LXII. The World War—Service and Honors
It is estimated that there were in the service of the
Government, during the war, approximately two thousand,
seven hundred and ten men who had been educated
at the University of Virginia. The assignment
of these was as follows: in the infantry, there were
nine hundred and forty-six; in the medical corps, three
hundred and ninety-three; in the regular artillery, sixty-five;
in the quartermaster's department, thirty-one; in
the cavalry, twenty-two; in the signal corps, eight; in the
tank corps, four; in the ordnance, eleven; in the marine
corps, forty-three; in the navy, two hundred and forty-seven;
in the ambulance corps, eighty-four; in the British
service, twelve; in the Lafayette Escadrille, three; in
the Young Men's Christian Association's War Service,
twenty-seven; in the Red Cross, thirteen; and in the
Salvation Army's War Service, one. About three hundred
and ninety-three were unclassified.
The records reveal that, on March 31, 1918, there
were eighteen colonels and lieutenant-colonels in the
medical corps who were alumni of the institution; and
in addition, there were twenty-nine majors in the medical
corps, marine corps, and the regular army, combined.
There were fifteen captains and twenty-five first-lieutenants
in the medical corps, and four captains and five
first-lieutenants in the marine. There were eighty-one
captains in the regular army, and also two hundred and
twenty-nine first-lieutenants, with six in the foreign service.
There were eight first-lieutenants in the navy.
There were two second-lieutenants in the marine corps,
seventy in the army, and one in the navy. There were
fifty-five sergeants, corporals, ensigns, and paymasters,
in the army and navy together; and there were also four
alumni, who, at this time, were serving as chaplains.
Major Hugh A. Bayne was judge-advocate in the reserve
corps attached to the first contingent that went out
with General Pershing; and Major Alexander N. Starke
was the principal medical officer of the army which expelled
the Germans from the St. Mihiel salient. Dr.
Robert Bryan was the director of the Whitney Hospital
at Neuilly and the medical adviser of the Roumanian
Commission. Major Stuart McGuire was the director
of Base Hospital No. 45, and Major Hugh H. Young,
of the Johns Hopkins Biological Unit. Colonel Jefferson
R. Kean was the Director General of the Medical
Relief of Red Cross, which was in command of the
United States ambulance service in France.
Many of the professors had an honorable share in the
prosecution of the war beyond the confines of the campus.
We have referred to the part which Professors
Goodwin, Venable, and Hugh Nelson played in the medical
service. Professor Pott was detailed to the United
States Reserve Camp Division; Professor Hyde to naval
aviation; Professors Kerr and Dobie to the military arm;
Professor Rogers to the war bureau at Washington.
Other professors who participated, in one form or another,
outside of the institution, were Thomas Walker
Page, John C. Manahan, C. M. Sparrow, J. C. Bardin,
C. P. Olivier, and C. W. Paul. H. H. Lannigan served
as one of the physical trainers for a section of the aviation
corps.
How many citations of the sons of the University were
there in the course of the World War? The following
statement shows, not only their number, but also their
special characters.[12]
Beginning with the French decorations,
there were fifty-one alumni who received the croix
de guerre; fifteen, the fourrargère croix de guerre; five,
the medaille militaire; three, the fourrargere medaille
militaire; twelve, the Legion d' Honneur; and ten, the
French sanitary decoration. Two were cited in the orders
of French G. H. Q., four in the French divisional
orders; and two in the French unit orders. In the
United States army, fourteen received the distinguished
service cross and ten the distinguished service medal,
while twenty-three were cited in orders of general headquarters;
seven, in general army orders; forty-two, in
divisional orders; six, in unit orders; and three in
naval orders. Four were awarded the naval cross.
In the English service, two alumni received the distinguished
service order and five the military cross, while
five also were cited in general orders. One was awarded
the Order of St. Michael and St. George. In the Italian
service, four received the war cross; one the Order of
the Crown of Italy; and one the distinguished service
medal. The Belgian decorations granted were the
Order of Leopold of Belgium to six, and the Distinguished
Flying Cross of Flanders to one. One alumnus
received the Grand Commander Order of Avis, a Portuguese
decoration; one the Order of St. Anna, a Servian;
and one, the Medal of Military Merit, a Grecian.
One was also decorated as Chevalier of the Order of
the Saviour.
