away in 1935.
His mother Ida followed in 1941. Burton’s Auntie, Mary Eualia Nunnally who had
presented him with the testament that saved his life in July 1918 died in 1952.
Robert Gober Burton died at the age of
60. He is buried in Rest Haven Cemetery with his family and within walking
distance of Augustus Williamson and Capt. John Aycock, his former company commander.
 |
| Robert Gober Burton's grave at Rest Haven Cemetery in Monroe, Ga. Photo by Maj. William Carraway |
Post Script:
With this, the 25th and final chapter,
the story of Sgt. Robert Gober Burton ends. It has been an effort three years
in the making. This research journey has taken me from Macon, Ga. to El Paso, Texas and
ultimately to the battlefields of France following in the footsteps of the Georgia Soldiers of the
151st Machine Gun Battalion. In the course of this research project, I transcribed
nearly 300 pages of letters written by Burton his fellow service members and
family in the order they were written. I therefore did not know how the story
would end or whether Burton would even survive. Over the years, Burton, his
family and the Soldiers of the 151st have become good friends and it is hard to
consider that I now must leave them. Nevertheless, as we are approaching the
75th anniversary of the Normandy campaign, there are more stories to tell and more
friends to meet from the past.
-WmC
[i] Robert
G. Burton to Mrs. P. F. Burton. April 24, 1919
[iii] Robert
G. Burton to Mrs. P. F. Burton May 4, 1919
[iv] Robert
G. Burton to Mrs. P. F. Burton May 11, 1919
[v] Peavy,
Arthur and Miller, White, The 151st
Machine Gun Battalion 42d (Rainbow) Division: A Battalion History and Citations
of the Rainbow August 13, 1917 to April 26, 1919. J. W. Burke Co., 1919,
24.
[vi] Peavy,
Arthur and Miller, White, The 151st
Machine Gun Battalion 42d (Rainbow) Division: A Battalion History and Citations
of the Rainbow August 13, 1917 to April 26, 1919. J. W. Burke Co., 1919, 25.
[vii] Robert
G. Burton to Mrs. P. F. Burton September 16, 1919
No comments:
Post a Comment