Corporal Harry August Herman Haferkamp

Killed in Action

by Bob Brail

          Of the approximately eight hundred fifty gravemarkers in the Augusta City Cemetery, almost none feature photographs of the deceased person. One that does is the tombstone of Harry Haferkamp, one of five men from the southern half of St. Charles County who were killed in action during World War One. Haferkamp, like so many other thousands of American men of his generation, died far from home on a battlefield in France.

          Haferkamp, from Augusta, was twenty-two years old and single when he enlisted on June 5, 1917. He was employed by his father Theodore Haferkamp, who worked as a carpenter. His mother, Alma, and three other siblings completed the Haferkamp family. Harry's draft registration states he was of medium height and had grey eyes and light hair.

          Haferkamp, serial number 2,179,604, traveled to Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for training. He was initially on the roster of Company I, 354^th Infantry Regiment, but on April 1, 1918, Haferkamp transferred to Headquarters Company of the 140^th Infantry Regiment. Shortly after this transfer, on April 25, 1918, Haferkamp's regiment left for France as part of the 70^th Brigade in the 35^th Division.

          As a private in a headquarters company, Haferkamp could have served in several roles. He may have been utilized as a runner. As primitive as it may seem today, during the World War One, a soldier who ran from one point to another was one of the most reliable means of communication on a battlefield. Of course, this was an extremely dangerous job. Other responsibilities of a headquarters company private were not so risky.  He could have worked as a company clerk, worked as an aide for an officer, served on a cleanup detail, done kitchen duty, or been assigned whatever task needed to be done.

     On May 7^th, the 140^th Infantry disembarked at Liverpool, England, where they were met with "the wildest enthusiasm" of the British people. Soon they were on a train, passing through the English countryside. As the regimental historian wrote, "At almost every station we found a welcome as we rushed through. Banners with the inscription 'With Best of Luck' were displayed. Crowds of school children waved British and American flags, and our progress was like that of a victorious army." By May 9^th they had boarded a vessel, crossed the English Channel, and were in LeHavre, France.

          Beginning September 26, Haferkamp's regiment was part of the Meuse-Argonne Allied offensive, the final major Allied effort of the war. This forty-seven day offensive did not end until November 11 when all hostilities ceased. Just a few days before the attack began, Haferkamp was approved for promotion to corporal.

          On the morning of Saturday, September 28, 1918, the 140^th Infantry was camped just northeast of the villages of Baulney and Charpentry. During the day, the regiment, and the rest of its division, made slow progress toward the north, but they paid a heavy price as they advanced. From the west, north, and south, German soldiers caused hundreds of casualties with fire from rifles, machine guns, and artillery. One message sent from the regiment to divisional headquarters stated that the “140^th is being cut to pieces.” At 2:30 another message was sent by runner to headquarters: “We are flanked by artillery fire on every side but our rear. . . . We have suffered heavy losses in killed and wounded. . . . Numbers of men who are wounded have had no attention and are still lying on the ground. We are short of ammunition.”

          Montrebeau Woods, the immediate goal of the attackers, was a heavily wooded, densely thicketed area with several ravines crossing it. Only one square kilometer in area, it was full of well-armed Germans. After several hours of bloody fighting, the 140^th Infantry passed Chaudron Farm and reached the woods, but could not advance further. The men dug in for what would be a miserable, sleepless night. A drizzle soon became a heavy rain, as the Germans continued their shelling all night. Many wounded soldiers lay unattended, since there were too few ambulances and stretcher bearers. The regimental historian would write that “this night was the hardest of all.” The regiment had advanced about one half mile that day.

        The next morning the 140^th Infantry led the attack at 5:30. Under heavy German fire, it advanced north through Montrebeau Woods and by 9:00 had advanced about one half mile to Exermont with much of the rest of the division. However, this position could not be held and a withdrawal was ordered around noon. The Germans continued to shell the retreating troops. A number of officers were killed, wounded, or gassed as they withdrew.

      Harry Haferkamp was killed during this withdrawal. Shortly after noon an artillery shell exploded near Haferkamp and a piece of it went through the center of his body, from back to front. Private Albert R. Johnson, Company H, 140^th Infantry, quickly bandaged the mortally wounded Haferkamp. A Red Cross station was only fifty yards away at Chaudron Farm, so Red Cross men soon came, dressed the wound, and removed Haferkamp to the aid station. Within an hour he was dead. In his last moments, he asked Private Johnson, who apparently stayed by his side all this time, “to send his pictures to his mother and to tell his sweetheart that his last thoughts were of her.”

Haferkamp was buried in his uniform the next day about one mile south of Charpentry near the village of Cheppy, “fifty yards south of the bridge at the east end of town, between the left bank of the river and the road.” One year later, on September 29, 1919, Haferkamp's remains were disinterred and reburied in the Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Meuse.

          Two years later, Haferkamp's remains would be disinterred yet again, but this time in respone to the request of his parents. Theodore Haferkamp had first requested return of his son's body in April, 1920. Unfortunately the French government had agreed to start removing bodies in September, 1920, so the Haferkamps would have to wait. Finally on June 29, 1921, Haferkamp's body was disinterred and shipped on the USAT Wheaton from Antwerp, Belgium, to Hoboken, New Jersey, where it arrived on August 20. Confirmation of the arrival of their son's remains was then sent to the Haferkamps, but the letter used an incorrect serial number. Theodore Haferkamp, who must have been agitated and upset at the prospect of a bureacratic blunder, immediately sent a telegram back with the correct serial number and the clear directive, “DO NOT SHIP THE WRONG REMAINS.”

          The body of Harry Haferkamp was shipped September 24, 1921, from New York City. One week later it was unloaded from an MKT train at the station in Augusta. On Sunday afternoon, October 2, Corporal Harry August Herman Haferkamp was laid to rest in the Augusta City Cemetery.

SOURCES: 35^th Division: Summary of Operations in the World War (National World War One Museum and Memorial); Burial Record Files (National Archives); Federal Censuses; Findagrave.com; Fold3.com; From Doniphan to Verdun: the Official Record of the 140^th Infantry (cdm.sos.mo.gov); From Vauquois Hill to Exermont (theworldwar.pastperfectonline.com/library); Manning, Carl, email (National World War One Museum and Memorial); The Marthasville Record (shsmo.org); Soldiers' Records: War of 1812 - World War I” (s1.sos.mo.gov).