World War 1: Company E of the 7th Texas

Company E of the 7th Texas in Vernon, Texas, July 1917. The company became Company I of the 142nd, 36th Division during combat in France during World War 1.

After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Texas pledged to recruit 12,000 men for new National Guard units. Fourteen companies, containing 2,000 men from across northwest Texas, were authorized in June 1917 to make up the 7th Texas.

Vernon High School science teacher Harry A. Baker was granted approval to raise a regiment in Wilbarger County. This became Company E of the 7th Texas.

On June 26, 1917, a “mass meeting in the interest of the Texas National Guard” was held in Vernon with Wichita Falls resident Frank Kell urging young men to join Baker’s company. Jim Bomar, manager of the Herring-Johnson Ranch, and Lester T. Burns were appointed as Baker’s lieutenants.

The recruiting was successful as 122 men had joined the company by the middle of July. Additionally, Wilbarger County was recognized as not needing to resort to that draft that summer because 325 of its residents had joined the Army, Navy, or National Guard through July, 1917. That was more than three times the county’s draft quota.

The roster

The original roster for the 7th Texas, Company E included: Edgar R. Anderson, Euclid L. Anderson, Irwin F. Allen, John Lloyd Brown, Troy C Bussell, Thomas C. Burton, Earnest R. Butts, Rester A. Brooks, Willis R. Brinson, James O. Blanton, Willard R. Blackwood, Robert E. Basham, Chester A. Barnes, Alto Baucom, Martin L. Bellar, Jess E. Cox, Thomas N. Cannon, Melvin T. Carter, Clarence Crain, Henry Lee Coleman Jr., Rastus Cartwright, Arthur C. Cobb, Cecil J. Dalton, Thomas A. Dickenson, William E. Dempsey, BF Findley, Harvey L. Fowler, Erskin Caulvin Fore, Earnest Gibson, Johnathon Austin Gilliland, Charles F. Humpries, William R Hughes, Raishey C Hallman, George Hunga, Thomas E. Hughes, Oliver Franklin Hise, Charles A Hays, Claude M Hardison, Ewell H. Hanna, Hubert G. Hale, Joe Haney, James C Inmon, Thomas A Johnson, Homer H. Johnston, John E. James, Okley H. Jackson, Cecil D. Kellar, Oliver Lee Lowrey, Lum M Lovelace, Jerry H. Lewis, Hubert Lewis, Oscar M. Leverett, Will J. Lester, Charlie H. Langford, Jesse S. Morrison, Robert Clayton Messick, Joseph E. Mears, Davis B. May, Robert L. May, Jack Matlock, Earnest E Maddox, James R. McIlhaney, William P. McDonald, Hobert A. McClanahan, Ludie G. Norman, Daniel Henry Norwood, William G. Norman, Melville D. Owen, Clinton J. Proctor, Russell T. Price, Emmit Parrish, Samuel E. Porterfield, Ausley A. Priddy, Arthur B. Rook, Emmitt H. Robinson, Walter C. Roberts, Richard N. Richardson, William F. Rice, Albert E. Robinson, Robert S. Shaw, Marvin M. Sweatman, Rufus Simmons, Richard R. Sellars, John W. Self, Dave W Self, Wright X. Stinson, Jesse Marion Stephens, John A. Storey, Alford Turner, Gordon Fred Taylor, Marvin A. Tate, Roy B. Thompson, Charles Cleveland Tidmore, James Elder Thornton, Carl S. Wynn, Weldon Wray, Ralph O. Wood, Cleveland E. Wilson, William B. Wilbanks, Robert D. Warren, Robert C. Williams, Mike Wilkinson, Earnest M. Williams, Sidney W. Yarbrough and Elbert C. Young.

The company was composed of 63 percent farmers and 13 percent businessmen – including lawyer John Storey, who later became district attorney.

Community support

After being mustered into service in July, the company was not scheduled to go to Camp Bowie in Fort Worth until September, 1917. After much discussion Vernon businessmen decided to defray the expenses of the company’s recruits. They covered the cost of room, board, and “necessary expenses” of each man. The men even had their laundry paid for.

Federalized

This group would form the nucleus for Company I of the 142nd Infantry, part of the 36th Division. Though not all of these men stayed in this Company, for instance Hanna and Storey were later moved to the 142nd’s machine gun company.  The Self brothers and Rook were sent to the supply train. Coleman was transferred to headquarters company Brown and R. May were also transferred to other units after completing officer school and receiving promotions.

The Texas National Guard was federalized at Camp Bowie. Two state regiments were combined to form a federal regiment in the newly created 36th Division at Camp Bowie in Fort Worth. The 1st and 2nd Texas were combined as the 141st Inf., as were the 3rd and 5th Texas to become the 143rd, and the 4th and 6th Texas became the 144th Inf.

That left the 7th Texas. It was combined with the 1st Oklahoma to create the 142nd Infantry. Old Company E was renamed Company I. It received an influx of troops from other companies to build it strength to 250 men. The company’s original officers of Baker, Bomar and Burns were reassigned to other units during the reorganization.

While in training on March 5, 1918, Sgt. Albert Robinson reported that the men of Company I had made a 30-mile hike in full pack and not a single man dropped out. The other companies had men drop out and be carried back to camp, he said.

Codetalkers

The 142nd had the highest number of Native Americans of any unit in World War1 and the 36th Division had the highest percentage of Hispanics of any Division.

While the operation was secret at the time, the use of Native American code talkers originated in the 142nd during combat in France. The unit commander, believing the regiment’s lines were being tapped,  provided false coordinates for a ammo dump. That position was shelled soon after. The commander then assigned Choctaw Indians to each Company to act as radiomen. The Germans became confused and were surprised by a subsequent 142nd attack. The action drew commendation and was the basis for the more famous  Code Talkers of World War 2.

Other men in the 142nd

Other Wilbarger County men, and men from adjoining communities joined other companies in the 7th Texas. The Wichita County company included Harrold’s Tom Cobb, Mont E Chesney and William C. Howell; Vernon’s Henry Francis and Floyd Larrimore; and Oklaunion’s Fred Kueton. That group became Company K of the 142nd with Vernon’s Andrew Beverly serving as company 2nd Lieutenant.

Vernon’s Sam Randall and Odell’s Guy Henry joined a 7th Texas company raised in Quanah. Others of local interest in that company were Chillicothe’s Wilber G. Hall, Van Burean Hill, Jessie R. Bradley, Ed Pharr, James Pharr and Leilu Lake’s Floyd Alvey. This company became Company H of the 142nd.

The stories of many of these soldiers will be in an upcoming post.