Theres the heavy guns. This is a forgotten aspect of world war ii. There were real guns in france and heavy artillery. One of the body bearers is represented there. The field artillery, the forgotten branch, in many ways. These are men that were with, in most cases artillery pieces that moved up with the infantry. In some cases, they were in combat with the infantry. As they moved up and provided close artillery support, thats the infantry advanced, this is the story that is in the unknowns. General pershing is trying to be comprehensive in the way that he told the story of world war i through the eyes of these men. Then, of course, the extraordinary story of the tomb itself and how the unknown was selected. And i follow a chicagoan. A dough boy through the entire war. Younger was part of the second infantry division. An elite unit within the American Expedition theary forc and younger is there. Hes a dough boy. A regular grunt. A sergeant that fights from battle to battle. Hes wounded twice very severely. Then ill get into the story of how he is selected. Its extraordinary. Then the story of how all these mens and individuals come together here in washington, d. C. First, on november 9th, 1921, and then they bring the most extraordinary individual. The unknown soldier to the final resting place in arlington, virginia. Let me just kind of go back a little bit in time, though, and talk about some of these body bearers. This book is about stories. Its about extraordinary stories. Its about extraordinary individuals that, in many cases, did the impossible. And i mean what youll see in this book is individuals that had to overcome extreme hardship. Im talking about gas persistently. All the time. Bodies that were covered with lice and mice and as they fought through combat because they werent able to change their uniforms, they also had to battle and fight the greatest army in the world at the time, the german army. Let me go back in time to 1917 when america was unprepared. America went from an my of about 220,000 regulars to an army of over 4 million strong at the end of the war. Its an extraordinary story of growth in a time of great need. We mobilized but one part of this story is a forgotten story and thats the story of the navy in world war i. The American Navy in world war i. In 1917, in march of 1917, president wilson had a real threat on his hands. German u boats were sinking american shipping at an alarming rate. Even before we entered world war i, there was a decision made to bring naval guards on board the ships to arm them with typically 5 inch guns and give the merchant ship a crew of about 15 naval personnel. These are known as naval guards. One of those individuals was james delain any. He was a tough irishman from boston, massachusetts. His body was inked with the ships he served on. He had been serving since 18. His life was the navy. He was given command of a naval gun crew on the merchant ship. Their journey in 1917, in the summer of 1917 was actually going pretty well until mid summer and they were making their way back to the United States and all of a sudden a torpedo nearly hit the ship. It was then quickly followed by artillery fire. The men manned their guns and began to respond. U boat 61 was crewed by an expert. Diekman, his name was, lieutenant captain diekman who had sunk nearly 40 nay have ships from the allies, at this point. And now his prey was the u. S. S. Compana. They started to fire bonn the uboat. But victor diekman was quite knowledgeable on these affairs and sunk many allied ships. He wisely stayed out of range with the guns. What ensued was a cat and mouse chase for hours. Both sides fired their guns at each other as the ship tried to flee the battle space. Eventually u boat 61 surrounds were able to hit the side of the ship. One near the engine compartment. James delaneys men were firing so many rounds their eardrums began to bleed. But they ran out of ammunition. And several of the u boat shells struck the ship. Captain oliver, a new yorker, decides to strike his colors and surrender his vessel. The u boat moves in closely and they go by the actual row boats and nearly wipe them out as they go so close to it. Then they have a boarding party that goes aboard the ship. They set several charges but before they do that, they raid the food locker on board. Life on board a submarine was very harsh. They only had canned goods or whatever they could bring aboard once the journey began. The journey was also dirty and filthy. The engines on board the uboat 61 let off a lot of grease and there was inside the boat there was something called u boat sweat. Literally condensation would be inside the boat and it would get on the mens clothes, in their coffee, in their food. Everything. So remarkably the first thing they did when they went on board they would look for soap. They went for the soap and they tried to clean themselves off and got the food. They also look for anything of intelligence value. They detonated the ship and sank it. At that point, the men, including james, were brought aboard. Six of these men were brought aboard uboat 61 and the captain is a remarkable figure. He speaks perfect english and begins to question James Delaney. Here is a meeting of two men. They both they become i worth say theres a friendship formed but theres a Mutual Respect that is formed. Including the respect of the crews. Because the men James Delaneys crew and his men endure what the men in the uboat endure. If youve seen the movie doss boat its a world war ii version of a uboat under sea. This is a world war i boat of what James Delaney goes through. And the men of the uboy 61 including diekman, they are death charged. They have to endure what is known as a u boat. Literally a merchant ship that the allies have that is actually a warship. Its disguised as a merchant ship but designed to as soon as the uboat surfaces to reveal hidden guns and attack the uboat. They go through a mine field and its an extraordinary story. I wont tell the entire story but at the end of the voyage, both crews lined up for a photo. What James Delaney didnt know, and the other americans that day, was that uboat 61s crew were all walking dead men. Within a matter of weeks or months, they would never be seen again. This is the powerful stories that are inside the unknowns. That took me years to unearth, including here. Some of these stories were found here in the National Archives as i unearthed them. Another ichb credible story is the story of the 49th company of the marine corps. Next to me is not the 49th company. Its 25 which is second battalion and fifth marines. Their story really begins at bellawood that happened exactly 100 years ago to this day. I mention the epic charge on june 6th where the men there was a world war i dday that nobody heard about unless you were 234 the marine corps. Or a world war i buff. This is where the marine corps. Advanced across several fields under heavy machine gunfire. But what happened before that was quite extraordinary. At the end of may, early june, the germans have launched a major offensive geared at rome im sorry, at paris. And they were breaking through the french lines. Literally the french army was melting away. The archives talk about how it was like water on a hot iron. It was just evaporating. The french army was evaporating. Men from the 49th company and 25 and the marines as well as the Second Division were being trucked as quickly as possible along with the Third Division of the u. S. Army into the vortex of battle to hold the line at all costs. These were some of the only at the time. And in many cases, they were super divisions. The u. S. Divisions were about twice the size of a french division. Sometimes even more or even larger than a german much more larger than a german division. They were quickly rushed to the front. As they were in their trucks, they saw french civilians passing them by as well as french members of the french army. Some cases throwing down their weapons saying the war is over. These men were pushed forward into the front. And it was here that williams from 25, the men set up behind parts of the french army near bellawood and a decision was made by karl preston brown, the chief of staff at the Second Division. The french wanted to immediately command the marine corps. And the army. Piecemeal basically thrust them into the line. He insisted they be able to dig in behind the french and shallow fox holes and wait and prepare a small defensive line this potentially helped save the war. This decision. Because the marines and the army were ready. The germans advanced across the white fields. The french were fleeing and according to marine corps. Lore, as well as other documents, Lloyd Williams with 25 was confronted with this dilemma and he said retreat. We just got here. They dug in and began to fire with their rifles. Most marine were marksmen, they were able to take down the germans as they advanced. They stopped them and on june 6th, the allies go on the attack. The french ordered them to push forward. Its jansens company, the 49th company, which i follow through the entire war, is advancing through the wheat field to their objective. The first on jengtive which is the 142. They seize the hill against all odds. I mean, many of these men are killed as they cross the wheat field. They take the hill. Jansen survives is badly wounded but survives and able to disrupt the attack. Then these men fight. The 49th Company Fights through the entire war. Theyre in the major battles the aef fights in. It takes about three weeks to clear bellawood and what happens is a news paper report Floyd Gibbons with the chicago transcri tribune is with the marines. Shot through the eye. Before he goes, he writes his report and the sensors its forbidden to provide any unit designation. But the sensors believe that Floyd Gibbons is killed. Shot through the eye. Hes badly wounded. They dont know hes actually alive but they believe hes dead. They go, okay, well let floyds report go through which identifies the marine corps. All of a sudden, the papers all read that the marine corps. Helped save france and paris. Of course, its the army, as well. It creates a sensation. It goes viral and what happens is bellawood instead of just a local attack takes on nation significance. The germans see the papers. They rush their best units into bellawood to try to crush the marine corps. Over the course of three weeks, theres very, very heavy fighting and casualties. Ultimately the marine corps. And the army prevail at bellawood and the 49th Company Continues to advance and they fight, you know, in a place which is saturning point in world war i where the allies go on the counter attack or the counter offensive and able to turn the tide and battle there. And the germans the war is changing. Its changing nature of the war. The 49th fights through. Another battle where the americans go on and they drew offense to take down. Several of the body bearers are involved in the same battle. It was one of the bloodiest battles. In some cases more so than june 6th. The french army insisted they take the Second Division to somehow seize a fortress. And here its called blanc spsz mont because the face of the mountain is white. It shows. For over three and a half years, they tried to take this. Nothing worked. There were bodies littered all over the place. There was an attack that was only days earlier the french army failed to try to take it. They called in the Second Division as well as the 49th company of the marine corps. 15 is what they were part of to assault this position. Here was also another member of this book, edward younger of chicago. All of these body bearers, many of them converge on it and field artillery, for instance. The combat engineers. The infantry. There are stories all converge as they attack this seemingly impregnantble position. They have to go across a mile of open ground. The bodies of the french are littering the area. They literally go by one of the positions which was in an arrow. Its all dead french men. The tip is a frenchman with a beard. A large frenchman with a beard that has his eyes wide open with the bayonet pointed at the germans. They pass them and they continue to attack and its a remarkable story. They seize it on the first day and then they go over the ridge the next day and they continue to fight in a position known as the box. It was a natural kill zone that the germans had created and men of the 49th company were stuck in this position and they were shelved mercilessly with high explosives or machine gun bullets pelted them in gas. They were in this position as they tried to attack the german line. Its an extraordinary story of heroism and courage. In many cases theyre outnumbered and they hold. Eventually the position is consolidated. One of my body bearers, a native american, thomas saunders, is pushed into the line as a scout and he scouts up into the early position and in the early position to penetrate the wire again. But these are just some of the stories that are in the book. I think saunders is an extraordinary story. He has to go against a very fixed position that the germans have at the end of this field. And native americans were unfortunately subject to many of the stereotypes through world war ii. They were looked at as amazing warriors. In that sense, they were given some of the most difficult combat assignments. And saunders was an exception. He was given the assignment of the scout in this position but also as a wire cutter to cut the wire and use these small hand held wire cutters to breach a whole in the wire to allow the rest of the infantry to go through. And i go back a little bit, about a month, and he was told to breach the wire there across no mans land. I mean, i cant even imagine this. Going across no mans land alone and just maybe part. One man. And they were given the wire cutters to cut a whole. To cut a whole or breach a whole in the wire. They make it through the wire and they are and they advance further than any other allied troops. They keep pushing forward and theyre able to its extraordinary they make it through the german headquarters position that is in a castle deep behind german lines and theyre able to capture 63 german soldiers. Single handedly through their efforts. But these are the stories that are in the unknowns. Ill talk about one more story in the book and thats a story of charles leo oconnell who is also with the navy. And charles leo oconnell is given one of the lowliest job in the navy. Hes a water tender. And the mount vernon is captured german vessel. And world war i, we had very Little American shipping. It was diminished. It was almost at civil war levels, in some cases. There was a great need for shipping. We needed to take the troops and the American Army that were building over to france and there was a race to quickly build ships. Another thing that is curious is there a number of german vessels that try to find safe harbor in the United States in the beginning of the war. They knew that the United States was a neutral nation. They are afraid of france in englands sflas as they cross the atlantic so they try to find safe harbor in the United States. One of them was the s. S. Chrome prince castle. It was a german vessel that was nearly the size of the titanic. It was an ocean liner. But the german vessel had a hidden secret. It was carrying millions of dollars of gold from germany. They captured the ship goes into near bar harbor, maine and seized by the government and the crew and passengers are adjourned and for a year the ship languishes and eventually its a little too tempting of a target. The ship is seized along with the gold and the gold the ship is renamed the uss mount vernon. A navy ship. And Charles Leo Oconnor is assigned to the ship. It mikes multiple voyages across the atlanta atlantic. In september of 1918, theyre making their fifth or sixth voyage across the atlantic and carrying troops from the American Expedition their force. They are wounded. Many of these men are wounded. Theyre carrying congressman. Theyre also carrying the plague. Influenza is running rampant across the decks of the uss mount vernon. Things look pretty good, though, in the sense they somewhat contained the virus. Even though many of the crew members are falling victim to it. The voyage looks pretty good on the way back. They never had any hostile activity until this point. All of a sudden that morning theres a rainbow. And to the experienced mariners of the mount vernon, its an ominous sign and literally sure enough, about an hour later, a torpedo slams into the side of the mount vernon rupturing a massive hole in the boiler where Charles Leo Oconnor is tending the boilers. His body is a mountain of a man. Hes shoveling coal every day in the hot turns alike hellish environment. Thousands, tens of thousands of gallons of water are rushing into the compartment. His body is literally burned alive by the boiler, the cinders that are coming out of the hot coals that are coming out of the boiler. Hes being hit by massive amounts of water. Hes got to make a splitsecond decision. There were men inside his compartment. Theres also water tight door that needs to be closed. Does he save his life . Does he save the men in the compartment, or save his ship . And that is the dilemma ill leave you with. Youll have to read the book. But these men all come together. They come together on the field of battle, in some cases. The final night of the war for these body bearers come together. They also come together on november 9th, 1921 to bring back the remains of the unknown soldier. The unknown soldier in world war i and our enknown soldier is not our own concept. France and england for the first. And in 1921, they established tombs of the unknown soldiers to honor all that had fallen. It was an opportunity to recognize all that had fallen. It was also an opportunity to provide ceo sure with the sacrifices they had made. We didnt have one in the United States. There was a hope that all 2200 americans that were unidentified or unknown could be eached. The Army Believed that was possible. It was until 1920 that an editor from a popular womens magazine, Marie Maloney was the editor of deliniator suggested to the War Department that we need an unknown soldier. We need something that represents all that had fallen. All of those who had fallen. From the American Revolution to world war i to provide closure. And a young congressman named hamilt Hamilton Fish was a white officer. This was a segregated africanamerican and puerto rican unit that fought bravely and heroically in france. Fish decided it was time to recognize his men and all of those who had fallen in world war i and spearheaded a campaign to get through the tomb of the unknown soldier. Got through the funding and bill and the president signed it. A year goes by, its 1921. The four major cemeteries in france, which contain unknown soldiers or the remains are removed from each much these cemeteries. And bellawood and saunders and all the other men fought. Many of these men battled. The remains were removed. Theyre carefully checked to make sure there are no dog tags, letters, dairies, anything that identifies the individuals. Then at that point, the Graves Registration people burned the tickets that revealed where these individuals were actually moved from. Its impossible to identify who these individuals are. The four remains are brought back to france where a french honor guard greets them along with other dignitaries. They are placed in city hall. Theyre flag draped. Theres a procession. The next day, the unknown will be selected. The plan is initially to have a general officer in the United States make the selection. The last second, though, the french say we use the regular grunt. Each revealed the service rorsds and that night younger was selected to choose the unknown soldier. He woke up that morning and had this awesome responsibility on his shoulders. The man that had been through the 9th infantry near bellawood through the attack at bla blanc mont. The hell there the final day of the war, this dough boy that had seen it all was give a bouquet of white roses. Chopins funeral was playing in the background. The floor of the room was littered with white petals. Edward younger slowly walked into the room and nervously wasnt sure who to select. He made a quick prayer. I found the original notes and typewritten account from edward younger at the National Archives and the National Record center which reveals exactly what he felt and how he felt as he walked nervously in between the caskets. He looked at the flag and said it was sublime as his hand after he said his the prayer his hand was guided toward one casket and almost immovable action. He was guided there. He felt that the man in the casket was somebody he knew. He knew that dough boy. That was our unknown soldier. And at that point, the selection was made. The body was moved. The great ship, the uss 0 olympia was waiting. And the olympia made the voyage across the atlantic to the Washington Navy yard where right here at the pier, its still here. The pier is still here on november 9th, the eight body bearers assembled than removed the casket. The picture the photo on top on the jacket is this exact moment that im describing. The casket was greeted by the body barriers and other dignitaries and it was brought to the rotunda where it layin state. On november 11th, the same day that the war the wars ended, november 11th, the body was removed by the body barers, placed on the same that carried president lincoln, and they made the journey on foot to Arlington National cemetery. And here in this procession was a remarkable procession. All the medal of honor recipients worlds war i were there. Many of the civil war veterans that received the medal of honor were present and walking in procession. President harding was there. Wilson was there. General pershing who is supposed to be mounted on a white house decides to walk as a common mourner behind the casket. And the men bring the casket to arlington and here this is meant to bring groups in the United States together. History is meant to heal. And the great stakeholders in the country at the naacp, the d. A. R. , the various members of government and even the french and heads of state all come. They present their finest honors, their greatest medals, the medal of honor is presented to the unknown. Words are said. The body is brought to the arablington secretary and lowered into the ground and the final people to speak is an american indian. Its meant to heal the entire moment. The man that had fought the u. S. Government and thomas saunders, whose father had fought and grandfather had fought United States government, who now served were laid to rest in our greatest memorial, the unknown. Dirt was shovelled from france into the open hole and the body was laid to rest. This is our greatest war memorial. This is who we are as americans. Its also about a forgotten generation. The world war i generation. That changed and remade the world. Thats why i wrote the unknowns. Thank you so much. [ applause ] ill be happy to take questions. Hi. Very good talk. Am i correct in seeing that the supposedly unknown soldier from vietnam was subsequently identified, right, in the 1990s through dna testing . Yes. They opened the casket. Is there any chance it could happen with the unknown soldier . The unknown from vietnam was identified. At the familys behest. They felt strongly that individual was their son and dna analysis was performed and he was reinterned with full military honors and identified. And i think its unlikely that there is, you know, proper dna in the data bases to identify the unknown from world war i. Theres possible contamination. Theres a lot of issues. The biggest thing its the national its who we are as americans. Its why we fight. Its it represents who we are. And i dont think its i think thats why its important. Congratulations on your books success and saving this importants part of our nations military history. Does your book make any mention of the legendary fighting 69th infantry region meant. It does. The books title is some of the greatest heros that brought them home but includes some of the greatest heros of the war. This includes charles york and colonel donovan in the fighting 69th. The Second Division fights in his area where in the muse argon, americas largest battle and one of the most bloody battles, too. You know, if you picture the opening scene of saving private ryan, thats what these guys had to go through. They were fixed positions. They were bunkered. There were machine guns. Barbed wire. They had to cross it. And father duffy and many of these extraordinary individuals had to cross this field and theyre taken out, in many cases. Its very tragic. Donovan is shot in the leg. The book chronicles his experience there. And what is extraordinary and interesting is that this experience changes his life. Instead of he feels theres a better way that costs less lives. In world war ii, General Donovan is first coordinator of information, which is the precursor or predecessor to the oss, which is the predecessor, which most people dont realize is the predecessor to most of americas special operations forces. This is born in the trenches by General Donovans activities. His idea what motivated him comes from his experience in world war i. And what i mean by that is if you look at the Us Army Special operations forces, green berets, their direct heritage comes from the operational groups. Many of these are donovans ideas himself. The oss maritime unit is the navy seals. They wrote a book called the first seals which chronicles their extraordinary story. A medical student from the university of pennsylvania tinkers in the summer with old gas masks and bicycle pumps and develops the first operational rebreather for the United States. And the navy seals were born literally in a pool at the hotel only a few blocks away which has the largest indoor pool and they test the rebreather. Jack taylor, a dentist from hollywood, california. They come togethering to develop the first seals. Its extraordinary story. Taylor even survives a journey concentration camp after he per chutes behind the lines. Parachutes behind the lines. The story is a story that is hidden here in the National Archives. I spent 20 years digging through, you know, literally cubic miles of records. Some that had never been seen. Talk about the tradition that the guard was at dun when the unknown soldier was rested or what is the background from the perspective of that . In 19 right after world war i, there wasnt a tomb. It was there pick can picnic there and vandalized it. I think its better if i let one of the people that are some of our finest americans sort of answer that story. Richard, if you would like to take it on. From europe it was commissioned about france and the unknown soldiers. So if the u. S. Has that yeah. Okay. Its american. That the idea of an unknown adds patrick has mentioned started with france, britain, and then the United States. And other countries followed, as well. But the tomb guard, as you see it, is strictly an american tradition and its United States army. It begins just as patrick mentioned. At first there was no need for any protection but as time went on, people began to treat it as a place to visit and picnic and even sit on. And it was one gentleman, i believe a navy officer witnessed it literally went over to the white house and go over and visit the president at that time. He said a few things which started the guarding process. He was first a civilian guard and the United States army is chose ton take over the military honor guard. This is important to recognize its a 24 hours a day, seven days a week activity. In any weather situation. You can describe some of the things you endured that, i mean, even a bee sting. A bee sting. This gets into what its like to be a member of the honor guard tomb of the unknown soldier. I was there from 1963 to 1965. And you have the intensive training and that is intense in many different levels. Mental, emotional, physical. But then they prepare you for what you will experience what they think you will experience while youre on the mat. Its what happens to you out there that really starts to shape you, finally, as what we refer to as tomb guards. Examples would be, as patrick reminds me, i had occasion, walking in the summer hours, as i was beginning to cross the mat, i was stung by a bee on my ear. And, as i mentioned to patrick, ive never ive never experienced pain like that then or ever since. My head literally exploded with pain. But because of the kind of training that you have and you have a very profound understanding of who you are and what youre there for, you dont break. We take great pride in the fact that we never break and we never quit. We are there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Having said that, theres two things i would like to quickly say. One, this is nothing compared to what our men and women experienced in combat. As tough as it gets out there, as challenging as it is, and the second thing, and want most propound thing, its not about us. We are representatives of the American People. What is going on out there and what its all about is the sacred duty of the American People and never ever forget those who have served in sacrifice in times of war or conflict. And we will never fore sake those who are out there yet and we havent found them. Thats what its about. It defines us as americans because what we are projecting is the question of why. What is it that connects us to those who serve today and those who served in the American Revolution. Lincoln talked about it as his electric court speech. Its the principles that are defined in our founding documents. Thats what really connects us. Thats whats really going on out there. We appreciate the recognition for our service. Were very proud. Were proud but humbled by that trust. [ applause ] i met richard two weeks ago and i met him on a radio show and the mpr and he came up to me and said i would like to shake your hand. Ive been wanting to shake your hand for two years. Really . I read your book. Washingtons immortals. And i was blown away by that. He said i travel by an old house every day and that old house contained one of washingtons greatest immortals. Watkins was over 62 in height. Member of the Maryland Line that fought in every major battle of the American Revolution and fought in the american in brooklyn where theres a mass grave of these incredible americans but he noticed one little line in the book the name of watkins and it was a footnote, almost, he didnt realize that was the house he had been passing every day for years. He went to the house. He went near the house and covered in brambles and bushes was watkins grave that had been hidden in plain sight. For all of these years. He organized, you know, an eagle troop and others and on memorial day, we went home and talked, you know, we spent some time with watkins. We honored his grave in the eagles scouts erected a flag. For me, thats what this book is about. Who we are as americans. The back story behind history that we pass every day. The next question. Okay. Sir, i enjoy immensely learning about the tomb of the unknowns. You mentioned there were four unknowns. Where are the other three now . The other three have been reburied. They are marked as unmeknown soldiers that were part of that ceremony. Theyre in france. Theyre all in the same place in france. Their graves are next to each other. And, yeah. I havent visited their graves but theyre still there. Thank you. Were out of time. Okay. Thank you very much. [ applause ] weeknights this month were featuring american historically tv programs as a preview what is available every weekend on cspan3. And tonight public historians talk about the history of africanamerican voting rights. Explaining the various ways their Historic Sites and organizations present and share the history. The discussion was part of the association of study of africanamerican life and histories annual conference earlier this fall. It starts at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Enjoy American History tv this week and every weekend on cspan3. American history tv on cspan3 exploring the people and events that tell the american story. Every weekend. Coming up this weekend saturday at 2 00 p. M. Eastern bestselling author Kathleen Rooney and myles harvey talk about how they approach Historical Research for their fiction and nonfiction work. At 6 00 p. M. Eastern on the civil war. Scott hardwick discusses his research on the. The town is entered by negro units by the battalion. I was a proud man. I was so happy that i was participating in the greatest war in history. But i still couldnt understand this segregation. Oh beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife