The 32nd Brigade was first organized at Key West Barracks, FL in January of 1918. They moved in March of 1918 to Camp Merritt, NJ in preparation to sailing for the War Zone. On 18 March 1918 they sailed from Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, NJ. with 6 officers and 51 enlisted men aboard the Finland.
Officers and non-comissioned officers aboard the Finland on the March 18 sailing were:
Major Edward N. Woodbury
Captain Odes T. Pogue
Captain Arthur B. Chilton
2nd Lt. James N. Harris
2nd Lt. Thomes D. Johnson
2nd Lt. Guy Olney Burns
1st Sgt.Fred C. Flocken
The 32nd Brigade was under the command of Colonel James F. Howell, CAC. On February 4, 1918, Captain O. T. Pogue, CAC, commanded Headquarters Company, 32d Brigade. The Brigade was then composed of the 59th, 60th and 65th Regiments. These Regiments while later trained in France did see action at the Front. The 59th Regiment would be assigned to the 8-inch Howitzer, the 60th Regiment would be assigned to the 155mm GPF Gun and the 65th Regiment would be assigned to the 9.2-inch Howitzer.
While in France the 32d Brigade was stationed at Operations and Training Center No. 2 located at Limoges, France. The firing range that was used by regiments training at O&T Center No. 2 was at La Courtine, France.
In France the 32d Brigade was made up of the 58th (8-inch Howitzers), 59th (8-inch Howitzers) and 65th (9.2-inch Howitzers) Regiments. All 3 of these Regiments were trained and did see action at the Front. The 32d Brigade was the commanding unit of these 3 Regiments and did not have weapons of its own.
The 32d Brigade consisting of seven officers and 61 enlisted men, on December 18, 1918 was loaded aboard the Rijindam at St. Nazaire, France for transportation back to the States. The arrived back home on December 31, 1918 and were sent to Camp Hill, Virginia where they were demobilized. On the return trip the officers and senior non-commissioned officers were:
Colonel James F. Howell, CAC
Captain Carl W. Bettcher, CAC
Captain Edward W. Lind, CAC
Captain Eugene M. Vigneron, CAC
2nd Lt. Thomas C. Manning, CAC
2nd Lt. Jefferson D. Whitaker, CAC
2nd Lt. Fred D. Moore, CAC
Sr. Grade Sgt. Major Edgar D. Lockman
1st Sgt. Fred C. Flocken
Master Sgt. Adam Enson
Below are narrations of men who were in the 32nd Artillery Brigade, C.A.C. during WWI. If you know of someone and have facts and stories please contact me and I will add them here with thier fellow soldiers so that what they did "Over There" will be remembered for all time.
Pvt. Poirier was first assigned to the 7th Company, Coast Defenses Portland, Maine Coast Artillery National Guard then stationed at Ft. Preble, Maine. Poirier was with the 7th Company until transferred to the 9th Company then stationed at Ft. Levett, Maine and remained there until August 13, 1917. At that time he was transferred to the Headquarters Company of the 54th Artillery, CA.C.
Pvt. Poirier sailed March 16, 1918 with parts of the 54th Artillery on board the HMS Baltic where they arrived in Le Havre, France on April 6, 1918. Pvt. Poirier remained with HQ Co. 54th Artillery until he was again transferred on July 20, 1918 to the Headquarters Company of the 32nd Artillery Brigade. He served 9 days with the 32nd Artillery Brigade and on July 29 he was transferred to the Headquarters Company of the 65th Artillery Regiment, C.A.C.
With the HQ Company 65th Artillery Poirier saw action at the front in the St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne actions and in the Defensive Sectors. Poirier was advanced to Private First Class while with the 65th Artillery on October 4, 1918. Nineteen days later on October 23, 1918 PFC Poirier was again transferred back to the HQ Co. of the 32nd Artillery Brigade where he would remain until after the armistice was signed. He returned to the States with the 32nd Artillery Brigade on December 31, 1918. The 32nd was demobilized at Camp Hill, Virginia, PFC Poirier being separated from the 32nd Artillery on January 7, 1919. He was placed into the 4th Company of the 151st Depot Brigade at Camp Devens in Massachusetts until his final Honorable Discharge from the Army on January 15, 1919.
Theodore Tucker was born in South Berwick, Maine in 1895, and in December of 1917 was living in Kittery, Maine. He entered the Army in late 1917 and was placed in the Headquarters Company of the then forming 54th Artillery, CAC. The 54th was a Coast Artillery Regiment, which was formed of mostly Maine men who were in the Coast Artillery Coast Defense units stationed in Maine.
On March 16, 1918 the HQ Company of the 54th Artillery, Batteries A and B, the Supply Company along with the HQ Company consisting of 19 officers and 566 enlisted men sailed aboard the HMS Baltic from New York bound for France.
Once the 54th Artillery arrived in France this regiment was selected to become the Tractor Artillery Replacement regiment. This was done so that fully trained men would be ready to be placed into the various artillery units on the firing line when replacement men were needed due to casualties. Private Tucker would have remained with the HQ Company until July 20, 1918 when he was transferred up to the 32nd Brigade HQ Company. On July 29 Private Tucker reported for duty with the HQ Company, 32nd Brigade, which was the command unit of the 58th Artillery, 59th Artillery and the 65th Artillery. All three of theses regiments were on the firing line at the front.
On August 3, 1918 Private Tucker was reassigned to the 65th Artillery CAC, which was, then in combat on the front lines. Private Tucker was placed into the 3rd Battalion of the 65th, and likely into the HQ Company of the 3rd Battalion, which was the command unit for Batteries E and F. He remained with this unit through out the duration of the war while the 65th was engaged in the Lorraine sector, and on February 6, 1919 was then transferred into the 62nd Company, 16th Battalion of the 153 Depot Brigade.
After the war Depot Brigades were formed for the collection of men from various units who were not career army men so that these men could be transported back across the Atlantic to the States. While these Depot units awaited transportation they were also used as labor units and preformed various tasks while in France.
Private Tucker arrived in the States on January 30, 1919 and was Honorably Discharged from the Army on February 14, 1919.
In February of 2014 Wayne L. Pruett of Gouldsboro, Maine wrote the following about Theodore Tucker. "When I was a kid growing up in Kittery, Maine I lived across the street from Mr. Tuckers' grandson. The grandson and I were close at the time, and Theodore would visit his son and grandson often during the summer months. Theodore was great with his grandson and myself, and because of this closeness Theodore told us various stories of his life. Theodore's stories about the army and his service in France were very interesting to me. Theodore's son, who was a WWII Pearl Harbor Navy survivor, was also very good to me and I tried to keep in touch with him every so often. Just two weeks ago, I found out that the son had past away and this got me thinking about Theodore, and I went on line to find out about the 54th & 65th CAC units, which Theodore served in, and this led me to your web site, which is very well done by the way. It is just a matter of one thing leading to another." Wayne Pruett.
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