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CORPORAL RAY SAUNDERS U. S. REMOUNT SQUADRON NO. 301, WW1

This page is dedicated to the memory of Corporal Ray Saunders of the 301st Remount Squadron by his great grandson Yancy Irwin, Ray's grandson Ralph Irwin and their family who are sharing these wonderful family pictures with us.

Above is a picture of Ray or Grandpa Saunders as we called him, on a horse during WW1. Aside from the memorable tales he shared with me about his days in France when I was a young boy. The one story that is indelible is how they handled both mules and horses. He told me once how he would have to chase the horses all the time as the distant artillery would spook them and they could leap pretty high over the fences or at times crashed them. But the mules he said - you could keep 500 of them in a field with a single strand of barbed wire and they would squeal, but never tempt the fence. Sadly, what bothered him was at the end of hostilities when the US turned over the horses to the Polish and Russian army where the horses value was more of consumption versus haulage.

Remarkably, Grandpa Saunders was a true teamster, in every sense of the word. This is a great collection of pictures, especially of Ray that Yancy and you have posted, and you both are to be commended of your efforts.

I will have to talk to my Mother further - about the war years - see if anything can be added. In the book Band of Brothers, Stephen Ambrose depicts the soldier after he is a soldier no more, and of course Flags of Our Fathers and other notable novels have carried on that tradition. I did not serve in the military, so I cannot attest to how anyone may have perceived the experience. Yet Yancy as an example and myself were sons of those who courageously served, so in many ways from the outside looking in I have been able to exemplify and share the experiences of our fathers and forefathers - many times unsaid or of memories they would rather forget. It is kind to resurrect the notoriety of the common foot soldier who wore his medals as poignantly on a rumpled khaki sleeve as the ceremonial admirals in their starch whites.

All of us have a stronger sense of freedom, a more resilient outlook on life because of their sacrifices. One time I read a monument that read To honor the living to remember the dead To me at the time it was misleading in that we should always honor the dead, always remember that is why we are living. Keep up the good work.

Ralph Irwin, Ray's grandson

Ray Saunders bottom right and his Comrades Some where is France, posted by Ralph Irwin, Ray's grandson

WW1 STORIES, RAY SAUNDERS, FROM GRANDSON BRYANT IRWIN
Ray Saunders was born in 1893 in Norwalk, Connecticut. His family moved to Danbury, Connecticut about 1898, when Ray was 5 years old. Sometime around 1914, Ray began driving electrified trolleys between Danbury and Bethel, Connecticut. After the war, he returned to driving trolleys until 1926, when the trolleys were replaced by public buses. He then drove buses between Danbury and a variety of Connecticut towns until (reluctantly) retiring for the last time, at the age of 84. As a member of the Teamster's Union for almost 50 years, he was a teamster in the truest sense of the word - someone who drove teams of horses, trolleys, and finally buses for his entire working life.

As a measure of Ray's influence over his young grandsons, it is interesting to note that being a teamster has remained a family tradition: Ray's oldest grandson, Bryant Irwin, has been continuing the teamster tradition as a tractor-trailer driver for the past 40 years. He started by hauling tankers full of jet fuel for the US Army in Germany and Vietnam at age 18, and continues hauling modern 53' refrigerated trailers to this day. His fondest memories are of the long, wonderful days during school breaks spent riding the Bridgeport - Danbury bus with Grandpa Saunders driving. Ray was a friendly, sociable fellow and seemed to know the life history of all of his passengers and pretty much anyone who lived along his regular route - the names of their kids, their cats and their dogs, the general state of their health, and so on.

Bryant's younger brother Ralph has also been in the transportation industry for his entire career, where he was most recently a VP for sales for a Connecticut trucking company.

Ray used to chuckle about the motorized trucks the Army sent over to the boys in France during the war. They had solid rubber tires and thus, small convoys of these trucks would get dreadfully mired down in the infamous French mud and could not be driven out. Ray and his buddies would have to go out with a team of mules to drag these new and improved vehicles out of the muck. Ray found it amusing that these "modern" trucks became buckboard wagons - he'd have to sit on the roof to drive the team while the trucks were dragged onto harder-packed ground

Special Order No. 87 and General Order No. 75 giving Corporal Ray Saunders of the Remount Squadron No 301 the right to wear the St Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives Clasps on his Victory Medal. And also General Order No. 48 awarding him a defensive sector clasp for service in the First Army Area between the dates stated.

REMOUNT OFFICERS OF THE FIRST ARMY WHO ABLY ASSISTED IN THE VETERINARY CORPS WORK

ARMY HEADQUARTERS Major Victor C Mather Q.M.C.
Chief Remount Officer G-4, 1st Lt Bryce Wing Q.M.C.
Assistant Remount Officer G-4 I Corps Captain R. S. Waring Q.M.C
Remount Officer (Corps) Captain Bolling Haxall Q.M.C.
Assistant Remount Officer III Corps Major Pierre Lorillard Q.M.C.
Corps Remount Officer V Corps Captain Charles H Kendrick Q.M.C
Remount Squadron No 301 - Captain J. V. Hunt.
Remount Squadron No 301 - Captain George B Sheldon.
Remount Squadron No 314 - Captain R. J. Meskell.

REMOUNT SQUADRONS WHICH PATICIPATED IN THE VETERINARY CORPS ACTIVITIIES DURING THE MEUSE-ARGONNE OPERATIONS
301st Field Remount Squadron - Army Animal Evacuation Depot - Aubreville.
302st Field Remount Squadron - With the III Corps - Souhesmes la Grande.
303rd Field Remount Squadron - With the V Corps - Neuilly.
312th Field Remount Squadron - With the V Corps - Ville-sur-Cousances.
314th Field Remount Squadron - Army Animal Evacuation Depot - Baleicourt.

Click on the below link to read about the 301st Field Remount Squadron's participation at the St Mihiel offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

Official Report of Veterinary Service at St. Mihiel

Official Report of Veterinary Service at the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

The first four squadrons, numbers 301-302-303-304, under the command respectively of Captains John S. Hunt, A.C. Swenson, F.J. Rosenberg and J.T. Sallee, sailed from Hoboken, April 30, 1918, and arrived at St. Nazaire May 12, 1918.

Remount Squadron No 301: Date of Arrival, May 22, 1918; Number of officers 6; Number of enlisted men, 149; Commanding Officer, Captain J.S. Hunt; Original Station, Coetquidan.

NOTE: I have posted the information that I have been able to find on the movement of Remount Squadron No 301, you will find it on the Remount Squadron No 301 main page.

Ray Saunders posted by Ralph Irwin, Ray's grandson.

Ray, wife Alma, and wife's mother, posted by Ralph Irwin.

Ray Saunders and relative, posted by Ralph Irwin, Ray's grandson.

Picture taken while on leave in Paris, notice they are wearing a 6 months overseas chevron. Ray is in the middle.

Picture taken overseas, France or Germany, Ray is in the right. Note: best guess Germany.

Picture taken overseas, France or Germany, Ray is the big man on the right next to what maybe a French soldier. Note: best guess France or Germany.

I originally thought this picture was taken overseas, but now taking a better look at it I think this picture was taken in the US looking at the home in the background. If that is the case then it would be marching off to overseas perhaps.

Best guess,taken in the US and marching off to go overseas.

Yancy says in the above picture my great grandfather in pictured sitting on the far right.

This is a very nice picture of a Remount Depot. In it you can see the corals, stables and in the distance a camp or town. It is very hare to tell if it is overseas or in the US. Yancy says the depot pictures are marked Germany NOTE: I believe there is a very good chance that these Depot pictures are at the Remount Depot at Wengerohr, Germany. If this is true these would be a very rare look at the Depot - Greg Krenzelok

Another very nice shot of the above Remount Depot. This is a very nice remount depot and a very large amount of horses are in this picture. Notice the bridge in the lower corner and it the background is what looks like railroad tracks.

Click on the below link to view larger pictures of the above depots

A.E.F. Remount Stations Germany WW1

No doubt the same depot as above.

No doubt the same depot as above.

CAMP WHITMAN, NEW YORK WW1
In Green Haven a 839-acre site had been acquired by the state in 1911, and has served as a mixture of assorted uses. Purchased originally with the intention of establishing a "farm and industrial colony" for tramps and vagrants, the project never materialized. In 1916, the site was used briefly as a National Guard mobilization camp; troops were trained at Camp Whitman (for then-Governor Charles S. Whitman) in preparation for the invasion of Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa

Note: Below are Yancy great grandfather's pictures when he was stationed at Camp Whitman in 1916.

Above newspaper article is posted by Ralph Irwin, Ray's grandson.

Thank you, Yancy and Ralph and their family for this wonderful collection of pictures.

LETTERS: CORPORAL RAY SAUNDERS U.S. REMOUNT SQUADRON NO. 301, WW1

Posted by Ralph Irwin, Ray's grandson.

Greg Krenzelok - Veterinary Corps Website

Note: For now I am posting Yancy's family pictures of his great grandfather and we will be doing a little rearranging, information gathering and sorting out as we work on this project. I will be posting my best guesses for now and we will be making corrections as we go along. If you can help us out we any information, please contact us.

Return to The Army Veterinary Service During the Great War, WW1 homepage:

THE ARMY VETERINARY SERVICE DURING THE GREAT WAR, WW1
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The Army Veterinary Service During the Great War, WW1

OTHER AREAS OF RESEARCH WHICH WE ARE ENGAGED IN:

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LEONARD PATRICK MURPHY U.S. ARMY VETERINARY CORPS, A.E.F., WW1
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Leonard Murphy in WW1

NEVERS FRANCE AND U.S. ARMY HOSPITALS IN THE AREA DURING WW1
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Nevers France and U.S. Army Hospitals in the area during WW1

FORT ORD STATION VETERINARY HOSPITAL U.S. ARMY HORSE c1941
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Fort Ord U.S. Army Station Veterinary Hospital (Horse) WW2

TRIBUTE OF HONOR: SGT. ALLAN MACDONALD U.S. ARMY HORSE SOLDIER
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Tribute Of Honor: Sgt. Allan MacDonald U.S. Army Horse

FORT ORD STATION HOSPITAL, c1941 WW2
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Fort Ord Station Hospital c1941

11TH CAVALRY PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, 1919 TO 1940
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11th Cavalry Presidio of Monterey, 1919 to 1940

CAMP LOCKETT ARMY HORSE DEFENDING THE BORDER WW2
The 11th, 10th, and the 28th Cavalry, Camp Seeley, Camp Morena and Camp Lockett
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Camp Lockett Army Horse Defending the Border WW2

76TH FIELD ARTILLERY REGIMENT PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, 1922 TO 1940
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76th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Battalion

EAST GARRISON/CAMP ORD 1940's ARMY BUILDING DOCUMENTATION
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East Garrison/Camp Ord 1940's Army Building Documentation 2013

FORT ORD U.S. ARMY POST STOCKADE IN IMAGES
Fort Ord U.S. Army Post Stockade in Images

BRIEF HISTORY GENERAL ROBERT C. RICHARDSON, COMMANDER: VII ARMY CORPS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA DEFENSE SECTOR AND CONNECTION WITH FORT ORD WW2
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General Richardson Fort Ord Defense of West Coast

7TH DIVISION HEADQUARTERS BUILDING, FORT ORD, 1941 WW2, GENERAL STILWELL
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7th Division Headquarters Buildings, Fort Ord, 1941, General Stilwell

THE CONSTRUCTION OF FORT ORD 1940-1942
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The Construction of Fort Ord 1940-1942

FORT ORD BUILDINGS, COMPLETION REPORT IMAGES 1941-1942
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Fort Ord Buildings, Completion Report Images 1941-1942

250TH COAST ARTILLERY CAMP MCQUAIDE CALIFORNIA 1941
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250th Coast Artillery Camp McQuaide California 1941

U.S. ARMY VETERINARY CORPS HISTORICAL PRESERVATION GROUP

Motto: "Illic est Vires in Numerus" There is Strength in Numbers

"Working Hard to Preserve Our Country's History wherever it is being lost".

U.S. Army Veterinary Corps Historical Preservation Group is a group of individuals that are concerned about the preservation of the History of the Veterinary Corps, Remount Service and Cavalry or wherever our country's history is being lost in conjunction with our beloved "Horse and Mule". There is no cost to join and membership is for life. We believe by uniting together in numbers we will be a more powerful force to be heard. Our membership list is private and only used to contact our members. Email us and become a member.

Greg Krenzelok
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FACEBOOK: U.S. Army Veterinary Corps Historical Preservation Group

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U.S. Army Veterinary Corps Historical Preservation Group