Sunday August 31, 1930

The group was scheduled to leave for Verdun promptly at 7 am, but some of the pilgrims were late. Lieut.Yarborough merely smiled while Miss Pryor, a member of the escort team for Party R, rounded up the missing. A regular United States Army nurse also traveled with the group each day (under the supervision of the Army Nurse Corps, the best nurses in Europe were assembled to accompany the pilgrims). There were also civilian guides for each bus, all ex-servicemen who knew every inch of the battlefields. These guides spoke French fluently and were thoroughly familiar with the roads. This proved to be of inestimable value to the conducting officers.

Over a road arched with pruned trees hung with mistletoe, 110 pilgrims started on a trip that would take them to Verdun. Verdun was 18 miles from the group’s ultimate destination, the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery. Verdun was to be the base of operations for the three-day visit to the cemetery. Four busses were needed to transport these 110 pilgrims to the cemetery.

Josephine and the other members of Group 1 were on their way to Verdun, approximately 125 miles east of Paris, traveling via Porte de Pantin, Meaux, La Ferte-sous-Jouarre straight through on to Route nationale 33.

Wartime sites and memories were part of all pilgrimage tours. The Quartermaster Corps included scenic stops along the way in the belief that a constant focus on grief and loss would have been too great a strain for some pilgrims. These stops along the way were carefully planned because the army wanted to make the pilgrimage experience more than simply a one-day stop at the cemeteries. Most pilgrimages called for cemetery visits over three successive days.
The escorts showed the women important battlefields, cemeteries, and other points of interest along the way.

The busses traveled streets that were narrow and cobbled. Twenty-five miles out of Paris the bus stopped and Lieut.Yarborough told the pilgrims to look straight ahead. There they saw a statue of General Gallieni, the “Savior of Paris.” (1) The figure depicted in the statue stands with his hand over his eyes, gazing into the north. His cape is blown back, for the Germans are approaching Paris from the north. General Gallieni's army was called the taxi-cab army because in 1914 he rushed 8,000 troops out of Paris in taxis, autos, trucks, anything on wheels. It has been called the greatest military strategy of the war.

Along the way, somewhere on the Marne, the pilgrims saw a monument dedicated to those British soldiers who had lost their lives in the battle of the Marne in June, 1917. The French had placed a gorgeous wreath upon this tomb and there was a huge procession walking nearby. The busses were stopped because it was thought to be a funeral. However, it was instead a feast day and the people were carrying flowers under a canopy, accompanied by a band playing music.

Around 10:30 am the group stopped for a rest stop at the Hotel du Vert in Montmirail (2), a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. They enjoyed tea and cakes. The village was decorated with rows of evergreens. The trees were loaded with roses of every color – all artificial. But there were real flowers in the windows. The villagers were dressed in their best. Some of the pilgrims thought the villagers were dressed in their best to honor the pilgrims but they weren’t. Miss Pryor, a member of the escort team, spoke French. She asked a man the reason for their being dressed up and was told that they were celebrating the feast of the harvest. Crowds of children clambered aboard the bus, selling picture postcards.

The weather was turning cold, so the pilgrims put on their coats.

The group departed Montmirail, headed toward Chalons sur Marne Along the way, the drive became beautiful. The road was asphalt and the trees were green. The poppies were beautiful. The busses passed shepherds tending great herds of sheep. Church bells pealed while some villagers went to church (this was Sunday). Others worked in the fields. Old women sat outdoors knitting or sewing. The houses were right on the street and had no front yards. Flowers grew in window boxes. In some places the family wash was being done. People were riding, not in automobiles, but on bicycles. Many automobiles did pass the bus and the cars had licenses from all over the world.

The group reached Chalons sur Marne for lunch around 12:30. Chalons is a city in France. It is the capital of both the department of Marne and the region of Champagne-Ardenne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reim (it was renamed Châlons-en-Champagne in 1998). It was at Chalon where the French Unknown soldier was selected (and also the American Unknown Soldier from Word War I). Chalon is one of the oldest towns north of Rome.

The pilgrims ate at the Hotel Haut mère de Dieu (translation, “High Mother of God”). (3) The hotel was very pretty, with running water and a lavatory, which were lacking at the earlier stop at the Hotel du Vert in Montmirail.

The first course for lunch was soup. The group also had the now infamous French rolls, known for their hardness, hard enough to break teeth. The soup was mushy and tasted of garlic. For those who disliked the soup, a waiter brought boiled snail, not a very popular dish either.

Next came roast billy goat, tender and cooked in a tomato sauce. Mashed potatoes were also served along with the detested French coffee. For dessert there was ice cream and thin wafers.

The lunch break lasted until 3 p.m. There were shop windows to browse. Lots of beaded bags were on display. There were chairs in front of the restaurant that was connected with the hotel where some of the pilgrims rested. Others returned to the bus to wait.

The group then departed Chalons at 3 pm via Route nationale 3, a trunk road (nationale) in France connecting Paris to the frontier of Germany. Trunk roads in France are important roads which cross broad portions of the French territory, as opposed to secondary or communal roads who only serve local areas.

They arrived at Ste. Menehould at 4:15 pm. Ste, Menehould is also a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. After a short rest stop at the Moderne Hotel, where they had a glass of real lemonade, the pilgrims departed Ste. Menehould at 4:45 pm, arriving at Verdun at 7 pm.

Josephine and 59 other pilgrims were lodged at the Nouvel Hotel Verdun; 50 others were lodged at the Vauban Hotel Verdun.

The Nouvelle Hotel was owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith ran it since Mr. Smith spent much of his time in Paris. Mr. Smith was an American soldier who had married a French girl. The Nouvelle Hotel was completely destroyed during the battle of Verdun. There were marks on the doors and on window facings showing the damage from the battle.

After arriving at the hotel, the travelers had dinner. They really enjoyed it because it was an American meal – steak and fried potatoes and soft rolls! After dinner some pilgrims went for a walk. They found a church being built. They observed the Meuse River. They observed that stables and house were under one roof and were right on the street. Verdun’s cobbled streets resembled an old-fashioned patchwork quilt. The town had been completely destroyed in the war and was now completely rebuilt. (4)

Verdun – 18 miles from the group’s destination, the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery – was the base of operations for the three-day visit to the cemetery.

The rest of the evening was free – a time of quiet reflection in preparation for the visit to the cemetery the next day.




Source: written by Carolyn Ourso