2016 Fall Newsletter

hot Texas sun. As a true test of who they were, not one man of Company D fell out during the march to and the return from Aus n. While marching to Aus n the troops par cipated in an exercise between the “blue” and “red” armies. A er a three day rest, surviving a sever electrical storm and two inches of rain, the men of Company D marched back to San Antonio. Company D le San Antonio on October 13, returning

to Fort Riley on October 15. The company was scheduled to arrive at Paola the a ernoon of October 30; however, did not arrive un l 2:00 AM October 31. The grand “welcome home” was canceled because of their late arrival. The 1916 Na onal Guard mobiliza on was a dress rehearsal for the mobiliza on of Company D on August 5, 1917, when the unit was called again into Federal Service. This me the company served with valor in France.

Sources: Special thanks to Brigadier General Edward H. Gerhardt (Ret), Museum of the Kansas Na onal Guard, Topeka, Kan sas for his assistance in gathering material for this ar cle. Through his assistance and knowledge, I’ve been able to obtain a be er understanding of the role of the Kansas Na onal Guard during the border deployment and WW1. 1. The principal sources for this ar cle is Clarence C. Clendenen’s, Blood on the Border, The United States Army and the Mexican Irregulars, the Macmillan Company, 1969 and Harris and Sadler, The Great Call-up, The Border, and The Mexican Revolu on, U. of Okla. Press, 2015. 2. McCann, Irvin Goff, With the Na onal Guard on the Border, C. V. Mosby Company, 1917 3. Fowles, Brian Dexter, A Guard in Peace and War, The History of the Kansas Na onal Guard, 1854-1987, Na- onal Guard Associa on of Kansas, Sunflower University Press, 1989. 4. Report on Mobiliza on of the Organized Mili a and Na onal Guard of the United States, 1916, War Department, Military Bureau, Washington D.C., 1916 5. The Western Spirit, Paola, June 23, 1916, June 30, July 7, July 21, July 28, September 1, September 15, No vember 3, and November 10. 6. The Miami Republican, Paola, June 18, 1916, June 23, July 21, August 4, and November 3.

* When the Kansas Guard was mobilized, no arrangements had been made to pay salaries for service on the border. Therefore, there were families without immediate income. In order to provide funds to support these families, Governor Arthur Capper loaned the State $10,000 (approximately $143,348.00 today) out of his personal funds before the troops le for the border. Finally, in March 1917, the Kansas legislature appropriated $172,000 to cover the difference between federal and state pay for the Kansas men who served on the border. This is my Swan Song...........Jim Bousman Editors Note....due to family concerns Jim has elected to cease contribu ng to the news le er for a while. Thanks! Jim for all the great ar cles you have wri en.

Jim Bousman

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