WWI medal grouping of 1st Sgt. David G. F. Ward of Co. C. 108th MG Bn. of the 26th Division with several being engraved. Medals included are Mexican Border Service Medal numbered at the six O'clock position 5107, 5 place Winged Victory Medal with CHAMPAGNE-MARNE AISNE-MARNE ST. MIHIEL MEUSE-ARGONNE DEFENSIVE SECTOR Several Marksmanship Medals, several being engraved with his name and year he received the medal, Military Order Of The Serpent Veterans Badges, Dog Tag Named To 1st Sgt. David G. F. Ward of Co. C. 108th MG Bn. of the 26th Division, Named United Spanish War Veterans Badge, Beautiful 26th Division Enameled Badge with several Bar with the Battle Honors of the Division, French Verdun Medal and other. History: World War I: Organization: The 26th Infantry Division was first constituted on 18 July 1917, three months after the American entry into World War I, as the 26th Division. It was formally activated on 22 August of that year in Boston, Massachusetts, and it was celebrated by Boston writers and by composers in pieces such as "The Yankee Division March" and "Battery A March." Shortly after that, the division commander, Major General C. R. Edwards, called a press conference to determine a nickname for the newly formed division. Edwards decided to settle on the suggestion of "Yankee Division" since all of the subordinate units of the division were from the New England states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont. Shortly thereafter, the division approved a shoulder sleeve insignia with a "YD" monogram to reflect this. Order of battle: Headquarters, 26th Division 51st Infantry Brigade 101st Infantry Regiment (9th Massachusetts Infantry, 175 men from 6th Massachusetts Infantry, and 1,400 men from 5th Massachusetts Infantry) 102nd Infantry Regiment (2nd Connecticut Infantry, 1,617 men from 1st Connecticut Infantry, 50 men from 1st Vermont Infantry, and 100 men from 6th Massachusetts Infantry) 102nd Machine Gun Battalion (Squadron, Massachusetts Cavalry less Troop B, and 216 men from 1st Vermont Infantry) 52nd Infantry Brigade 103rd Infantry Regiment (2nd Maine Infantry 1,630 men from 1st New Hampshire Infantry, and detachments from Companies F, H, K, and M, 8th Massachusetts Infantry) 104th Infantry Regiment (812 men from 6th Massachusetts Infantry, 812 men from 8th Massachusetts Infantry, 2nd Massachusetts Infantry, and detachments from Companies F, H, K, and M, 8th Massachusetts Infantry) 103rd Machine Gun Battalion (Squadron, Rhode Island Cavalry less Troops B and M, Separate Machine Gun Troop, New Hampshire Cavalry, 232 men from 1st Vermont Infantry) 51st Field Artillery Brigade 101st Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (1st Massachusetts F.A. and 180 men from New England Coast Artillery) 102nd Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) (2nd Massachusetts F.A. and 150 men from New England Coast Artillery) 103rd Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) (Battery A, New Hampshire F.A., three batteries Rhode Island F.A., two batteries Connecticut F.A., Troop M, Rhode Island Squadron of Cavalry, and detachment from New England Coast Artillery) 101st Trench Mortar Battery (detachments of 1st Maine F.A.) 101st Machine Gun Battalion (Squadron, Connecticut Cavalry and 196 men from 1st Vermont Infantry) 101st Engineer Regiment (1st Massachusetts Engineers, 100 men from 1st Maine F.A., 479 men from New England Coast Artillery) 101st Field Signal Battalion (1st Massachusetts Field Signal Battalion) Headquarters Troop, 26th Division (Troop B, Massachusetts Cavalry) 101st Train Headquarters and Military Police (326 men from 6th Massachusetts Infantry) 101st Ammunition Train (713 men from 1st Vermont Infantry, 240 men from Massachusetts Coast Artillery) 101st Supply Train (Troop B, Rhode Island Cavalry, 364 men from 8th Massachusetts Infantry, and 62 men from Company M, 6th Massachusetts Infantry) 101st Engineer Train (82 men from 6th Massachusetts Infantry) 101st Sanitary Train 101st, 102nd, 103rd, and 104th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals (1st and 2nd Massachusetts Ambulance Companies, 1st and 2nd Massachusetts Field Hospitals, 1st Connecticut Field Hospital, 1st Rhode Island Ambulance Company, 1st New Hampshire Field Hospital) Overseas: On 21 September 1917, the division arrived at Saint-Nazaire, France. It was the second division of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) to arrive on the Western Front at the time, and the first division wholly organized in the United States, joining the 1st Division, which had arrived in June. Two additional divisions completed the first wave of American troop deployment, with the 2nd Division being formed in France and the 42nd Division arriving at St. Nazaire on 29 October. The 26th Division immediately moved to Neufchâteau for training, as most of the division's soldiers were raw recruits, new to military service. Because of this, much of the division's force was trained by the experienced French forces. It trained extensively with the other three US divisions, organized as the U.S. I Corps in January 1918, before being moved into a quiet sector of the trenches in February. Men of various arms of the 26th Division being decorated by General John J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the AEF, for holding the Hun at Apremont, La Foret, France, pictured here on July 12, 1918. The 26th Infantry Division remained in a relatively quiet region of the lines along the Chemin des Dames for several months before it relieved the 1st Division near Saint-Mihiel on 3 April. The line here taken over extended from the vicinity of Apremont, on the west, in front of Xivray-Marvoisin, Seicheprey, and Bois de Remieres, as far as the Bois de Jury, on the right, where the French line joined the American line. Division Headquarters were at Boucq. The stay of the division in this sector was marked by several serious encounters with the enemy, where considerable forces were engaged. There were furthermore almost nightly encounters between patrols or ambush parties, and the harassing fire of the artillery on both sides was very active.On 10, 12 and 13 April, the lines held by the 104th Infantry in Bois Brule (near Apremont), and by the French to the left, were heavily attacked by the Germans. At first the enemy secured a foothold in some advanced trenches which were not strongly held, but sturdy counterattacks succeeded in driving the enemy out with serious losses, and the line was entirely re-established. In late April, German infantry conducted a raid on positions of the 26th Division, one of the first attacks on Americans during the war. At 0400 on 20 April, German field artillery bombarded the 102nd Infantry's positions near Seicheprey before German Stormtroopers (German: Stoßtruppen) moved against the village. The artillery box barrage, continuing 36 hours, isolated American units. The Germans overwhelmed a machine gun company and two infantry companies of the 102nd and temporarily breached the trenches before elements of the division rallied and recaptured the village. The Germans withdrew before the division could counterattack but inflicted 634 casualties, including 80 killed, 424 wounded, and 130 captured, while losing over 600 men, including 150 killed of their own. Similar raids struck the 101st infantry at Flirey on 27 May, and the 103rd Infantry at Xivray-et-Marvoisin on 16 June, but were repulsed. The 26th Division was relieved by the 82nd Division on 28 June, moved by train to Meaux, and entered the line again northwest of Chateau Thierry, relieving the 2nd Division on 5 July. As the size of the AEF grew, the division was placed under command of I Corps in July. When the Aisne-Marne campaign began shortly thereafter, the division, under I Corps was placed under command of the French Sixth Army protecting its east flank. When the offensive began, the division advanced up the spine of the Marne salient for several weeks, pushing through Belleau Wood, moving 10 miles from 18 to 25 July. On 12 August it was pulled from the lines near Toul to prepare for the next offensive. The division was then a part of the offensive at Saint-Mihiel, during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. The division then moved in position for the last major offensive of the war, at Meuse-Argonne. This campaign was the last of the war, as an armistice was signed shortly thereafter. During World War I the 26th Division spent 210 days in combat, and suffered 1,587 killed in action and 12,077 wounded in action. The division returned to the United States and was demobilized on 3 May 1919 at Camp Devens, Massachusetts.
