Verdun is a delightful small city on the banks of the Meuse River in northern France. The streets are lined with all sorts of shops, people are friendly, and the city caters to visitors traveling by boat on the river. As with many visitors, our interest in Verdun was World War One. Verdun suffered a vicious bombardment and struggle that lasted far too long during 1916, and evidence still exists in the most common of places. Older buildings in town are still pockmarked from shells that arrived nearly 90 years ago. There are monuments all over the city to the losses in the conflagration. In 1918, American soldiers also fought near Verdun in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and we had a personal quest to pursue in tracking down the movements on one particular division of the American armies.
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The
Hostellerie Du Coq Hardi. We stayed at an 18th century hotel
in Verdun right on the Meuse river. The
Hostellerie Du Coq Hardi was very nice; our room was large, and the
bathroom alone was larger than our whole ‘suite’ in London. It was furnished
with antiques, the floors squeaked under our feet, and we felt it was a perfect
example of old world elegance. The elevator was an old open sided affair that
creaked and rattled as it took us up to a landing halfway between two floors.
There was a fine restaurant on the first floor, but with most menu items being
created for those more well to do than we, We took our meals at cafes and boulangeries nearby. The view from the cafes was perfect. Verdun was a Gaulish
settlement before the Romans came, so the city can rightfully be called old. In
front of us were twenty or twenty-five cabin cruisers that had sailed up the
river and were spending the night. Behind us, above the ancient city battlements
rises another Notre Dame cathedral, this one less well known than the edifice in
Paris, but still at the center of the local community.
The Ossuary. Above the town to the east, we drove to the Ossuary, a large,
ominous building that looks rather like a huge sword stuck straight into the
ground right up to the hilt. Inside are held the bones of 130,000 soldiers that
died on the battlefield. There is no comment on who won or who was right. The
remains are those of French and German soldiers, all of who found the only true
result of war is death. This was an incredibly somber building. The inside was
beautiful but very chilling. The French maintain the Verdun battleground
without prejudice as a memorial to the tragedy that took place there.
Monument Américain, Missouri. My wife’s grandfather fought in the Meuse-Argonne
offensive during World War One, but knowledge of what he did in the war has been lost over
the years. With the advent of the Internet, diligent research found that he
was in the Missouri National Guard assigned to the 35th Division, and that he had fought near the town
of Cheppy and was involved with the capture of Vauquois Hill. We also had found
that there was a monument to the Missouri National Guard, but weren't
sure where it was. We drove north out
of Verdun, and in about ten kilometers, headed west on ever narrower back roads,
through the villages of Chattancourt, Esnies, Avocourt, and on. None of these
towns had more than 400 or 500 people living in them, and few had any
recognizable stores or businesses. The road was only about a lane and a half
wide, but what we could see from the road was beautiful: rolling hills with
fields and forests, and these wonderful little towns. Eventually, we came to a
lonely intersection on top of a hill, and a small sign pointed right, to the
town of Cheppy, and as we headed down that road, there on the right was a sign
that said ”Monument Américain, Missouri.” We had found the one permanent,
exclusive reminder in France of my wife’s grandfather’s 35th
division. In a way, we had found his war. It seemed amazing
to me that in the middle of nowhere that this monument to another nation’s
soldiers existed. However, it is there, and well cared for. Quite incredible.