THE LOST
BATTALION
Archives Page
THE LOST
BATTALION ARCHIVES
Welcome to The Lost Battalion Archive. These pages
contain documents, photos recollections, comments and
memorabilia from many of the Survivors of The Lost
Battalion, their families and admirers.
My dad, Walter J. Baldwin was a Corporal ( promoted in
the "pocket to Battalion. Sargent Major ) in Hq.
Company, 308th Infantry, 77th Division and aide to
Colonel Charles Whittlesey. He subsequently served as
Secretary of The Survivors of The Lost Battalion and
organized the annual luncheon reunion of the Survivors,
funded by Major George McMurtry. Both McMurtry and
Whittlesey received Medals of Honor. Dad published a
number of newsletters in the fifties and early sixties
that contained letters from, or comments about the
survivors, as well as articles about the activities in
the pocket from October 2-7, 1918. They also contain
several poems dad wrote about the activities of the
308th/77th from Camp Upton in Long Island, N.Y. to
France, through Chateau Thierry, the Meuse-Argonne
offensive, and of course the heroics of the men in the
pocket below the Charlevaux Road.
Dad put together a rather hefty scrapbook that he gave to
me to pass on to my oldest son, now 42. That scrapbook
contains six or seven of the newsletters mentioned above,
many letters from the men he served with, reunion photos,
letters from dignitaries around the world commenting on
the contribution the men of the beleaguered group played
in breaking through the German defenses in France. Much
of that material is included in the initial development
of these pages. It is hoped that many more people will
contribute to this site and enrich the educational and
historical value of its contents.
Many thanks go to the faculty and students of Longwood
School District who have worked so hard on the research
and creation of this site. These pages contain some small
part of the story of a diverse group of men of different
cultural, ethnic, religious and geographical backgrounds,
who came together under the leadership of men like,
Whittlesey, McMurtry and Holderman to write one of the
most meaningful and heroic chapters in American military
history. As Whitllesey said to McMurtry during one of the
final assaults by the enemy in the pocket, and as
McMurtry repeated at every reunion, " As long as you
and I live, we will never be in finer company".
Respectfully submitted
Thomas J. Baldwin
January, 2002
1. Reunion Newsletters
April 1955
September 25, 1955
September 29, 1957
September 28, 1958
A Personal Memory of the
Lost Battalion
by Private Ralph E. John,
Company 'A' 308th
Roster of the Lost Battalion
Poem by Sgt. Baldwin
Pictures
Major Whittlesey
Officers of the 308th
Infantry
Mr. Baldwin's Trip to The
Pocket
Lee
McCollum's chapters from Our Son's At War
Private George Quinn
Letter from William
Conklin-308th Medical Detachment
The Legend of Cher Ami
Diary of Paul Sluk, Pvt.
308th Infantry
Harold Spear Young - 308th Infantry
New York Times News Articles