—The United States World War One Centennial Commission —
On August 28, 1917, Alabama National Guardsmen departed from Union Station in Montgomery for shipment to France as the 167th United States Infantry Regiment of the Rainbow Division. Men from Butler County killed in action during 1918 in that great service were:
Name and Rank · Residence · Unit · Date of Death
Chateau-Thierry Battle
PVT Rufus P. Hendrix · Greenville · Co K, 167th Inf · 15 July
PVT Bryant Price · McKenzie · 45th MG Co, 167th Inf · 16 July
PVT Claudie Caine · Georgiana · Co F, 26th Inf · 19 July
CPL William Alexander · Georgiana · Co I, 28th Inf 21 · July
Croix Rouge Farm Battle
CPL Amos Bush · Greenville · Co D, 167th Inf · 26 July
CPL William T. Cheatham · Greenville · Co D, 167th Inf · 26 July
SGT Worth Lewis · Greenville · Co D, 167th Inf · 26 July
PVT Elbert L. "Lee" Milton · Oakey Streak · Co B, 167th Inf · 26 July
PVT Horace Rigsby · Georgiana · Co D, 167th Inf · 26 July
CPL Walter Wallace · Garland · Co F, 167th Inf · 28 July
PVT Edgar W. Hall · Chapman · Co M, 167th Inf · 28 July
PVT Charles Hoomes · Chapman · Co M, 167th Inf · 6 Aug
PFC James L. Sampley · Spring Hill · Co D, 167th Inf · 18 Aug
St. Mihiel Battle
PVT Burie G. McCormick · Pigeon Creek · Co H, 167th
Inf · 12 Sep
PVT Will Frank Williams · Greenville · Co A, 165th Inf · 12 Sep
PVT Eugene T. Brooks · Georgiana · Co A, 143rd Inf · 14 Sep
Argonne-Meuse Battle
CPL Burkley H. Cook · Georgiana · Co C, 16th Inf · 8 Oct
PVT Comer C. Caine · Georgiana · Co L, 165th Inf · 15 Oct
PVT George K. Ealum · McKenzie · Co G, 147th Inf · 11 Nov
Serving in the 84th Brigade, with their sister regiment, the 168th of Iowa, they distinguished themselves in four large operations: Champagne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne, especially at the battle of Croix Rouge Farm and at the capture of Cote de Chatillon.
Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur who commanded them in three operations as Chief of Staff of the Rainbow Division and then as Commander of its 84th Brigade, wrote: "Two battalions of the 167th Infantry assisted by the 168th Infantry on the left, with the greatest courage and most severe losses, seized Croix Rouge Farm on the point of the bayonet...The unexpectedness and violence, and the difficulty of this vital operation cannot be overestimated, the gallantry and courage of the assaulting troops has never been excelled in the Rainbow's history."
Having suffered 616 killed in action and more than a thousand wounded during the First World War, the 167th returned to Alabama in May of 1919. They were celebrated as the "immortals" by the largest crowd ever to assemble on the grounds of the State Capitol.
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