Life or death centered around a canteen for this AEF soldier

Heroism takes many forms in war. It may emerge amid an epic battle, or the drama may focus on a single life struggling to keep alive in a shell hole. In any case, there are choices to be made and consequences to be considered on an instant’s notice. Whichever the case, no such personal decision, however small, is inconsequential when a life hangs at the balance… in the contents of a canteen.

Born on Aug. 5, 1895, William Sawelson was a Jewish resident of Newark, New Jersey, when the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. He enlisted in Harrison, New Jersey, and after training he was assigned to Company M, 312th Infantry Regiment, 78th Division, serving as the company’s supply sergeant.

A Reserve unit made up of Jerseyans filled out with New Yorkers and Pennsylvanians, the 78th was initially dubbed the “President’s Own” because President Woodrow Wilson had been New Jersey’s governor, but the unit was later renamed the “Lightning Division” and adopted a red shoulder patch with a white lightning bolt as its insignia.

Landing in France in June 1918, the 78th Division initially lent its engineer units to support operations, in particular the 303rd Engineer Regiment. While it prepared for its turn at the front, the American Expeditionary Forces crushed the German Armee-Abteilung C around St. Mihiel between Sept. 12 and 18 with relative ease.

On Sept. 26, a reinforced AEF set off confidently to deal with Gen. Georg von der Marwitz’s V. Armee in the Meuse-Argonne sector — and ran into one brick wall after another.

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Source: Military Times
Website: www.militarytimes.com