History of the 145th Infantry to July 27, 1919.

This document is an abridged history of the 145th U.S. Infantry. The document comprises pages sixty-nine through seventy-five of the Frank Gerlach file.

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World War I

History of the 145th U.S. Infantry to July 27, 1919.

The 145th Infantry was organized from the old 5th Ohio Infantry, which had seen service in every war since its formation in 1882, including a nine month tour of duty on the Mexican Border in 1916-17. Prior to the great war it was composed of the following organizations:

Regimental Headquarters————Cleveland.

Headquarters Company—————Cleveland.

Machine Gun Company—————Cleveland.

Supply Company————————Cleveland.

Medical Detachment——————Cleveland.

Company A——————————Berea.

Company B——————————Elyria.

Company C——————————Cleveland.

Company D——————————Warren.

Company E——————————Ashtabula.

Company F——————————Cleveland.

Company G——————————Norwalk.

Company H——————————Cleveland.

Company I———————————Cleveland.

Company K——————————Cleveland.

Company L——————————Conneaut.

Company M——————————Painesville.

The Regiment was called into the service by the President of the United States on July 15, 1917, after the declaration of war against Germany. Several weeks of intensive training in the respective home towns of the various organizations followed. The companies were well quartered; some in armories, some in fair grounds, and some in tent camps on the outskirts of their respective towns. Many company commanders allowed their men to sleep at home, due to the shortage of quarters. This of course, was one of the pleasant features, which was soon to be taken away. Their time was exclusively taken up in recruiting to full war strength and training the new men in the rudiments of the soldiers’ game.

The war spirit was not very strong among the people at this time and may interesting expedients were resorted to in order to bring men into the ranks of the National Guard. Speeches were made by the officers and by many prominent citizens. Many parades were held, seeking to inspire the hesitating youth with the wisdom of immediate enlistment. Patriotic demonstrations of many kinds were staged, all of which gradually gained the desired results, for slowly the ranks were filling, awaiting the glad day when the regiment would be ordered to a southern camp for training.

Since a great majority of the men in the regiment came from Cleveland, it is natural to look to that city for some of the interesting incidents of this somewhat trying period. During August a mammoth parade was held Cleveland in which every organization, fraternal, commercial or otherwise was represented. The parade was several miles long and succeeded in arousing the enthusiasm of the entire northern parts of the state. For a week after the parade the enlistment booths were crowded, and the impetus given to

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recruiting was noticed in all the organizations of the regiment. At about the same time, the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce erected a large frame building on the Public Square, which was used as a recruiting office for all branches of Uncle Sam’s service. Speeches were made here twice daily, and the enthusiasm which had been created by the parade was kept at a high pitch for Cleveland and Northern Ohio was rapidly eclipsing the entire country in its recruiting efforts. During this eventful month “The Rope Stunt” was introduced. The Regimental Band, four times daily, would march thru the main down-town street followed by a hundred or more enthusiastic recruits with “Enlisted” arm bands on their arms, carrying a rope in the form of an enormous “U”. This “U” on the return to the Central Armory always contained about half a hundred of the unenlisted, many of whom signed without hesitation.

On August 3, 1917, the regiment was formally drafted into the Federal Service and each man and every officer found himself a soldier of the U.S.A for the “Period of the Emergency”. The main drill floor of the Central Armory was turned into a huge dining room, and 1000 men were fed there three times a day. A small guard house was established in one corner, but it was seldom occupied [redacted] for everyone was busy drilling on the courthouse and city lawn.

About the middle of August Company “C” of Cleveland was ordered to proceed at once to Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Alabama, for the purpose of preparing the camp site. Major Arthur S. Houte accompanied this unit and superintended the construction work.

On September 24, 1917, War Department Order No. 20 was published, changing the historic name “5th Ohio” to the “145th United States Infantry”. The following officers were with the regiment on this date:

Colonel Abert W. Davis

Lt. Col. Florence S. Van Gorder.

Major Arthur S. Houts

Major John R. Southam.

Major Fred C. Valentine.

Major Arthur M. Harrison (Medical).

Capt. LeRoy J. Linn (Adjutant)

Chaplain Alfred J. Funnell.

Capt. Paul J. LaMarche.

1st Lt. John J. Francies.

Battalion Adjutants.

1st Lt. Fred W. Hutchins.

1st Lt. Robert L. Quisser, Jr.

1st Lt. Frederick W. Marcolin.

Machine Gun Company.

Capt. Charles C. Chambers

1st Lt. Charles L. Weddow.

2nd Lt. Frederick D. Pierce.

Company A.

1st Lt. John J. Baesel.

2nd Lt. Rudolph Ursprung.

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Company B.

Capt. Roy E. Hultz.

1st Lt. Mather A. Jenkins.

2nd Lt. Clarence W. Lawrence.

Company C.

Capt. Clayton C. McNabb.

1st Lt. Milton C. Reed.

2nd Lt. Phillip R. Heyward.

Company D.

Capt. Henry R. Raymond.

1st Lt. Ralph N. Weitzel.

2nd Lt. Keith M. Wilcox.

Company E.

Capt. Dallas D. Dennis.

1st Lt. Thomas C. Humphrey.

2nd Lt. Newton O. Mott.

Company F.

1st Lt. Edward F. Thompson.

2nd Lt. Frederick C. Stafford.

Company G.

Capt. Hugh S. Purdue.

1st Lt. Thomas J. Quayle.

2nd Lt. Benjamin C. Robinson.

Company H.

Capt. Wm. C. Howells.

1st Lt. Robert F. Baker.

2nd Lt. Dale Brown.

Company I.

Capt. Guy W. House.

1st Lt. Murrow D. Schwinn.

2nd Lt. Homer S. Whitney.

Company K.

Capt. Ross F. Crosby.

1st. Lt. Robert J. Crampton.

2nd Lt. Charles C. Farnsworth.

Company L.

Capt. Arthur A. Harrington.

1st Lt. Victor H. Morgan.

2nd Lt. LeRoy Van Dusen.

Company M.

Capt. Thorpe A. Klumph.

1st Lt. John F. McCafferty.

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